treitz3
Well-known member
I have recently been turned onto a well recorded LIVE album featuring;
Al DiMeola
John McLaughlin
Paco DeLucia
Album: Friday Night in San Francisco
Format: SACD
Three guys who shut the F'up and jam against each other with acoustic guitar's in a Spanish themed sound. IMO, a superb recording and a great evening that was captured the way it should be.
Review by Daniel Gioffre
"Loose and spontaneous, this (mainly) live album is a meeting of three of the greatest guitarists in the world for an acoustic summit the likes of which the guitar-playing community rarely sees. Broken up into three duo and two trio performances, Friday Night in San Francisco catches all three players at the peaks of their quite formidable powers. The first track features Al di Meola and Paco de Lucía teaming up for a medley of di Meola's "Mediterranean Sundance" (first recorded by the duo on di Meola's classic 1976 album Elegant Gypsy) and de Lucía's own "Rio Ancho." It is a delightful performance, full of the fire and inhuman chops that one expects from two players of this caliber. However, the two guitarists obviously have big ears, and they complement each other's solos with percussive, driving rhythm parts. There is a laid-back, humorous element to Friday Night in San Francisco as well, best witnessed in di Meola and John McLaughlin's performance of Chick Corea's "Short Tales of the Black Forest." Rapid-fire licks from the pair soon give way to atonal striking of the body of the guitar, running picks along the strings, etc. Before the farce is completed, they have played a blues and quoted the Pink Panther theme. It is funny stuff, and it serves to dispel the image of the trio, especially di Meola, as super-serious clinicians more concerned with technique than music. The other great piece of evidence against such a narrow-minded claim can be found in both the quality of the compositions featured on Friday Night in San Francisco as well as the sensitivity and dynamic variation brought to the performances. A perfect example of this is the sole studio track, a McLaughlin composition entitled "Guardian Angel" (the opening theme of which is taken straight from "Guardian Angels," a song that appears on McLaughlin's 1978 Electric Dreams album). It is a fine piece, and one that features a haunting melody as well as some of the best solos on the record. All in all, Friday Night in San Francisco is a fantastic album and one of the best entries in all of these guitarists' fine discographies."
My review as I listen to it.....
I'm into song three right now and I must admit, this is a nice recording. I have goose bumps coming from nowhere from time to time on this one. Absolutely fantastic! THIS is what was looking for, just a recording of the whole entire concert with the audience not omitted during the songs. The illusion and sound staging are put together well. I like it! Good tunes to boot!
Damn good album and recording! Just finished it and I'm impressed. Ears are ringing a little bit, but it was worth it. I would recommend this album to those who are looking for LIVE music the way it was intended to sound. My only gripe would be that they killed the soundtrack in-between songs. IMO, they should have let the concert go without splices. That's my only gripe. Incredible concert with a lot of talent on that stage that evening.
This is a recording that actually places you in the audience. Not just a recording to where the audience sounds great [or realistic] at the start of the concert, but along with the song as well. For instance, when a silent passage comes in you can hear the audience as if you were there, not as if the recording engineer all of a sudden "turns up" the audience. A full fidelity album, lots of dynamics....well, just plain out a great recording.
When you get to the "Pink Panther" theme, you have hit my favorite spot on the album. Pretty dog-gone cool if you ask me. Again, incredible talent on stage that night. I don't have ML speakers yet, otherwise I would have posted this in the proper section but please, give it a try. I had it for 3-4 months not even realizing that I had purchased it until a friend of mine recommended it. I'm glad he did.
That's all. Enjoy!
Al DiMeola
John McLaughlin
Paco DeLucia
Album: Friday Night in San Francisco
Format: SACD
Three guys who shut the F'up and jam against each other with acoustic guitar's in a Spanish themed sound. IMO, a superb recording and a great evening that was captured the way it should be.
Review by Daniel Gioffre
"Loose and spontaneous, this (mainly) live album is a meeting of three of the greatest guitarists in the world for an acoustic summit the likes of which the guitar-playing community rarely sees. Broken up into three duo and two trio performances, Friday Night in San Francisco catches all three players at the peaks of their quite formidable powers. The first track features Al di Meola and Paco de Lucía teaming up for a medley of di Meola's "Mediterranean Sundance" (first recorded by the duo on di Meola's classic 1976 album Elegant Gypsy) and de Lucía's own "Rio Ancho." It is a delightful performance, full of the fire and inhuman chops that one expects from two players of this caliber. However, the two guitarists obviously have big ears, and they complement each other's solos with percussive, driving rhythm parts. There is a laid-back, humorous element to Friday Night in San Francisco as well, best witnessed in di Meola and John McLaughlin's performance of Chick Corea's "Short Tales of the Black Forest." Rapid-fire licks from the pair soon give way to atonal striking of the body of the guitar, running picks along the strings, etc. Before the farce is completed, they have played a blues and quoted the Pink Panther theme. It is funny stuff, and it serves to dispel the image of the trio, especially di Meola, as super-serious clinicians more concerned with technique than music. The other great piece of evidence against such a narrow-minded claim can be found in both the quality of the compositions featured on Friday Night in San Francisco as well as the sensitivity and dynamic variation brought to the performances. A perfect example of this is the sole studio track, a McLaughlin composition entitled "Guardian Angel" (the opening theme of which is taken straight from "Guardian Angels," a song that appears on McLaughlin's 1978 Electric Dreams album). It is a fine piece, and one that features a haunting melody as well as some of the best solos on the record. All in all, Friday Night in San Francisco is a fantastic album and one of the best entries in all of these guitarists' fine discographies."
My review as I listen to it.....
I'm into song three right now and I must admit, this is a nice recording. I have goose bumps coming from nowhere from time to time on this one. Absolutely fantastic! THIS is what was looking for, just a recording of the whole entire concert with the audience not omitted during the songs. The illusion and sound staging are put together well. I like it! Good tunes to boot!
Damn good album and recording! Just finished it and I'm impressed. Ears are ringing a little bit, but it was worth it. I would recommend this album to those who are looking for LIVE music the way it was intended to sound. My only gripe would be that they killed the soundtrack in-between songs. IMO, they should have let the concert go without splices. That's my only gripe. Incredible concert with a lot of talent on that stage that evening.
This is a recording that actually places you in the audience. Not just a recording to where the audience sounds great [or realistic] at the start of the concert, but along with the song as well. For instance, when a silent passage comes in you can hear the audience as if you were there, not as if the recording engineer all of a sudden "turns up" the audience. A full fidelity album, lots of dynamics....well, just plain out a great recording.
When you get to the "Pink Panther" theme, you have hit my favorite spot on the album. Pretty dog-gone cool if you ask me. Again, incredible talent on stage that night. I don't have ML speakers yet, otherwise I would have posted this in the proper section but please, give it a try. I had it for 3-4 months not even realizing that I had purchased it until a friend of mine recommended it. I'm glad he did.
That's all. Enjoy!
