During his career, guitar hero
Al di Meola has wowed his fans with lightning-fast technique, blurring single lines, and energy. What is lost amidst the pyrotechnics are original ideas and the value of restraint. On these nine tracks taken from the Columbia label recordings Casino,
Scenario,
Electric Rendezvous,
Elegant Gypsy, and
Splendido Hotel, there's all a flashy air guitarist's fingers could dream of playing, but
di Meola can and will. The acoustic pieces, especially "Passion, Grace and Fire" with
John McLaughlin and
Paco de Lucía, somehow rein
di Meola in, while "Mediterranean Sundance" might be his best individual composition musically. There's also a fine version of "Señor Mouse," which he once performed with
Chick Corea. The remainder of the tracks, objectively, are not the best from any of his recordings. This is a disappointingly chosen collection, and fans would be better served by the several other compilation CDs that are available. ~ Michael G. Nastos