Recorded shortly before
Al di Meola decided to de-emphasize his electric guitar in favor of his acoustic counterpart, this live set does a fine job of summing up his first six years of recordings. Four of the six numbers (all but "Nena" and "Advantage") were previously recorded by the pacesetting fusion guitarist. With strong and stimulating contributions made by keyboardist
Jan Hammer, electric bassist
Anthony Jackson, drummer
Steve Gadd, percussionist
Mingo Lewis, and second keyboardist
Victor Godsey (some additional keyboards and percussion were overdubbed later in the studio),
di Meola is typically stunning on such originals as "Elegant Gypsy Suite" and "Race with Devil on Spanish Highway." ~ Scott Yanow