CONSEQUENCE OF CHAOS

Di Meola returns with his best work since the seventies. It's almost as if he decided give up experimenting for the time being with African and Middle Eastern influences and just let it rip, Mediterranean style. He even brought many of his old fusion buddies on board, most notably keyboardists Miles and Corea. I don't know if they recaptured some old magic, but I at least hear a lot more interaction between the players, which is absolutely essential for instrumental music--and something his recent work has noticeably lacked.

This is not a concept album, but it does have an unmistakable cohesion and flow, with an excellent balance between uptempo blasts of intensity and mellow, tender portions. Di Meola also does a great job alternating between acoustic and electric guitars, often within the same song, to great effect: things rarely feel boring or repetitive. An excellent example is the opener, San Marco, a Latin-influenced toe-tapper that grabs you right at the moment di Meola's guitar enters. Other highlights include the excellent piano fills on TAO, the haunting closing melody to Azucar, the excellent percussion in Red Moon, and the old-fashioned di Meola shredding to be found on Tempest. Those are my personal highlights, but the entire album is solid throughout.

Overall, di Meola and company have really put together a quality album. To be honest, I wasn't sure it was still possible, but now I have the evidence in my CD changer, and I couldn't be happier to have been so wrong. The best part is that they are not simply copying their seventies fusion work; quite the contrary, as it sounds as if these musicians have truly matured over time.