FRIDAY NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO

Al Di Meola is an American guitarist which is better known because, in 1974, he joined the Chick Corea's band, Return To Forever and played with the band until its dissolution, in 1976. John McLaughlin is a British guitarist which is better known because, in 1971, he formed The Mahavishnu Orchestra, a band very well respected throughout the world due to their good and complex fusion of jazz, rock and Indian music. Paco de Lucia is a Spanish flamenco guitarist and classical guitarist which is better known and recognized, probably because he was the best flamenco guitarist ever.

"Friday Night In San Francisco" is a live album of the fantastic trio of guitarists, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia and it was recorded at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, in 5 December 1980 and was released in 1981.

We can say that it was a historic occasion. The appearance of John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, and Paco DeLucia at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre in one Friday night in 1981 was a musical event that could be compared to the Benny Goodman Band's performance at Carnegie Hall in 1938. The Guitar Trio did for the acoustic guitar what Goodman had done for jazz. As we lnow, the acoustic guitar had gone commercially in those years, already. In 1979 and 1980, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia had actually toured Europe with Larry Coryell. John McLaughlin tried to release a recording of this group but Columbia would have none of it, claiming Coryell wasn't a big enough name. Coryell had some personal problems at the time that did not help either. When the time came to tour America, Al DiMeola stepped in. His presence suddenly made the trio commercial. Anyway, "Friday Night In San Francisco" was the final result of it.

"Friday Night In San Francisco" has five tracks. Four of them were recorded live and one was recorded in studio. The first track consists of two songs, "Mediterranean Sundance" written by Al Di Meola and that appeared for the first time on his fantastic second studio album "Elegant Gypsy" and "Rio Ancho" written by Paco de Lucia. Both songs are performed as one by Paco de Lucia on the left channel and Al Di Meola on the right channel. This is an extraordinary song superiorly performed live by these two great guitar artists. It's hard to describe how great this track is. It consists on a fabulous guitar acoustic duel by this duet with about 11 minutes without lowering the musical rhythm and the speed of play. This is really an amazing piece of music and just because of that we should buy this album. It's my favourite track on the album and it's also the best way to open this amazing album. The second track "Short Tales Of The Black Forest" written by Chick Corea is performed on the left channel by John McLaughlin and on the right channel by Al Di Meola. This is a more subtle and quiet song also very well performed with good and great changes because suddenly is quiet and suddenly is faster. It has also a fantastic moment when the Pink Panther's theme makes an appearance and suddenly they change to a blues. This is absolutely a delightful song. The third track "Frevo Rasgado" written by Egberto Gismonti is performed on the left channel by John McLaughlin and on the right channel by Paco de Lucia. This is another fantastic track with perfect harmony and precious dialogues between the acoustic guitars of both artists. However, despite the fantastic live performance, this is probably my less favourite track on the album. The fourth track "Fantasia Suite" written by Al Di Meola, is the only live track with the guitar trio and is performed on the left channel by Paco de Lucia, on the middle channel by John McLaughlin and on the right channel by Al Di Meola. It's another fantastic and memorable live performance on this album, practically at the same level of the first track. This is a very beautiful song fantastically live performed by the trio with great musical rhythm and high speed of the music. It's simply a fantastic and truly amazing piece of music. This is my second favourite track on the album. The fifth and last track "Guardian Angel" written by John McLaughlin, is performed on the left channel by Paco de Lucia, on the middle channel by John McLaughlin and on the right channel by Al Di Meola. It's the only studio track on the album. This is the smallest track on the album but it's also a track with the same quality of the others played live. Here we can hear the different nuances between the three acoustic guitars even if they only combine the same kind of rhythm of music.

Conclusion: I own a vinyl copy of this album since it was released. "Friday Night In San Francisco" is a fantastic album and we may say that for those who don't know this trio of great artists very well, it's one of the best entries in all of these three guitarists' fine discographies. This is really one of the greatest guitar masterpieces in any kind of music. I can say that I agree with most of my colleagues that this isn't truly a progressive rock album. This is more a flamenco and jazz oriented album, than rock and progressive music. However, and although I can understand their point of view, not to rating this album with 5 stars, I don't agree with them. Why? Because this album is so fantastic and essential for everybody, that I can't rating it with less than 5 stars. This is a true masterpiece in any genre and type of music, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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