AL DI MEOLA — Elegant Gypsy (review)

Album · 1977 · Fusion

5/5 · 2011-04-09
The Hepcat

This was the first jazz album I've heard, ever. Back at a time when the extent of my jazz was mixed in with metal...I only know Al di Meola because he was considered an influence on shred guitar. So I picked up this album and loved it. An amazing piece of jazz fusion, this album has it all. Mind blowing guitar ranging from electric shred solos to soft and mild. Wonderful compositions and while Al may by the star, every musician is good and fit perfectly.

Flight Over Rio. Begins with a slow guitar melody, backed up by weird sounds and soon a nice drum beat. There is some great keyboard as well! A groovy bass riff and some bongos quickly give way to an explosion of Latin Jazz. The middle section is great, especially the guitar/keyboard harmonies. There are some great dueling guitar and keyboard solos backed up by some wonderfully funky bass and Latin drumming. Things slowly decelerate and it ends right where the song began. The guitar solos are nice, and fairly melodic.

Midnight Tango. The song begins gently, and features some beautiful solos by Di Meola over an amazing bass riff, enchanting keyboard, and an smooth bongo/drum beat. Overall, its a fairly slow, song and much less upbeat sounding then the first. I was in heaven during the last minute or drum madness!

Mediterranean Sundance. My favorite song on the album. This might be the fastest song on the album, with crazy shred like jazz fusion solos throughout and some wonderful dual harmonies between Di Meola and Paco, (Paco himself shows off some virtuoso skill). In fact this song is almost all them, with very little percussion or anything else for that matter. Sit back and enjoy the beautiful yet extremely fast paced harmonies and solos! A perfect song.

Race With Devil on Spanish Highway. My second favorite on the album, (and a close second) starts with a cool bass riff and some random, kind of heavy guitar, with bursts of speed. It is a very progressive song with crazy tempo and style changes throughout, and even in slower sections there are random bursts of jazz fusion. Shortly before 3 minutes one of the shred solos come in, followed by a slower ambient section mostly about the synth and drums. This song also has some of the grooviest bass riffs you'll hear. A little before 5 minutes is a frantic, insanely fast section with dual guitars, soon followed along by bass and keyboards. Nice ending as well.

Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil. A short transition song. Very soothing.

Elegant Gypsy Suite. A 9 minute song, this is also the most progressive on the album. Complex, layered, and runs the gambit of music. Anything you can imagine is on this song, and the musicianship can not be understated. They are all great, and each contribute perfectly. A very proggy, jazz fusion song that has some really weird sounding parts. What's not to love!?

Elegant Gypsy is one of those rare albums. One of those no doubt five star albums. It is short, but what does that really matter? What's here is amazing. I love every song, and have no problem listening to whole thing straight. There is no weak point with it really. Al is amazingly fast, yet smooth and can also play some wonderful melodies. Everyone contributes like a piece in a puzzle, making a whole picture. Classic jazz fusion album, and besides an important one to me, this really is superb music.

Five Stars