Al Di Meola

Hootsmon

This clip from '24 is really quite pedestrian for Al, compared to his previous recordings and performances of same piece....I guess it could be the FX of his recent heart problems IDK...Stay well Al

Fingers657

I wouldn’t mind being called pedestrian if I could play as brilliantly as Al .
I can highly recommend his two brilliant Beatles tribute albums.

Jez6345789

I must have missed the memo about the heart attack, he seems a little less precise than perhaps he used to be but have not seen him live in over 20 years so not a lot of reference. As much as I like the earlier stuff I skimmed some more recent stuff and it seems to leave a bit cold. 

Philly_Q

I've never seen anyone playing live with a load of plexiglass screens like that.

Hootsmon

Joe Bon has 'em in front of his Fender amps

DefaultM

Sounds like maybe he's lost his confidence. His runs don't have the usual energy. 

Barney

He's a great player but does seem to be struggling a bit there.  

EricTheWeary

Philly_Q said:

I've never seen anyone playing live with a load of plexiglass screens like that.

It’s actually a clip from when Al appeared on Mock The Week in 2020. 

Litterick

He has kept his hair (or someone else's).

boogieman

Litterick said:

He has kept his hair (or someone else's).

He’s worn wigs/hair units for decades. 

guitarmangler

I’m not sure how he plays that stuff with his fingers that far off the fingerboard? I’ve always assumed his fingers would need to be as economical as possible? Love elegant gypsy, casino and electric rendezvous.

boogieman

guitarmangler said:

I’m not sure how he plays that stuff with his fingers that far off the fingerboard? I’ve always assumed his fingers would need to be as economical as possible? Love elegant gypsy, casino and electric rendezvous.

He’s got a really unusual style all round. He plays a lot of damped notes, apparently because he used to try to keep the volume down when he was practicing as a kid at home. 

I’ve got a lot of his earlier stuff too. I still think Elegant Gypsy is his best solo album but for me he was absolutely at his best in his time with Return to Forever. Romantic Warrior is a beast of an album.