Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Al Di Meola, earMUSIC 2020.
Al Di Meola is one of the world’s great guitarists.
I first came across his work in 1976 when I purchased his Land Of The Midnight Sun album and I have followed his 50+ year career, through his involvement with jazz giants Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Stanley Clarke, and particularly his collaboration with John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, with great interest.
Al Di Meola is a master craftsman and adept at playing many different guitar styles including Flamenco, as his work with the wonderful Paco De Lucia testifies.
Indeed, his list of collaborators is a who’s who of the world’s greatest musicians including: Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Santana, Steve Winwood, Frank Zappa and even Luciano Pavarotti.
Di Meola’s love of complex rhythmic syncopation combined with memorable melody and harmony led him naturally to The Beatles.
In 2013 he released the highly successful All Your Life: A Tribute To The Beatles and this album is the follow-up to that release.
Being both a guitarist and Beatles fan, I am naturally drawn to these albums.
Beatles fans will know that the album title is taken from the John Lennon-penned song of the same name which was on the Beatles Let It Be release and Al Di Meola credits The Beatles as the reason he started playing guitar.
He says, “The Beatles were a major catalyst for me to want to learn music, so their impact was pretty strong.”
In a way you could say that Across The Universe (along with the earlier album) is a love letter to the enduring legacy of a band that changed the course of modern music.
Di Meola’s track selection is interesting in its diversity.
The big hits are there, Yesterday, Hey Jude, Norwegian Wood and Strawberry Fields Forever for example, but so are lesser known numbers like Your Mother Should Know from the Magical Mystery Tour EP, Mother Nature’s Son from the White Album and even I’ll Follow The Sun, from the early Beatles For Sale album.
Across The Universe is due for release on March 13 and I have already put in my order. I suggest that all Beatles fans do likewise and, while you’re about it, back order All Your Life: A Tribute To The Beatles.
