Customer Reviews

Splendido Hotel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The reviews I happened to read before logging this entry were so off the mark I felt compelled to comment. Not only is the song writing fresh and exciting but Al's blistering yet remarkably clean and crisp guitar gymnastics have an eye opening, throat claring, mind boggeling effect on anyone who appreciates fine musicianship! Al is simply stated an American Treasure!

I just purchased Splendido Hotel for $9.99 new! Years ago, I had the album on wax, but never did give it a good listen. I put the CD in my PC (at work, no less), and gave it a good listen. My conclusion? This album has something for everyone. Gang, it's not as bad as some of the reviewers have said. I actually like "I can tell" where Al sings (he sounds okay...), I like the music better (of course!). Get yourself an inexpensive copy and enjoy! Four stars...why?..."Elegant Gypsy" is head and shoulders over "Splendido Hotel!" That's why!!

Di Meola is awesome, his clean playing technique stands the test of time. While myself and many agree this album may not be in his top 5, it is a great album non the less. Al's fusion style is truly unique. This album is worth checking out if you like jazz fusion.

Please, if you get this CD skip over tracks 3 and 8... they are certainly the most annoying tracks ever on an Al CD.

The rest of it is great though...

When I first heard this album, I had to listen to it three or four times before I could listen to any other. The range that is expressed here is probably unparalleled in anything that he has done before or since. The opening track explodes with an Arabian sound mixed with the lightning fast fusion of the mid 1970's. Paired with his old band mate Chick Corea in "Tango For Two", the two weave an acoustic splendor with a crystal clear Latin punch. And there could be no other name for "Dinner Music Of The Gods", a big rumbling piece with plenty of fast rifs and bass drum action.

This guy puts out one great CD after another, how many more can he do ? More I hope. I'll get more

alien chase,two to tango, dinner music , and isfahan ( al's kashmir if you will) make this a worth while purchase

A lot has been said about Al DiMeola and his music outside of Return To Forever. Overall he tends to be viewed as a musician of extremes. He either embodies what are viewed as fusion's best or most unflattering qualities. And there's a lot of truth on both ends. He is a master musician with an ability and playing dexterity,from mild to wild that you could believe. On the other hand his music could be overly technical and sometimes presented him more as a musicians musician than anyone out to entertain or be intensely creative. Debates aside he entered the 80's at a time where even in fusion poppier,more compressed musical sounds such as the type Bob James and Quincy Jones were starting to pioneer became the acceptable standard. The question was would DiMeola,one of the purveyers of the most pyrotechical variety of fusion be able to adapt to the change. Actually he did an excellent job and delivered one of the strongest albums of his career.

This albums eleven songs find DiMeola moving through a series of songs in many different styles,mostly showcasing his more flamenco style of guitar playing as opposed to the rockier variety and,by and large avoiding anything too meladramatic. "Alien Chase On The Arabian Desert","Dinner Music Of The Gods" and the slower "Isfahan",all between 8 and 11 minutes a piece all have a strong late 70's/early 80's latin rock flavor similar to the kind of music you'd find on Santana's Marathon or Zebop from the same era. "Two Ta Tango" and "Splendido Sundance" both almost qualify as solo numbers,the former built largely on rhythmic plucking and the latter more on a fast paced flamenco based melody. "Al Di's Dream Theme" is an elaborate three section tune-starting out more in a jazz-funk vein and into more latin fusion and back to a latin rock style again it could be described as a mini suite,of sorts. "Silent Story In Her Eyes" and "Spanish Eyes" both have kind of a latin jazz-funk shuffle to them as are considerably more crafted than the loose instrumental oriented sound of DiMeola's earlier music.

Two songs on the album may not satify some people but are right up my alley. "Roller Jubilee" and "I Can Tell" both fall more into the jazz/funk vein with the first of these songs have a slight latin style disco flavor (especially in Anthony Jackson's basslines" and the later featuring a Michael McDonald-like keyboard melodic line and Al himself singing the lyrics. Much the same as with Larry Carlton and other guitarists in this genre who've attempted vocals it will likely never be counted as one of DiMeola's strongest talents. But despite what I hear on this he actually survives it without utterly embarrassing himself the way people like Stanley Clarke sometimes have when they first tried to sing. The album ends with "Bianca's Midnight Lullaby",another flamenco type number with musical references from all over the Mediterranean region-from Italy to Greece. So this album manges to be a clever combination between melodic jazz-funk/fusion and early world fusion sounds. In a way it bridges the sounds of jazz fusion from one decade to another and therefore has a strong influence on what other musicians in the genre would do for the coming decade.

for everyone who made him what he was at that point. There were obviously many influences on his music and this album is a nod to most if not all of them. Many artist when they are peaking success wise choose to see what they can get away with on an album, and thus we have "Splendido". The tunes with Chick Corea are sincere and well worth the price of admission. I would certainly disagree with people reviewing him as a "technician" on this album. I would consider this his most melodic album of that era.
I saw his band in Vancouver Canada in 1981, and I remember all these morons screaming out "Race with the Devil on Spanish Highway" because I guess they wanted to see if he could really play that live. It was at that moment that my own playing began to mature, and the realization that it's not how many notes you play but how well those notes are perceived by the people listening to you, finally hit home.

I am a huge fan of Al. As a teenager I wore out casino and elegant gypsy learning to play those songs. This record is his master piece. In the true sense of that term, it's someone playing at the very height of their tallent. This is what he was the best in the world at. If you want soft jazz or free form jazz look elsewhere. If you don't play guitar or someother instrument you very well might not be able to undersand what an accomplisment this record is. To denigrate this record as a whole is just rediculous. Al has moved on since this recording. His material is less awe inspiring now than this disc or elegant gypsy. But that is simply because THIS is what he was the very best at. To call him simply a good technician here as some reviewers have belies the fact that this music is highly emotional. If you were a musician and played this music you'd easily see how the amount of passion needed to play it is unmatched. Even so I truly cannot understand people who don't see his playing on a whole as emotional even if you never ever picked up an instrument. I was fourtunate to attend many of his shows during his time on columbia records, I can tell you that these were extrodinary events. I think that is not so much the case anymore with Al and that is the problem, you come to expect the level of excellence from someone that you know they are capable of.