It never gets fiercer in the high school cafeteria than during a good ol' Greatest Guitarist of All-Time Debate. In between sandwich bites, someone makes an innocent comment about Jack White being the all-time greatest and -- BOOM -- you instantly got yo’ self lunchtime entertainment! The next thing you know, the kid with kind of long hair brings up Jimi; the angry kid wearing a black shirt makes his case for Kirk Hammett; the slacker kid in tie-dye throws Jerry Garcia in the mix; the kid with the older brothers mouths off about Yngwie Malmsteen; and inevitably, that lonely, awkward kid will come over and get worked up about John Petrucci.
Since American youth is typically enamored with the fastest and the loudest, the “greatest guitarists” normally come from the rock ‘n’ roll universe, unfortunately shortchanging the vast talent pool in other genres. I imagine that a high schooler would probably get punched in the crotch if, as a 15-year-old, he advocated for 1970s fusion jazz guitarists that (gasp!) his parents may have seen live. Unlike the “fastest is best” mentality of the rock world, jazz talent is typically merited upon rhythmic shifts, collaborative backing, and the melodic creativity of the improvisations. As solo artists, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco De Lucia’s music is not necessarily accessible by pre-driving license rock ‘n’ roll standards; but when in their collaborative trio, their shared tendency for constant, over-the-top one-upmanship should theoretically appeal to those who are enamored with guitar virtuosity. Especially on 1981 live album Friday in San Francisco, these three guitar greats transcend jazz stereotypes and rock out (acoustically) to make their respective cases for the greatest of all-time.
Originally recorded in late 1980, Al Di Meola (gypsy, Latin jazz legend) and John McLaughlin (fusion, electric jazz legend) teamed up with Paco De Lucia (Spanish flamenco legend) to record a live album and kickstart an ongoing joint tour. The five songs (the first four on the CD are from the actual concert, while the fifth is a studio recording thrown on the album for good luck) pair the trio in each possible twosome combination and together as a whole trio. Simply, Friday Night in San Francisco is a spectacular demonstration of what human beings can do with a guitar. The solos are mind-blowingly fast, the performance timing is tight, and even the backing Latin rhythmic guitar patterns are impressively difficult. Scales get climbed, strums become sonic blurs, and guess what – the assuredly laid-back (and probably culturally pompous) San Fran jazz crowd goes apeshit throughout the entire show! Careful not to take themselves TOO seriously, there are even lighthearted moments, such as Al and John's break into the “Pink Panther Theme” during the Chick Corea-composed “Short Tales of the Black Forest.”
During its more user-friendly sections, Friday Night conjures tender images of drinking sangria on hot nights alongside Spanish cobblestone streets, all before transitioning to a frantic solo, faster and more extended than the one before. So, those who will most enjoy this album are other guitarists. In fact, the entire 41 minutes are tough to appreciate (and be passionate about) unless you have tried strumming an acoustic. Demonstrating a wide stylistic range, each song is based upon lovely melodies, but the album is not necessarily intended to be “beautiful;” if you want bachelor pad music, go purchase Di Meola’s Elegant Gypsy. No, Friday Night is more akin to a “biggest is best” Las Vegas casino than a romantic European villa. From the first minute, Al, John, and Paco pull out all the stops – blazing past traditional flamenco/Latin jazz subtleties like patient buildups or overwrought dramatic tension in favor of cock-out showmanship.
Now, to keep up the high school debate theme, I've purposely avoided the nitty gritty guitar details of chromatics, melodic minors, and ethnic pentatonics that the “more Guitar Center than thou” crowd will use to rate this performance. Staying on our teenage level, I heard that Paco was, like, playing so fast that he literally burnt his fingertops off from all the string friction! Yuh huh! I read it online, assface! But seriously, playing an acoustic guitar in a live setting (without the benefit of amplification, excessive studio manipulation, or a backing band) is leaps and bounds more impressive than how most other “greatest guitarists” make their mark. Friday Night in San Francisco is the album that all young, aspiring guitarists should listen to right before they quit. No greater heights can be achieved on Meola, McLaughlin, and Lucia's instrument, so you might as well stop practicing and focus your efforts on accounting, dentistry, or another field where you stand at least a remote chance of making a mark some day.
