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Speaking of racing with the devil, Al Di Meola is a big favorite of mine. I prefer his later work, where he went acoustic and explored Latin and world music. His albums under the name World Sinfonia are desert island-quality for me. But he is most known for his ’70s electric jazz fusion work. Many metal shredders cite Di Meola as an influence: Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore, John Petrucci, Gus G. (Ozzy’s new guitarist, perhaps?), Michael Romeo, Marc Rizzo, Kevin Hufnagel, Rodrigo y Gabriela. Di Meola’s trademark is his incredible picking speed and precision. You can hear it on “Race with Devil on Spanish Highway,” from his hit album Elegant Gypsy (Columbia, 1977). New York metallers Riot (infamous for their white furry-headed mascot — see here, here, and here) covered it on 1990’s The Privilege of Power. So did James Murphy, of Obituary and Death fame, on his 1999 solo album Feeding the Machine. (The mighty Steve DiGiorgio was on bass.) Neither did a particularly good job — Murphy’s tones were absurdly overdriven — but they had the speed down, and the tributes were heartfelt. Someone even made a Guitar Hero chart for this song. Face-melting!
“Race with Devil on Spanish Highway”
Wow. I never thought I'd see Al Di Meola mentioned here. Not a big fan of Electric Gypsy, actually…that whole sunglasses and chest hair thing seems so smug. But his stuff with Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin is smoking. Friday Night in San Francisco is one of the greatest live albums ever.
Anon, I'm one of the few who don't care much for Friday Night in San Francisco. It felt a bit like gratuitous shredding to me. I like their Passion, Grace & Fire studio disc, which was less over-the-top.
I do so love that song. Even the Riot cover was pretty good.