STANLEY CLARKE, AL DI MEOLA & JEAN-LUC PONTY: THE RITE OF STRINGS

I do like this album but to be honest if i'd known it was an acoustic record I would have passed. I'm just not a fan of unplugged albums, i'd rather have Geddy screaming in one ear and Peart pounding his drums in the other if you know what I mean. We do have 3 Fusion legends though in DiMeola, Clarke and Ponty but how much better would this have been if it was electric and Cobham was on the kit ? Oh well, like I said I do like it, but an hour of acoustic music just makes me start to twitch and blink a lot. Not a good sign.

"Indigo" is a good opener with the bass and guitar opening things as the violin joins in before a minute.They all play so tastefully here. Nice bass 4 1/2 minutes in. "Renassaince" sounds really good before a minute with the deep bass, intricate guitar and violin coming and going. "Song To John" is the only track that was partly composed by someone outside this group, namely Chick Corea (with Clarke's help). And the John in the title is John Coltrane. It doesn't really kick in in until around 1 1/2 minutes.The tempo eventually picks up.

"Chilean Pipe Song" kicks in before a minute. Nice bass again before 2 1/2 minutes. "Topanga" has this pastoral, laid back sound. The violin is prominant after 4 1/2 minutes to end it. "Morocco" opens with guitar and bass. It kicks in with violin before a minute. Some clapping too. I like the tasteful violin playing over the bass and guitar in "Change Of Life". "La Cancion De Sofia" is another mellow tune until it changes 3 1/2 minutes in. Some impressive guitar here. "Memory Canyon" is one of the best songs. Check out the guitar / bass 3 1/2 minutes in. More great guitar 5 1/2 minutes in.

This was released in 1995 so most of my favourite performances from these three guys happened 20 years earlier. This is certainly more mature, it just does little for me.