Nylon & Steel

The tracks on this recording vary from exuberant latin-american jazz - like 'Beyond The Mirage' - to more introspective music like 'The Grand Passion'. 'Northern Lights'is very sensitive as well, it makes you a little bit melancholic.Between all the noisy dance-music we have nowadays, 'Nylon & Steel' is an oasis of qualityand high standard.(Though there is no classical music played on this CD - apart from Villa-Lobos - don't let that spoil the fun).Something about this music reminds me of the piano-music of Brad Mehldau: it sounds familiar and at the same time it's unique.

Not to be missed. A nice collection of modern Classical guitar music.

I now have two copies of this album and they both have nasty flaws audible on the first three cuts. Oh well, bad masters I guess.

The biggest problem with this cd is Manuel's inability to improvise or keep up with the two speed demons DiMeola and Morse. I'm actually a bigger fan of classical guitar and was looking forward to this release to see what a classically trained guitarist could come up with, but the best two tunes are the first and last where Barrueco plays solo. The set with DiMeola is taken at a much slower tempo than Al usually plays; you can tell he's holding back; and then on top of that the improvised sections are conspicously reduced, the result being a very "composed" feel that's sadly repetitive. Likewise, the Morse set opens with Barrueco playing a Villa-Lobos "standard" with Morse burning over top (possibly the most interesting track on the cd), but then degenerates into an overly sentimental "Cavatina" with Steve gently arpeggiating over Manuel's single note melody. The best match is probably with Summers, where both are free to noodle around without getting in each others way or saying much in the process. The liner notes mentions Summers appreciation of Steve Reich's music, and that's how the last set sounds; like an ECM/New Age cd. Most of the music is very gentle to hear and if you want something soothing in the background, go ahead; but if you want to hear true guitar interplay, get either Coryell/Remler's cd "Together" or Jim and Doug Raney's duet cd. This meeting of the minds doesn't do justice to any of the players and proves there's more to making great music then just putting a couple of great guitarists together.

Except for the two Barrueco solos, this CD made me nauseous!!!Listening to it reminded me why I stopped listening to most improvised music.Throughout tracks 2 to 4, DiMeola struggles futilely to come up with anything but comical latin cliches. DiMeola's mindless noodling is an affront to Barrueco's musicality. Summers playing on the other hand, while somewhat musical, is mostly syrup.Villa-Lobos' Etude 1 duet hurt the most. I have played this piece for years and, though an etude, I find it quite entertaining (as do most classical guitarists I think). During most of the piece, Morse simply plays scale-exercise filler and obliterates all the musical ideas in the piece. Listen, Villa-Lobos was one of the most original and masterful composers of this century. It is criminal to think that playing this electronic fluff over Villa-Lobos' etude does it justice.A word to the uninitiated - buy Sergio and Odair Assad's "Latin Music for Two Guitars" and learn something about the depth and beauty of serious latin guitar music.

This is a very interesting combination of the classical and rock/jazz worlds of guitar playing. All four guitarists have amazing chops and they're all quite tasteful on this recording. If you're a fan of Barrueco, DiMeola, Morse, or Summers, check out this CD. I had heard Barrueco and Summers before, and knew of DiMeola and Morse by reputation, so I had an idea of what to expect...but "Nylon & Steel" surpassed those expectations. Very cool, indeed.

Everything was perfect and on time

This is nothing more than a collection of jam sessions with various guitarists. Mindless gibberish made in a garage by bored musicians who hatched up a plan to scam their fans out of $ by releasing their worthless strumming. They should've kept these tracks where they belonged, in a closet.

The best bits are Barrueco's solo pieces and the duets with Al di Meola. The very low point is the Wolvesville duet with Steve Morse, with heavily distorted electric over the top of Villa-lobos's first etude. The duets with Morse are the most disappointing part of the disc - on Cavatina his playing is not intrusive but adds nothing to Barrueco playing the standard guitar solo. The duets with Andy Summers are original compositions - pleasant but not especially memorable.

アルディ・メオラ、スティーブ・モリス、アンディ・サマーズとのデュオ。どんなことを期待したのか、作成の意図がわからなかった。「カバティーナ」にいたっては、メロディをバルエコが、伴奏をモリスが無駄に分担し、明らかに失敗している。思わずJ.ウィリアムズ独奏のカバティーナを渇望した。勿論バルエコは、再び同じ企画に乗じることはなかった‥