Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucía – Friday Night In San Francisco (Music On Vinyl, Purple Vinyl)

Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía's Friday Night In San Francisco captures three very different guitar voices meeting in public at just the right moment. Recorded at the Warfield Theatre on December 5, 1980 and released in 1981, the album brought Di Meola's jazz-fusion precision, McLaughlin's restless cross-genre approach and de Lucía's flamenco brilliance into the same acoustic setting. Its reputation has endured partly because it opened de Lucía's playing to a much wider international audience beyond Spain.

What still stands out is how little this feels like a polite all-star summit. The long, fast-moving interplay on Mediterranean Sundance / Rio Ancho is the obvious centrepiece, but the record works just as well when the three players shift from competition to conversation, whether on the witty turns of Short Tales Of The Black Forest or the more lyrical close of Guardian Angel. With only five performances, it keeps the focus tightly on touch, timing and sheer ensemble spark.

This edition also helps explain why the album keeps returning to vinyl. The 2025 Music On Vinyl pressing presents the set as a limited run of 1000 individually numbered copies, giving a durable live favourite a distinctive collectible edition rather than just another catalogue repress.

Features

• 180g, Music On Vinyl, Purple Vinyl, Limited Edition
• Limited to 1000 individually numbered copies
• Includes insert
• Deluxe sleeve with linen laminate finish