It's my opinion that neither Di Meola or McLaughlin belonged on the same stage with Paco, with McLaughlin being especially lost. Di Meola played the entire time using a pick and a steel string guitar.
It's clear though when listening to the album "Friday Night in San Francisco" the audience response to Paco is overwhelming. And whether it is rhythm or lead playing Paco's mastery over the others is clearly on display.
Di Meola is no slouch on the guitar by any means, but coming from an electric guitar style background his lead runs on the record just do not have the same fluidity or depth that Paco's leads have. The Ovation steel string guitar also gave his notes a kind of tinny sound.
Di Meola has been regaled and sometimes criticized for playing fast just for the sake of playing fast. His style was satirized by Frank Zappa in the song Packard Goose, where near the end the vocals say "Sounds like an Elegant Gypsy" (Elegant Gypsy was the title of Di Meola's 2nd album) while Zappa plays sarcastically staccato runs.
Zappa did later invite DiMeola on stage to jam with his band.
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