Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Eleanor Rigby" by Al Di Meola.
The track is from Di Meola's new album of Beatles covers, All Your Life, which will be released September 10 by Valiana Music and Media/Songsurfer.
"Had [the Beatles] not existed, I probably would be, who knows, a fireman today or some other job," Di Meola says. "And beyond just me, they changed the whole world. There is no music in my lifetime that made as huge an impact on the world like that of the Beatles. What they did to modern pop music in the '60s changed everything."
All Your Life was recorded in analog at Abbey Road Studios in London, where the Beatles recorded the bulk of their studio output. The album features 14 Beatles tunes in a stripped-down, strictly acoustic setting.
On some tracks, like "In My Life" and "Because," he overdubs three guitars. Others, like "Penny Lane," "I Am The Walrus" and "I Will," feature two guitars. And while "Eleanor Rigby" features a string quartet, "And I Love Her," "Blackbird" and "If I Fell" feature a single guitar track. All the percussion heard on the album is Di Meola slapping his guitar or strumming muted strings.
"I've come full circle with this," Di Meola says. "I started out my life loving the Beatles, and I never stopped, just like a lot of so many other guitarists from my generation. In the middle, we all went into whatever music we pursued in our careers — fusion, jazz, whatever it might be. We all wanted to further our craft. But when you come back to the Beatles' music, it's like, 'Man, this stuff is still happening! All of it!'"
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
