1978's Casino is his third solo album, which sports such a tasteless cover you may expect some horrific lounge jazz/fuzak, but I am happy to say it's nothing of the sort. I can understand why I stayed away from Al Di Meola solo albums, but looking back, this is a prime example not to judge a book by its cover. I mean, a regular solo guitar album of unfamiliar compositions would probably tire me on the long run. Despite the above mentioned risk of sounding inferior to the original songs, it's a certainty that knowing the compositions helps me to enjoy this album. Elsewhere it's often the ripped-down approach that brings up the song's melodic essence in a fresh way, for example the closing piece 'She's Leaving Home'. A special mention for 'Eleanor Rigby' which sounds like there was a string section. If I felt somewhat disappointed by the opening track 'In My Life' featuring the hand clapping, during the 54-minute album I began to enjoy the music more and more. Al Di Meola's skills on the acoustic guitar are awesome, and his arrangements are inspired and as rich as pieces for a solo instrument can possibly be.

Artistically, this is one the most succesful of the few Beatles cover albums I've listened to. That's the price to pay when dealing with such well-known and heavily covered stuff.

Kite' are so rich sonically that a solo guitar interpretation may feel rather inferior in comparison. The Beatles originals such as 'A Day in the Life' and 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. 1965-67 era for example four pieces from Sgt. Sadly there aren't much from the two final Beatles albums either, only 'Because' from Abbey Road. The selection of 14 Lennon/McCartney songs - no George Harrison compositions included - is in my opinion fairly nice if not truly ideal. Some tunes also feature his co-producer Hernan Romero on hand claps and chaca rhythm. 'It simply was a search to find a way to combine my world (whatever that is) into theirs, as I set out to do when I recorded the solo guitar CD of Piazzolla in 2006', Di Meola writes in his liner notes in which he praises the personal and universal importance of The Beatles, his excitement to work in the Abbey Road studios and his haphazard meeting with Paul McCartney in Hampton in May 2012. Doing a tribute album of The Beatles songs had been a long-time dream for Al Di Meola, one of the most respected fusion guitarists all time.

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