***** The Thirteen Petalled Rose by Adin Steinsaltz - One of The Best Books of This Generation of Judaism

I read a lot about Judaism.  Though I am not a Jew, I usually practice as much Judaism as I can because in my heart I know that the Torah is true because I believe G-d spoke to me during a difficult time in my life, and He completely changed my life through guiding me to find real world cures.  That is an introduction to me, so you know a little about where I come from.

I found The Thirteen Petalled Rose to be among the highest quality writings that Judaism has ever produced.  Another book that is on par with this book is Tzvi Freeman's Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, which in another review I said that this book should be added to the canon.  Maybe not the canon with The Thirteen Petalled Rose, but we should know that this one is at least considerable as a classic.  The Thirteen Petalled Rose is also up there with the books of Tanya by R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi, and the Mishneh by R. Judah the Prince.  This is really good stuff, and as such I give The Thirteen Petalled Rose my highest recommendation.

**** Friday Night in San Francisco by Al di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia – A Bad Moment Nearly Ruins It

A really bad moment on track 2 stole the show, literally.  For the most part the audience is into it, but the audience cheers the loudest during the most simple part of the cd, a mere 12 bar blues without any solo.  If I could merely edit out that part, then this album would rate a 6 out 5 possible stars.  Really though, this album doesn’t have enough tracks on it to keep something on track 2 that only a loser would like.

That makes me think two things about this album.  The first is that, maybe this audience was so trashed and drunk that they couldn’t tell what parts of the music were good.  The second is that, maybe this audience is completely tone deaf like most Americans are.  America is terrible at educating most of its high school students in the arts.  The result is that people act like parrots, such that when someone with credentials from the Baby Boomer Generation recommends something they listen, but the problem is that they don’t appreciate it.  Most of America even at the college level doesn’t know the difference between major and minor, and that is pathetic.  Take it from me.  I stopped listening to popular music in 8^th grade in favor of stuff that usually took more skill to play, though I do admit listening to Nirvana.

Other than that, this Saturday Night in San Francisco is magnificent.  It is a rare moment in history: A summit of the best known flamenco guitarists that may very well have been the best in the world when this album was cut.  These days often times it doesn’t matter how good you are.  You could be unknown and the best guitar player in the world at the same time.  I know of no other album that blends the skills of guitar in this style as well as this one.

Audience aside, it is a true gem, but it is a gem with a giant blemish.  Imagine a huge diamond that at its center has a colossal malformation.  That malformation is the audience cheering its loudest on the entire cd for the part that is the worst, and most contrived deformity, and should be thought of as an embarrassment to musicians everywhere.

The best track on this album is track 3.  I haven’t heard the song elsewhere, and so it is extra special in comparison to the other songs which if I recall correctly I was already well familiar with them before this live disc.