All of these pieces show the influence of Venezuelan folksong and dance, an intoxicating mixture of European forms such as the waltz and fandango married to native Indian and African rhythms and melodies. You won't hear much Strauss, for example, in the Venezuelan version of the waltz, which is much faster and more rhythmically intricate, and while most of these pieces are quite short and simple, what they lack in formal complexity they make up for in sheer energy and rhythmic gusto.

Several of these little gems, including the title work El Diablo suelto by Heraclio Fernández, Pedro Elías Gutiérrez's Alma Llanera, and Lauro's Nelly and El Marabino, call for the accompaniment of a second, small guitar (cuatro), here admirably played by Alfonso Montes; but in all of the remaining 22 tracks John Williams offers exceptional solo playing that is both rhythmically charged and lyrically impulsive. The concluding piece, Alfonso Montes' Preludio de Adíos, one of the few slow and reflective numbers here, has a particularly wistful charm that Williams captures perfectly.

There are mountains of guitar recordings on today's market, many of which feature music by Venezuelan composers (Lauro in particular), and even Alirio Díaz himself made several discs for Vanguard that were reissued on CD several years ago that may at some point return to the catalog, but it would be difficult to imagine a finer tribute to a remarkable and appealing musical tradition than this one. Sony's engineers offer extremely close-up, realistic sound that puts the players right in front of you--but happily Williams can withstand the scrutiny, and there's virtually no distracting squeaking of fingers across the frets such as mars so many guitar recitals. In a word: brilliant. [9/13/2003]