 By the mid @-@ 1980s , both the Sextet and the Guitar Trio had reached its plateau and stopped performing together , although de Lucía would continue to perform with McLaughlin as a duo across Europe in 1986 and later . In a 1986 interview with Down Beat magazine , Di Meola said that the reason for the breakdown was that their performances were designed to " drive the audience berserk " with a display of astonishing virtuosity and that they had run out of new spectacular fast runs to impress the audiences . Di Meola remarked that the music had become too " wild and crazy " and that he preferred to explore the quieter side of music , something Paco also felt , saying that he preferred " controlled expression to velocity . " In May 1986 , he performed at the Centro de Bellas Artes Rock music festival alongside the likes of Earl Klugh , Spyro Gyra , and Dave Valentin . In 1987 , de Lucía performed for the first time in the Soviet Union , and went back to his roots with his highly successful release , Siroco . Siroco is often cited as his best album and one of the greatest flamenco albums of all time . 
