Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
The samples suggest the same old Vicente formula... Start with a rumba and throw another bolero in there! He could play anything with those incredibly blessed hands that someone really ought to compose for him. I think that's probably what happened on Nina Pastori's recent album, Esperando Verte, where he made a good appearance... that or he sounds better in the context of a well produced song. I always liked better his work with good singers anyway, like Remedios Amaya's album, about which I can gush for days!!! But anyway, check Pastori's album out if you haven't. It's nice, with Diego del Morao, too.
p.s. Other recent appearances include a spare but very sweet C# accompaniment on Lole Montoya's bulerias "El Regalo" from her last album and on a bulerias of a guy named Manuel Cuevas.
Its out in Spain tuesday or weds next week I think. I'm going to get my hands on a copy as soon as I can. I am just hoping its not going to be another easy listening Bolero/jazz record.
just hoping its not going to be another easy listening Bolero/jazz record.
I am not sure it is as scary as that, Pimientito; however, if you scroll down the page, you can listen to a short teaser.... rarely a word (teaser) would describe so well both the taunting duration of the tracks and their nature. http://imusic.libero.it/compilation.php?icom_id=205058&iart_id=1170
From the little I could take from such limited resource, i am already disappointed. I had been anticipating a new Veicente Amigo's effort. There does't seem to be anything new, really, while the "easy-listening Bolero/Jazz" formula (feared by Pimientito), which in his previous work counterweighed the now legendary Callejon de Luna, Tio Arango, Morente or Ojos de la Alhambra, corrupts most of his album.
I have evrery recording this Artist released, and will probably add this as well. But in this instance it will be out of a collection needs, and general respect for an artist i adore for all he's done so far.
A lot of folks feel that a solo guitarist needs to "reinvent" himself and his style every new recording....like Paco de Lucia does....but honestly it does not happen that way. I mean Paco is super unique. Sabicas played the same stuff and even recorded the same stuff, from the time he was like in his 20's, to the time he died in the 90's. Tomatito still plays the same falsetsas live as in that video from 1980. He probably creates stuff new in the studio....and forgets it. But stylistically he is about the same. Nunez plays the same stuff as Gallo Azul, and infact re recorded a lot of that on Calima. his newest stuff as things he recorded for dance shows years before too....
So when i heard Vicente's last album I really felt that it is clear his style is pretty much set in stone. I heard a mix of the same ideas presented on his first 3 albums...extensions of the same pieces recorded already...and infact live he is able to stick them together that way too. I dont' have a problem with that at all....and in fact have not really been so worried about "what will he do next". There is plenty to study from his first and second record for me. I dont' need "brand new stuff" form anybody. Flamenco guitar is really too hard for that.
Of course I am looking forward to whatever Paco produces next....but again Paco is quite unique and able to reinvent himself constantly....which is why with each new album he loses those that are too in love with his previous offerings...and picks up new fans at the same time. But I dont' really expect such a thing from any other flamenco player.
meanwhile there is some good cante out there....Jesus Mendez for one was surprisingly good...
Maybe thats the reason why he gave no interview and there was no big promotion for this CD. Maybe Vicente had these compositions as leftover from his CD before. There was not enough space or the compositions weren't good enough. But he dont want to throw all compositions in the bin, so he publishes it... I also listened to the audios and.. it sounds like his album before. I like it, but Michelob is right, there seems to be no new things neither a next step...
I also read an interview with Tomatito in the early 2008. He said in the winter of 2008 he will publish a new CD where he mainly focuses on playing for singing. It didn't appear so far.. I hope it comes out in the next months.
I actually liked it a lot after listening to it a few times. You need to listen to the composition and not just the overlying melody, similar instruments used etc that makes it sound similar to the other stuff he has done before. It's definitely Vicente and a lot of technicality that I can hear with similar approach but different ideas. I think my favorite of his work is still Vivencias Imaginadas but they are all masterpieces in my book.
His technique IMO was already up there or fully developed in Vivencias so everything else he wrote after that was more about the composition...it seems Vicente's strength is more about making his pieces musical anyway over technical wizardry compared to guys like Jeronimo etc that took many years to complete one album..nothing wrong with it. I think one of the biggest things that Vicente has achieved in his last 3 albums was the production in the studio...to me its just incredible and I heard he produces everything himself - another one of his gifts. Like Ricardo says its very difficult to invent yourself like Paco..yet another reason why I think PdL is from another planet!LOL I'll be buying this album when it comes out!
Jazz and bolero formula - so is that what Vicente used on Ciudad de las Ideas? Because honestly, I'm fine with that. Among his most brilliant stuff so far.
Un Momento en el Sonido I was less a fan of, but still totally worth it for that one farruca I have a feeling this new one will be more like that, but I'm sure it's good stuff.
I just thought about it and i realized that unconsciously i also am expecting too much from all these guitarists whenever there is a new album. I always expect something totally surprising - completely new - still flamenco - expecting to get goose bumbs from each and every falseta and so on - ,,,,,,,,like an indulged child.
Thats really unfair and not realistic. These are musicians and not magicians (Only Paco is both ).
The problem is maybe that we have heard so many recordings over and over again from all these guitarists for such a long time that we somehow miss that initial childlike surprise and joy at the beginning of our flamenco "life". Like an adrenalin addicted sportsmen who needs more and new challenges to get the same kick.
Also we have to consider that we forget that the process of composing is not a steady predictable development but something very difficult and very personal. It could be that a musician has no inspiration for a couple of years because of circumstances in his life or whatever and then suddenly he can come up with 2 full albums of breath taking ideas .....
I listened to some tracks. Seems there are 3 bulerias (one slow minor key version, on C# mandaito style, and one orchestrated composition) and the rest rumbas. But very good sound and mix.
You know, I actually like the "Vicente Amigo formula" - simply because while it surely might be controversial in the flamenco context, there's nobody else doing it as well as he does. And I appreciate someone doing something different - now if everyone was trying to copy Amigo, that would be something else. But as it is, I think the niche he has carved himself has some merit.
i was listening to number 7 and writing something when i saw simon's avatar (which was in the background) sync up with the music. LOL. check it out! he falls out of compas a lot though.
im digging the cd. it's coming to me easier than his other cds.
How do you listen to the album on Deezer? I try clicking the song titles but nada happens. I have a feeling it might be a Mac issue, it's not working in Firefox or Safari..... off to try on a Windows machine but any tips?
Some other albums on the site work just fine, at least a few songs. I don't know why it's grayed out for this one. Maybe they blocked it recently? Can other people still access the album? Did anyone rip the MP3s?
I'm actually really digging this album. Yeah, it's a bit less solidly flamenco than whatever, say, Gerardo or Tomatito or Paco puts out, but there's so many albums like that out there, this Vicente stuff - really well composed, beautifully orchestrated - is refreshing. There are a lot of great tracks on there.
It's probably not as good as Ciudad de las Ideas - there are just too many incomparable classics on that - and it's difficult to compare to his early stuff, but I'd at the very least say this is the album Un Momento en el Sonido should have been.
Printable Version
He could play anything with those incredibly blessed hands that someone really ought to compose for him. I think that's probably what happened on Nina Pastori's recent album, Esperando Verte, where he made a good appearance... that or he sounds better in the context of a well produced song. I always liked better his work with good singers anyway, like Remedios Amaya's album, about which I can gush for days!!! But anyway, check Pastori's album out if you haven't. It's nice, with Diego del Morao, too. 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread