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.
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to TrickyFish)
El Indio Gitano – Nací Gitano Por La Gracia De Dios Must listen album.
Another must listen album would be Santiago Donday's album with Paco Cepero.
About so called landmark recordings, how about early albums from Paco de Lucia and Camaron?
Personally I prefer the lesser known flamenco albums, some of them are really incredible. Many albums like this can be found in other genres also, I mean little known albums that are better than the mainstream in some ways.
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to TrickyFish)
To me Antologia de Cante albums are a must.
Magna Antología de Cante Flamenco 10 CD Label: HISPAVOX Medio Siglo de Cante Flamenco 4 CD Label: ARIOLA Antología de Cante Flamenco 8 CD Label: Serlibro
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to TrickyFish)
There really isn’t an answer for this, and any choices for seminal works are bound to be highly personalized, but I’ll give three ‘starter kit’ or ‘gateway’ recommendations:
‘Tauromagia’ by Manolo Sanlúcar ‘Almoraima’ by Paco de Lucía ‘La Leyenda del Tiempo’ by Camarón de la Isla
The last one might be a tad debatable, but undoubtedly was a landmark.
To be more general, almost anything by Camarón with Paco de Lucía or any solo work by Paco de Lucía could be considered seminal. There are others, of course.
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to TrickyFish)
Believe it or not, streaming services such as Apple Music have a lot of flamenco. For any selection, there will generally be suggestions for similar artists, so you can spend some time exploring. You can also listen to curated lists.
Then there is Canal Sur’s FlamencoRadio if you want to listen to a variety in the background. You’ll have to google this one. Listening to the radio is good if you are learning Spanish, as it helps tune your ear to everyday speech, so that’s a bonus.
If you like the concept of building knowledge of the forms, in addition to the selection Morante recommended, you could listen to Manolo Caracol and Melchor de Morena’s “Una Historia del Cante”. Caracol was one of the greatest Cantaors of the last century, from the epochs preceding Camarón. Melchor de Morena* was no slouch on guitar, either. Other great cantaors did similar works.
Another thing worth mentioning is don’t be afraid to find and listen to stuff that you actually enjoy. By this I mean there will be some time spent tuning your ear and acquiring tastes, not unlike developing your nose or mouth to wines or whiskeys, where new flavours and scents may take some effort to recognize and appreciate. An artist like José Mercé put out a lot of music at the beginning of this century that he called “Flamenco for everyone” which mixed traditional forms with more contemporary selections. These are well produced and highly listenable albums featuring some of the best performers on accompaniment, such as Vicente Amigo and Moraito on guitar, and can help initiate you into the broader world of flamenco.
*<correction> Melchor de Marchena. Thanks Ricardo.
Posts: 357
Joined: Dec. 5 2008
From: New Jersey USA
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to TrickyFish)
If your interest lies in traditional cante, or you find you are drawn to it, the series of CDs released by Le Chant du Monde featuring an individual singer per disc are excellent. They are titled Grands Cantaores du Flamenco, and include most of the greatest singers of the mid-20th century.
A favorite album of mine is the classic Decca LP Danzas Flamencas, put together in Madrid in the mid-1950s by Jose Greco and featuring Rafael Romero and Manolita de Jerez singing, often accompanied tastefully by Greco dancing, probably the finest recording he ever made, and a wonderful example of the mix of guitar, song, and dance as might have been featured in a tablao. The guitarist(s)? are not identified but likely included Triguito, who was a favored accompanist for Manolita.
Some others are Cante Gitano, Nimbus NI 5168; Early Cante Flamenco, Arhoolie CD-326; Terremoto de Jerez, a Philips CD; and the 2-CD compilation Ellas dan El Cante, Mujeres en el Flamenco, rtve Musica 62095.
There are more, but that's a start.
_____________________________
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.
Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to runner)
quote:
A favorite album of mine is the classic Decca LP Danzas Flamencas, put together in Madrid in the mid-1950s by Jose Greco and featuring Rafael Romero and Manolita de Jerez singing, often accompanied tastefully by Greco dancing, probably the finest recording he ever made, and a wonderful example of the mix of guitar, song, and dance as might have been featured in a tablao. The guitarist(s)? are not identified but likely included Triguito, who was a favored accompanist for Manolita.
Jose Greco and his dance troupe are not much mentioned in this or any other flamenco fora. Nevertheless, a teen-aged Paco de Lucia toured with the Jose Greco Flamenco Dance Troupe in the early sixties. It was around 1963-64, that Paco met both Sabicas and Mario Escudero in New York City while with Jose Greco. Both, of course, became early mentors to Paco.
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Posts: 357
Joined: Dec. 5 2008
From: New Jersey USA
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to TrickyFish)
More about Paco, Pepe, and Jose Greco. If one listens to the brothers as Los Chiquitos de Algeciras as the brothers were in 1962, and then goes to YouTube and keys in Jose Greco El Alma del Flamenco, you will come up with 4 tracks, very clearly recorded, that may well feature Paco and Pepe some years later, when Pepe's voice deepened and matured. The tracks are Llanto Andaluz, Punta Umbria, La Isla and Aires de la Caleta. Nothing is identified, but my notion is that we are hearing the brothers as members of Greco's company and doing some tasty stuff. Greco was many things--certainly an egomaniac who often kept the identities of many in his troupe a deep, dark secret--virtually no gitano singers or guitarists are named in his autobiography--but these unusual recordings show him to have been generally a man of taste in his more private moments.
I would be interested if others also believe that the brothers are the artists in these recordings.
_____________________________
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.
Posts: 3487
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: Must-listen Flamenco albums? (in reply to RobF)
quote:
ORIGINAL: RobF
quote:
For conocimiento
Carmen de la Jara Toreros gaditanos en la génesis de flamenco; grabado en directo en la Peña de Nitri Guitarra: Juan José Alba
Thanks for this one. I’ve been listening to it every day since you mentioned it.
I'm late to the party, but finally realized I should give it a try.
You can order the CD from deflamenco.com, or download an MP3 version on Amazon. In the USA flamenco-connection-the-guitar-gallery.com has Carmen's 2 CD set "Tesoros del Cante Antiguo Gaditano" and some others.
Printable Version
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