Customer Reviews

11:11

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rodrigo y Gabriela reach new heights with 11:11. 11:11 is comprised of 11 acoustic guitar tracks authored by Rodrigo y Gabriela. Inspired by their influences, ranging from rock greats such as Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix or Pink Floyd, jazz masters such as Al Di Meola, or classic Spanish and Mexican artists such as Paco De Lucia and Jorge Reyes, the album combines Rodrigo's frantic yet astoundingly precise picking with Gabriela's incredible ability to simultaneously perform both percussion and secondary rhythms.

The rich sounds they create seem impossible to generate from two acoustic guitars; without seeing the accompanying DVD it would be easy to assume they have a third and possibly fourth member assisting. The rock influenced tracks draw clear inspiration from their respective artists: Santana's ranging melodies, Hendrix' wah-wah and vibe effects, and ending with an eerie and beautiful Pink Floyd sound. Though I'm not familiar with the jazz, Spanish, Mexican and other influences, I'm confident Rod y Gab have likewise captured their sounds. Track 8, `Hora Zero', is the hidden gem as Rodrigo relentlessly picks multiple notes per second for 5 minutes straight, growing faster and more elaborate throughout the song leading to a chord duel with Gabriela. Great album through and through: 5 stars.

I walked into a local CD store on Tuesday and as luck would have it, they were playing this CD. I'd never heard of Rodrigo y Gabriela, but the music was just incredibly compelling so I asked about it and wound up buying the CD. Haven't stopped playing it since. Went back and picked up their Live in Tokyo CD today and would have picked up their first CD, but they didn't have it. Hello, Amazon. It's not often you find something completely out of your normal musical range that just blows your socks off like this did. Incredibly talented artists.

Anyone who is a fan of the classical guitar/flamenco/rock/acoustic genre will absolutely love this album. What I like about it is that this is a sheer display of their talent- in stark contrast to the music that is coming out of major labels nowadays.

Simply amazing, this album continues the ascent of Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero to the heights of Guitar Heroes!

This album is an astonishing display of virtuosity. After a tremendous debut album, the pair follow up with original works that are homages to the rock musicians who inspired them. Foremost cuts include Hanuman, an homage to Carlos Santana, Buster Voodoo, an homage to Hendrix, and 11:11, an homage to Pink Floyd.

These three are the cuts getting extensive radio play, but the whole album is a marvelous body of work. Ignore the fact that the Grammys ignore this power guitar duo. They are the most original group in rock today!

One last comment - if you love rock guitar - you simply have to see these two live. They can totally energize the room with their skill and bravado. They are awesome in concert, they can jam with anyone, and they play with energy and style that no one else can match. I've seen them live three times, and I'd happily pay double to see them again.

Background:

Rodrigo is a classic "finger picking" thrash metal guitarist, never mind that he's playing an acoustic guitar. He shreds with the best of them.

But Gabriela - well, she is unmatched in the history of rock guitar. If experts consider Steve Cropper the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time, well Steve, you finally have competition. Gabriela manages to be a full drum kit, bass, and rhythm guitar simultaneously. Her hands are faster than hummingbird wings, and when you wonder if anyone can actually produce three musical lines at once - just listen. She is stunning, awe inspiring - the greatest I've ever heard.

If you love acoustic or classical guitar - buy this. If you love metal - buy this. If you love technical achievement on any instrument - buy this.

You won't be disappointed.

I bought 11:11 at the same time as Rodrigo y Gabriela's self-titled album, and ended up listening to them both, one right after the other. While I liked the self-titled album for the most part, there was something that seemed off with 11:11, and I couldn't place my finger on it until the second listening. Don't get me wrong, as I'm not saying that the music is bad at all. Rodrigo and Gabriela are two very talented individuals, and I'm happy to see Spanish guitar becoming popular in other countries because of them. The problem I have is that almost half of the tracks on this album sound very similar to one another, and the other thing against it is that the music became a little predictable in some places.

Yes, I just said that their music, which is often crazy and explosive, became predictable in some places.

Just like the last album, 11:11 kicks off with a bang- having Hanuman as the opening track was a smart move, and it hooked me immediately. I could picture the two young guitarists playing with passion as they usually do, and enjoyed hearing the percussion from Gabriela as she smacked her guitar around like a drum. Buster Voodoo has a nice wild west sound to it, and I love the little hint of Hendrix towards the end, replicating the sound at the beginning of Voodoo Child. Triveni though is where things got predictable for me, and the duo started doing the whole 'let's suddenly stop like the song is finished, but take the music in another direction instead of making it a separate track!' thing that they did on the last album. It's not the last time on here either, and I was quickly guessing how the track was going to go, and being right on each call. Along with that trick, they use the filter to make certain parts on a track sound muffled and like it's being played on an old record player or through a radio with some static. This was cool the first time I heard it on the previous album, but now it's getting tired.

And after that...a lot of the tracks start to sound alike. I actually checked my iPod to make sure I hadn't set a track on repeat or it accidentally skipped back to the beginning because of how similar they were. Same tempo, practically the same notes being plucked, and Gabriela hitting the same number of beats with her hand on the body of the guitar. Let me stress one more time that I'm not saying that this makes the album bad, but with how much promise these two have, I was hoping for more diversity. Luckily the album does have two slower tracks, though they're short and don't show off much...it's still good to have something like this break up the speedy ones.

Standout tracks for me were Hanuman, Master Maqui, Chac Mool and 11:11. Atman gets an honorable mention for having a nice Middle Eastern sound to it, but it was hardly a favorite of mine. I don't feel like I wasted money on this album, and will give their Live in Japan one a shot, though I'm not in any hurry to do so. For their next studio album, I'm hoping for music with more variety and less gimmicks. 3 out of 5 stars isn't a bad rating, but I just felt that the album was very average, and I enjoyed it more when I'd listen to 3 tracks, take a break from it, then come back for another 3, etc. And if you didn't like the last album? I don't think there's anything here on 11:11 that will change your mind.

I was home on leave and I stopped into the Borders Cafe where my brother works. I was in mid-conversation when all of a sudden I heard this album over head. I stopped him and said," Paul, who is in charge of the music that is played in the Cafe?" He responded," Um...I'll go check". After a few minutes and a man-hunt, the person in charge of the setlist to play in the Cafe showed me this cd and said it was the last one. He heard I was a musician from my brother and that I was desparate to have this cd after only 10 seconds of it playing the first track. Since the album was still playing, I stayed and listened until it ended. I had a pile of bass-related magazines and books I had been meaning to read and possibly get stacked up next to me, but I literally forgot all about them because of how blown away I was with the mastery of guitar playing on this cd.

If you like music. If you play music. If you have heard the word music before...this album is for you. I promise you will not be dissapointed. This album is like Michael Jackson's "Thriller" where once it starts, you can't skip to the next track, or get up to do something else until every song has played, start-to-finish. You won't regret adding this to your collection.

Rodrigo y Gabriela's playing is unique, to say the least, with two Nylon-string guitars they create an eclectic blend of music: the warm tones of Mexican-Spanish guitar styles with the blue-rock, jazz, metal, and psychedelic genres. Each track is dedicated to one of the duos' influences; unlike most tributes, Rodrigo y Gabriela go beyond covers and have composed 11 original works.

As a guitarist just listening to the paying is awesome, near perfection. Well worth for a fan of any the influences or just a fan great guitar work.

Very competent follow-up to earlier work, but little new of interest. If you are a huge fan, then you won't be disappointed. If you are expecting much new, you won't get it.

Rodrigo y Gabriella have been huge in Europe for a while now, and I am super-jealous. You can hear their metal roots in the perfect rhythms played out on nylon and steel string acoustic guitars. Their use of effects and technique makes me sit in awe. I think Buster Voodoo made me pass out when I heard it the first time. This is one of those CDs that is completely worth buying if you like one song... you WILL like more. And its an awesome deal!!

I purchased this CD for my husband for his birthday. He had seen a You tube video of these artists and thought he would like their music. That was an understatement. The CD went into his car player the day after his birthday and he has been listening to the CD on continuous play ever since (approx 6 weeks). I'd say it's a hit!! It's very hard to find gifts that he really likes, so this CD must be somethng special.