Aqui vivia yo

Le Mans | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 1, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B00000JGM8
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #472,735 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Cancion de todo va mal

2. Buenos dias, corazon

3. El amor

4. Aqui Vivia Yo

5. No vino, estaba enferma o de vacaciones

6. Balalaika

7. La princesita

8. Yin Yang

9. Papa Negro

10. No me abrumes, amor

11. Una mujer expansiva

12. Mi novela autobiografica

13. Ay que triste estoy!

14. Sic transit gloria mundi

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With Le Mans' penchant for pop arrangements and gorgeous vocal melodies, all sung in Spanish, comparisons to Brazil's Os Mutantes are hard to resist. And it's an apt comparison. But while Os Mutantes took their cues from the upbeat psychedelic music of their era (the Beatles), Le Mans prefer their music to be understated, with shades of lounge, jazz, and salsa. There are many standout tracks on Aquí Vivía Yo--the wistful "Papa Negro" and the slinky groove of "Mi Novel Autobiografica"--but it's the strikingly low-key affect of the album as a whole that gives it its charm. Many of the instruments that appear here are more suggestive than fully utilized--a wah-wah guitar slides in for only two bars of a song, five notes of harmonica, three notes of trombone, a little Hammond organ, all never to be heard from again--and it's this patchwork of ideas that affords the music so much of its appeal. --David A. Kulczyk

Product Description

"Aqui Vivia Yo" translates as "Here is where I used to live", and has been widely acclaimed in Spain as Le Mans' best album, ever.

It is Le Mans' 4th and final release. Over the years the band has developed their jazz-bossa-ennui sound to the assured masterpiece that is their melancholic swan song. The almost eight minute long opening track, "Cancion de todo va mal" ("Everything Goes Wrong tune") is a song which is constantly growing: over a mysterious, almost tribal electronic drum section, more and more instruments - trombones, mandolins, guitars, pianos - are subtly added in progression, until the voice comes in at the end. This is the tone of the album: no radical rupture with their preceding works, yet everything is more effective and successful than ever.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If my ears could cry, they'd be tears of joy!, March 19, 2002

By 

R.G. Styron, III (East Tennessee, The Great U.S. of A!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aqui vivia yo (Audio CD)

I used to DJ back in college so I had access to all things new. Occasionally you'd discover a band that totally enthralled you, perhaps you were even mesmerized- that's what happened to me when I heard this album. Unlike the others, my fav track was the upbeat "Yin Yang." After hearing it I kept backtracking to hear it again, and again. The rest of the album is easily as enjoyable, certainly none of the other tracks are as upbeat, yes, they do have a loungy feel, but they're no less awesome. This is the kinda album one wants to hear on a road trip, after Stereolab has made your ears bleed, this will make them cry. Tears of joy, my brothers and sisters! Believe me, this little album is gold...G-O-L-D! That, my friends, is my humble opinion.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soothing, inventive, poppy, February 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Aqui vivia yo (Audio CD)

I don't know much about them except that they're from Spain. I kept hearing them on Spinner.com and fell in love with their music so I simply had to own it, despite a Visa bill already verged to collapse on top of me. Why must I be so addicted to music? Why??? Anyway, this CD contains soft, lilting "lounge" pop a la Komeda, Holden and Stereolab without the electronics (Stereolab) or the "quirkiness" (Komeda). Think "Girl from Impanema" set in Spain. A deep woman's voice sings on nearly every song, all in Spanish. The graphics of the CD are nice, too, if that matters to you. Do **I** matter to you? I wish I did.

5.0 out of 5 stars the best uplifting sad songs ever, December 17, 2000

By 

Gal Uchovsky "eytangal" (Tel Aviv, Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aqui vivia yo (Audio CD)

Sometimes a record is no less then as mircale. This is the case here. A batch of songs that will make you feel sad in a very happy way. The band is spanish. Their other records were not that brilliant. They have already splitted. But who cares? Lead singer Theresa is more of an angel then a human. This cd starts where "please please please let me get what i want" by the Smith, ends. It has the spirit of Astrod Gilberto all over it. The tempo is slow and sexy. Misery looks so tempting. Just let yourself sink into this whirllpool of emotions. And don't thank me. Thank the band.