Customer Reviews

Area 52

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just WOW!

For those who are looking at the track listing and thinking, "I already have most of those songs on other discs," NO YOU DON'T! Not like this. C.U.B.A. changes everything. Dramatically.

The addition of the horns and percussion really cranks up the energy level of this duo's music in a big way. It also demonstrates something interesting about their music: the "Latin-ness" of it has always been there, but in way that was less recognizable. Hearing it in the context of a distinctly Latin Rumba Cubana band, it seems obvious that many these songs were always salsa- and rumba-style songs, but performed in a way came across differently. Now, hearing the Latin percussion and the blaring, sassy horns, this stuff actually makes you want to dance!

But, it's not just the energy level of the music that impresses: this album also demonstrates a level of musical maturity that hasn't necessarily been expressed in most of their previous work. There is a breadth and depth here that I haven't heard from them before now. The music has strong, well-arranged jazz elements. And there are surprises. For example, an extended, very soulful sitar solo by guest musician Anoushka Shankar on Ixtapa. It's beautiful, and fits naturally with this version of the song. Lots of other guests grace this disc, too many to list, just suffice it to say that everyone who contributed contributed well, and the music as a whole benefits by the contributions of all of the musicians.

All of these other instruments and musicians do not, however, diminish the prominence of Rod and Gab's playing. Rather, they enhance and amplify it with texture, context, syncopation and band interaction, precisely as a good band should.

The entire album is very well mixed and engineered. You might expect this to be a problem, given that all they had to deal with in the past was two guitars. But everything comes through very well, and the "big" parts are all coherent and clear.

This is definitely their best album yet, in my opinion.

My only disappointment right now is that their tour will not bring them close to me(Charleston, SC). Hearing this album, you just know this music will be amazing live : (

EDIT: So now I have watched the DVD that comes with the album. It's a well-produced "making of" type video. Two things: first, the comments by the musicians and producers generally validated my own impression after listening to the CD. Specifically, what they were trying to achieve with the album was pretty much what I perceived in listening to it. Secondly, for those who are familiar with this duo, this may come as a surprise, but Gabriella does not cuss or use any foul language at all in the video. A quirky part of her charm is that she tends to use the F-word and the S-word(and their Spanish equivalents) in approximately the same way as many folks use "the" and "a". None of that in this video.

As an aside, I play in a style similar to hers -- inspired by her, actually -- and I recently bought a new guitar. I was pleasantly surprised to see in the video that she is playing what looks to be a higher-end model of the same guitar that I recently purchased right here on Amazon, which I like very much and will soon review.

I'm gonna review this record. But before I do, stop reading, buy the disc, would you? Then come back. I'll be here, and you'll get it that much faster.

OK, I'm still here. Did you get it? Good. Because it is exactly what the doctor ordered. Flamenco on fire meets Cuban salsa and son in a blazing hail of strummed and plucked guitar madness, punctuated by sizzling horn breakdowns and mindnumbingly fast beats. This record makes you want to put on a puffy shirt and tight leather pants and do your best Antonio Banderas with a rose in your mouth. This record makes you want to toss back a double shot of tequila, chase it with some rum, and grab the nearest partner and prove to the world that you should have won Dancing With the Stars instead of Donny Osmond. Then, you'll want to mount an insurrection, set Havana aflame, and lead a popular revolution through steaming downtown streets.

This album is a pure shot of seduction soaked adrenaline blazing up your veins and into your heart. Pure delight, pure fun, pure love, pure mischief, and--as expected from R&G--completely amazing. Now, if you didn't take my advice in the first sentence, do yourself a favor and take my advice now. Get this disc as fast as you can, give it to that special someone, and prepare to do things you'll wonder why you hadn't been doing anyway...;-).

Let me preface this by saying that I have every single piece of music put out by R&G and respect their decision to make a CD with a band. I buy their music because they are, and please feel free to offer other examples, the best acoustic guitarists I have ever heard.

C.U.B.A dilutes the clarity which I love about R&G. This takes their music from "Amazing", with a capital A, to excellent - which leaves me wanting for their older material; luckily, as I mentioned, I have all of it. I was looking forward to seeing them live when they come to the US. Since they have announced they are including C.U.B.A. in their tour I will, sadly, not be attending and I will be deleting, give me a minute . . . done, "Area 52" from my music collection.

If you are an R&G fan to the point that anything they touch is, without question, the best in the universe then more power to you. I hope you can forgive my effrontery at suggesting that you listen to sample tracks before purchasing this one as I wish I had done.

Although having a band behind them makes the music interesting, Rodrigo y Gabriela's music works better when it's just two acoustic guitars. With a supporting band some of the acoustic guitar becomes lost and overshadowed by the other fine musicians. I don't think the music is bad at all I only expected the mix to perhaps feature the acoustic guitars a little more prominently.
Still, definitely worth picking up if you're a R y G fan and even more so with the live DVD that accompanies the CD.

I just got introduced to Rodrigo and Gabriela and I love this album. It is different from their other music since this one has a taste of Cuban rhythm, and it feels like a Latin jazz fusion, but still is amazing.

Great sound, love the mixture of the Cuban rhythms and of the guitars by Rodrigo and Gabriela. The behind the scene interviews with all of the artists gave even a greater meaning to the collaborative work produced on this album.

This is a crackerjack album! Seven out of nine songs are winners - not bad for any album - in fact, it's damn good! I hope plans on in the works to do a followup. Unlikely perhaps, but one can hope.

I see three problems with this otherwise fine new disk from R&G.
First, recycling has is limits. Diablo Rojo, Tamacun etc. have already been sold several times, including on the Live from Japan (2008) and Rodrigo and Gabriela (2006), plus U-Tube videos. I hate to believe it but such endless repetitions may signal that the couple has already run out of ideas. It is way too early.
Second, those fantastic Cuban musicians have easily outperformed R&G. Instead of providing the background, they are at the forefront with all their enormous firing power. In particular, both percussionists, first trumpet and the trombone are clearly beyond the reach of the two soloists.
Third, the central idea of the disk as I see it - a fusion between a post-flamenco style of R&G and a very deeply-rooted Cuban jazz music--has not been achieved. The disc is a compilation of pieces in each of the two styles, both none of the composition really mixes them successfully in one coherent piece. Surprisingly, Diablo Rojo again seems to have come closer to this goal but still is not there. In part, the arranger may be held responsible for this, since R&G themselves clearly need help with professional orchestration.
Having said that, I think it is a solid disk. It even includes pictures of both main protagonists finally decently dressed, and their individual performance is excellent.

I read some mixed reviews so I waited a bit before passing judgment. I am glad I did because like a great movie, it is hard to catch everything that is going on in just one listen. It is a much different experience for Rod-Gab fans, so I understand the purists casting a skeptical ear on this project ... However if you get past the fact that they are sharing your ear with other musicians then you can appreciate what an amazingly complex cd this is.

Santo Domingo just blows me away every time because it feels like I am getting hit from every direction with sounds and instruments; it is a furious composition that never lets up. Hanuman and 11:11 feature electric guitar which shows Rod's skills, and Ixtapa, which has always been a favorite of mine, is done really well, with the pleasant introduction of the sitar. The whole cd is like an adventure, where you find different twists and turns around every corner. It bounces mixes Latin, Jazz, Rock, Cuban sounds, with a sprinkle of Far East here and there. They take their intensity as musicians and expand it to a 13 piece orchestra.... While not perfect, especially because Gab is not a prominently featured, it is a great piece of music, and I cannot remember anybody in the music world doing anything this interesting in a long time...

Great Album, Really enjoyed it! I love the combination of upbeat rock with classical acoustic. I listened this none-stop for about three days after it came out on NPR music.