Customer Reviews

City of Ideas

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great/Outstanding CD filled with jazzy/flamenco tunes, a well developed style and scents. Brilliant bass lines by Alfredo Paixao.

This artist, Vicente Amigo, is amazig. I have all his CD:s and think he is a brilliant flamenco guitarist and composer. One of the best ever. Especially this CD is out of this world! Very interesting and refreshing tunes. If you are feeling sad and blue, listen to "Vicentes Bolero". All your worries will fade away. GUARANTEED! BRAVO!!!

Vicente Amigo really gets the job done here. Technically unbelievable, solid compas, intruiging. My son and I were admiring the tune Tata, it is as close to heavy metal as flamenco can go. With the interplay of palmas, guitar and cante, WOW! If you like Paco, you will like this albumn - no, check that, you will love it!

for those whom expected to hear the tunes of the
traditional flamenco music, please take a few minutes
and listen to thesamples before you confirm your purchase.
this CD adds a new blend to the concept of flamenco, not
typically my type, but it is worth listening, specially
the 1st and 8th track, that is, "Tres Notas Para Decir Te
Quiero" and "Bolero de Vicente".

Music, like movies, should be evaluated on the basis of their intent... Vicente Amigo has come out with a very good collection of romantic rumba background music, a kind of flamenco lite. He's an excellent guitarist, and he has succeeded. Any serious musicologists (or wannabes) who compare this with Sabicas or "pure" flamenco (whatever that is) are barking up the wrong tree. By the way, the "real" gypsies I know listen to Cher, Prince, and Mexican hiphop, along with all the rumberos on the radio. Sabicas, Camaron, and Elvis are wonderful, but they are dead. So, wake up and smell the jasmine.

For a while this was one of favorite Cd's and I could not stop listening to it over and over again each time with chills running down my spine. Contrary to what some other reviews have stated, an it spite of a couple of cheesy Rumba tunes, this album is bot a collection of Rumbas and "Nuevo Flamenco." There are two Bulerias, an Alegrias, Tangos, Bolero and Soleares. But if you are looking for the Flamenco of the the past, Antonio Mairena, Juan Talega, Fernanda or Bernarda de Utrera, Manolo Caracol, Sabicas, Diego del Gastor, Ramon Montoya, etc., then this is not the music for you.
It is rather amusing to see comments referring to Camaron de la Isla as being the real deal given the fight against Camaron's form of the art from purists of his time who considered his style non-traditional and commercial.
Ciudad de los Ideas is an inspired and inspiring work from an incredibly gifted master of his craft firmly rooted in the Flamenco tradition. For anyone looking to confirm their narrow and rigid conception of what Flamenco is I would suggest something else. Those listeners looking to hear the exquisitely beautiful music from one of the best guitarists of his generation will not be disappointed!

I own several flamenco CDs, and "Ciudad de las Ideas" has to be the one I listen to the least. "La Tarde es Caramelo" and "Ojos de la Alhambra" are the only songs on this CD worth listening to. The rest of this CD is painfully corny and boring-- especially the first track, the last track, and the title track. I like Vicente Amigo, but this is his worst album. Most of the songs just don't have the hearty essence of real flamenco. For some good, innovative flamenco, I highly recommend the music of Gerardo Nunez and the albums "Jucal", "Calima", "Andando el Tiempo", and "La Nueva Escuela de la Guitarra Flamenca."

I thought this cd had a great collection of new age music. I wouldn't say it is classic flamenco, but the tunes were calming, inspiring and worth listening to!

Similar to some Govi stuff I have.

This is music to listen to over and over, enjoying the passion, the inspired vocals, and the beauty of the melodies, Simply great guitar work here. I'm a world music fan and don't have background in flamenco. I was first exposed to the artist through music video on the WorldLink satellite channel. I think that two of the works on this album made it to video stage. Now I'm buying all of Vicente's CDs, and enjoy them all. The CD notes and lovely poetry here make it clear that the aritist felt something special with this music, and I feel it too. I can't count how many times I've listened to this. Bonus - this is very calming during intense traffic...its "medicine".

relative to his fist cd 'de mi corazan al aire' this is not in the same sublime light; but this is very good music non the less. it lack the original spontaneous sound that i know he is capable of, of which there are wispy hints. its as if he is trying to play, instead of letting it FLOW; a delicate art. i hope he returnith to the melodic spontaneous sound that places him right at the top of his art in a realm of his own. my star rating is more based on his own potential rather than comparing it to that of other artists.