Customer Reviews

Espana

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While the Spanish flamenco and rumba rhythms have become popular influences in world music, including in Egypt and the Near East, and the Congo maintains its rumba origins, what is happening in Spanish popular music of today? Putumayo answers that question with an enjoyable anthology of contemporary songs from Spain. The traditional rhythms are represented. but we also hear mergers with rock, Latin jazz, Caribbean reggae, and Colombian cumbia. With the expection of one Basque ballad, all selections are up tempo. Throughout, the Spanish national idiom or flavor persists, with each song a representative type of Spain's regions. This very fine album demonstates the richly varied and vibrant musics present in Spain. Music today is certainly global, with national styles criss-crossing the planet. My appetite is whetted, and I look forward to more dedicated songs of Spain in Putumayo's Café, Acoustic, Groove, and Lounge series. Huzzah to Putumayo for yet another grand and happy collection!

"Espana" is a fitting sequel to the previous Putumayo Presents: Italia As "Italia" sheds light on lesser known Italian singer-songwriters, so does "Espana" shows there's more to Spain than flamenco. Spain is a wondrously diverse country--it's the homeland of El Greco, Velazquez, Salvador Dali, Picasso, Goya, Ferran Adria, Gaudi. It is the home of the enigmatic Basque, and spiritual giants like Teresa of Avila, Ignatius of Loyola and John of the Cross. "Espana" gives a tantalizing 40 minute taste of the country. It even includes a Basque bread pudding recipe. A portion of the profits benefits Oxfam in promoting fair trade.

"Espana" opens with the classic flamenco of Peret. The group Gertrudis has a peppy song about a witch burnt at the stake. Strangely joyful, considering the topic. DePedro,who hails from Peru, blends Southwestern styles with Spanish ones. There's the gentle acoustic style of Burguitos in his love song. Calima's "Lunita" is enigmatic and entrancing. Gossos' "Corren" is Spanish rock. El Combolinga blends Colombian cumbia with Spanish rumba... after all Colombia, like Peru, traces its musical roots to Spain. Uxia's "Danza Ritual" weaves together Galician music with the tarantella. It's one of the highlights of the compilation (along with "Lunita") Xabier Lete adds a contemporary flavor to a traditional Basque song. Gecko Turner provides the reggae track. The closing track is from the musical collective Biella Nuei from Aragon. It's a tantalizingly brief instrumental with a Celtic flavor (sort of like the whole compilation)

"Espana" is like a delicious plate of tapas. It's a sweet and savory assortment, and one wants more! "Espana" is a flavorful journey through on the Iberian peninsula.

This is one of Putumayo's best yet! It is on a par with "Italian Odyssey" in that it gives a true feel for the musical diversity of this wonderful country. It is not flamenco; nouveau or otherwise, it is not straight rumba, salsa or samba (It's uniquely SPANISH). It shows the evolution of so many great musical styles and is never boring. On othe r"world" music cd's, there are some clunkers on there that are almost inevitable and unavoidable. When you are trying to compile music for an audience who may or may not be familiar with the language or customs of the featured country/region/genre, it is a daunting task. This cd flows beautifully.. This is definitely going to get a lot of play. I think a shuffle mix of this, "Greece", "Mediterranean Odyssey" and "Congo to Cuba" will make a great playlist. It is modern without being weird, traditional enough to be respectful. It's about time Spain has been featured by this great company.

Putumayo as a label has done more to familiarize people with world music, I think, than any other single force in modern music.

Definitely a home run for Putumayo. Well Done!!

I'm a fan of the Putumayo collections. They really select great songs that are representative of each style. Putumayo is the best on lounge music. This particular collection is outstanding. Beautiful songs, excellent interpretations by great musicians!

Great Place to Get Started, Jan 19 2010

By Jennifer Bogart "@ Quiverfullfamily.com" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

To say that until recently I have known next to nothing of Spanish music is an understatement. Thankfully there are enlightening resources at the disposal of newbies such as myself, and one of the finest (and most affordable) is Putumayo's Espana. By combining their extensive liner notes describing themes and styles in Spanish music with repeated listening of the eleven track CD, one can even begin to sound somewhat knowledgeable in world-music oriented conversations. I won't fake it ' 90% of what you'll read in this review I learned from Putumayo Presents: España.

Putumayo is the premier label for overviews and introductions to specific aspects of the world music scene. In an age of ever shrinking liner notes, the digipack for Espana includes a 35-page, trilingual guide to the music of Spain, notable contemporary artists, song themes, and musical influences. This English, French, and Spanish musical companion guide also includes a recipe for Spanish Bread Pudding. In the face of such generosity it feels like nit picking to point out that full translations of the lyrics are not included. Another downside is that it is anchored firmly to the inside of the digipack as a stapled booklet, and any rough handling will result in its partial, but not clean detachment.

Spain's music offers a rich diversity of regional music styles, and the blending of many cultural influences, ever evolving, and multi-faceted. While it may be fairly undiscovered here in North America, the mestitzo (mixed) style of music pulsing outwards from Spain has gained great heights of popularity in South and Central America particularly. This combination of traditional Spanish styles such as flamenco with notable reggae, pop, ska, and electronica influences that can be clearly heard on '"Cumbia Caimanera'" and '"Te Estas Equivocando"'.

'"Pasapeanas"' is a fascinating instrumental piece from an equally intriguing musical collective. Biella Nuei is devoted to performing traditional music from the Aragon region. With this devotion comes a passion for playing and making local instruments such as a string drum, and Spanish bagpipe! The Celtic influences that have worked their way into Aragonese folk music are clearly heard on this track.

Xabier Lete's' '"San Martin, Azken Larrosa"' is performed in his native language Euskera (the language of the Spanish region of Basque), the only track on the CD that isn't performed in the Spanish language. This somewhat melancholy ballad features the piano and sounds somewhat akin to subdued jazzy blues work with clearly Spanish guitar work.

Espana is somewhat heavily slanted towards the work of male artists, but we can hear female voices on three tracks. "'Remedios"' from the band Gertrudis is an upbeat poppy rumba with a strong female lead vocalist on the topic of a sorceress who's burned at the stake (of all topics). "'Lunita"' is another rumba from the larger, jazz-influenced group Calima that features both male and female singers. '"Danza Ritual'" is a lovely piece from a Galician artist, Uxia. Her floating vocals are under girded by the ethereal harmonies of her female backup singers, marking this track as the most feminine on the disc.

Many of the performers are relative newcomers, tracing their group's roots back to the early 2000s. There are a few from the '90s, fewer still from the '80s, and one which can properly be categorized as an old-timer. Peret's work has inspired many modern Spanish groups through his pioneering blending of flamenco with Latin rhythms and rock music resulting in the rumba flamenco style (think the Gipsy Kings). His '"Para Poder Olvidarla"' opens the CD and will sound somewhat familiar and accessible even to those who haven't a clue about Spanish music. His sound is what comes to mind when most of us think contemporary Spanish compositions.

The diversity of this disc is its strength. If you're interested in getting a start with Spanish music, jump in and get your feet wet. You'll get a sampling of a bit of everything in today's music scene in Spain and be able to hone in on some favorite musical genres or even specific groups from there.

Putumayo is donating 1% of it's proceeds from the sale of this title to Intermon Oxfam, supporting fair trade artisans and farmers worldwide.

With the title, "Espana" I expected to be typical Spanish music. The collection has some rumba and Flamenco songs but is mostly other genres by Spanish musicians. Some of the song sound like the lyrics are in Portuguese and French, even some Celtic music. However, even though I stand a little disappointed, I'm glad I purchased the cd because it makes a nice addition to my music collection.

Always interesting collection of groups and singers from other parts of the world. Turns you on to stuff and can further explore.

I was expecting maybe too much. I have lived in Spain and this Putumayo CD is just popular Spanish music you can hear over the radio. It's really not worth the price. Maybe $5, but not $13-15. I have a lot of Spanish music, from flamenco and cante, to Spanish Rock, but this CD will probably sit in my shelves in obscurity.

After having bought the soundtrack for Vicki Christina Barcelona, I was wanting more Spanish music. I bought the Putumayo Espana because they usually have great CDs. This was absolutely horrible. Although there were a few good Spanish songs, there were far too many Latin American/Caribbean beats for my taste - not that I don't like them. The Putumayo Salsa around the world is great. I don't care at all for Cumbia, which shouldn't even be on a CD of music from Spain. And tropical spanish music doesn't fit the bill either. It was a total disappointment!