Customer Reviews

The Essential Coco Montoya

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Essential packages or Greatest Hits often times aren't the best way of becoming familiar with an artists work. However when the tracks are personally selected by the man himself it thankfully provides an excellent primer for Montoya's percolating brand of R&B and soul/ blues. The Albert Collins and John Mayall protege is a master showman who can fire off tight leads with the best. The opening track, a cover of Robert Ward's "Fear No Evil" starts things off beautifully. "Am I Losing You", and "Sending Me Angels" are mid tempo gems showcasing warm expressive vocals in Montoya's signature rich deep baritone. Hopefully this will lead you to all his Blind Pig recordings from the 90's which are all still in print and without question his best work.

I'm an electric-blues fanatic and my all-time favorites are Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Luther Allison and Albert Collins. And when you think of these string bending blues-men you think of down and dirty... growling... rough and tumble blues. This CD of early Coco Montoya songs is a combination of blues... blues rock... and blues ballads. Coco's music doesn't emanate the kind of blues that takes you down dark alleys... jail cells... gun battles and painful physical destruction. At least not like the other fella's I just mentioned. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. With Albert... Stevie... Buddy... and the boys... you know going in you're going to be tumbling in the mud and if you're wearing a new suit it's going to be a filthy mess. But what Coco presents on this CD is such a beautiful... velvety voice... that it seems almost too beautiful to be singing the blues. The imagery that his "blues" voice creates is one where Coco is wearing a brand new white suit... and as he jumps into muddy water... he comes out on the other side without a spec of dirt on his clothes. His guitar work is in a different category than my favorite "six". Where Stevie and Buddy can bend thick "steel-girders" with their magical blues fingers... and your ears can literally "see" the mystical reshaping of those strings... Montoya's strings are like *SILK-ON-POLISHED-STEEL*. This CD contains twelve songs that total fifty-seven-minutes-and-thirty-six-seconds... and everyone of them... rock and ballad alike are flawless.

Coco Montoya on this CD delivers a combination of voice and guitar that is absolutely pristine.

I rotate CDs in and out of the car from a collection of about 350. Somehow this album always makes the cut of the dozen or so albums I stash in the visor. I've had it something like 3 years now, and so the review isn't an initial impression. The album is one that becomes a favorite, and stays that way even after the 2,000th time it's been played.

Coco is a terrific artist. Please do not think for one minute that this is the best of Coco Montoya. If I were to create an essential Coco, not one of these songs would have made the list. If you want some real Coco try "Can't see the streets for my tears", "You did'nt think about that","Trading one fool for another", "Fool", "Trip,stumble and fall" or "Mother and daughter" This guy has some real talent and is worth the research.

Sometimes when an artist or record label offers a retrospective collection of the artist's earlier recordings you get a mish-mash of songs, outtakes, or even new material that really doesn't do justice to the artist. That is not the case with this collection of songs from Coco Montoya's early Blind Pig catalog. I was very pleased with the selection of songs as I feel they really do showcase his musical talents. I have always thought Mr. Montoya was an exceptional guitar player with a soulful voice. The song "Am I Losing You" is a great example of this. For those who like Coco Montoya and want to backdate their catalog, this is an excellent opportunity to do so and save big bucks.

Coco has been a blues stalwart for years. The disc is well-named--these are essential Coco Montoya cuts that fans have enjoyed on recordings and at his great live shows. If you are new to Coco Montoya, this is a great place to start.

Friends recently introduced me to Coco Montoya. After hearing him play at a club in NJ, I got this album and have not stopped playing it since. Fantastic guitarist, great voice, thrilling music.

i was surprised to get this in the mail so quickly! good service and good music! thanks!