Customer Reviews

Fiebre

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

 

 

This Spanish trio is one of the most creative and eclectic world music bands of recent vintage... This is a driving, dynamic live set that captures a more aggressive side of Radio Tarifa's sound, in particular a tilt toward jazz-tinged improvisation, and an emphasis on individual virtuosity and impassioned, in-the-moment performances. Personally, I'm more drawn to the moody melodic side that the group shows on its studio albums, but this album does show that they can summon a lot of live-action firepower as well, and aren't just another pretty-sounding world-music studio project. If you're a Tarifa fan already, you'll probably want to check this out.

Exciting, intense. Audience participation just kicks it up a notch. More room for long improvisations than on a studio album, but most remains tight. An ever-varying fusion of Indian, Middle Eastern, Balkan, Arabic, Spanish, and rock idioms. Each track highlights a few, layering them or placing each in a distinct instrument. The fusion never homogenizes; rather, it juxtaposes in a way that reveals underlying connections. Tracks often break from one distinct style to another, and sometimes return or cycle-another form of effective juxtaposition. Vocal is typically world-weary. Drone woodwinds can deepen this; tight polyrhythms can throw it in sharp contrast. Many different elements offer lots of opportunities for varying textures, which the band exploits well. Precise notes on specific origins of each track mainly point to Spanish sources; sounds much more hybrid to me. [56:51]

I own all four Radio Tarifa CDs, but I must admit that I don't like the live CD "Fiebre" at all. I listened to it 3-4 times and then put it away. Though other reviewers term it "exciting", to me it sounded like the individual musicians were trying too hard to "intensify" their solos for the sake of the on-stage performance.

I find that one of the beauties of live flamenco concerts - of which RT's style is a unquestionably a spinoff - is that the music is astoundingly "controlled", even the most fiery of solos. There's no Jimi Hendrix, playing with his teeth. In fact, the only "show-off" flamenco guitarist I've ever seen was a German. He's a great guitar player, but analytical, and someone who had clearly mastered his craft through study - definitely not "a natural". He compensated by hopping around on his chair while playing, but his "vibrancy" looked like the result of fire ants in his underpants, not hereditary soul.

In most of the solos in the Fiebre concert, I got the impression the musicians were "showing off" - appealing to the audience rather than focussing on their music - which is the antithesis of what I like.

If you want to try Radio Tarifa, buy Rumba Argelina. It's great, but it demonstrates the problem created by a fantastic first album: the group has a hard time living up to expectations. Imagine if Sergeant Pepper had been the Beatles' first!

I LOVE this CD!! Every track is fantastic! If I were rich, I'd buy a thousand copies and start passing them out on street corners so that more people would know how wonderful this album is.

Radio Tarifa is tremendously talented, with a unique sound. They combine flamenco sounds of Southern Spain with Arabic sounds from Northern Africa. They even use ancient arabic instruments.

This particular album was recorded live (in Canada, I think) and it makes me wish I had been there to hear it. If you've ever been at a live performance where the tension is thick, and the electricity tangible...well, this album is one of those.

This album makes me want to close my eyes and whirl. It makes me feel alive. My senses are heightened. My skin tingles. My mind races. My heart beats louder.

What more can I say? If you like this type of sound, you will love this album. Beautiful. Electric.

Superb CD!!! The Middle eAstern sounding songs are riveting!! Highly recommended!

I've given this live album 4 stars only, simply because I know from experience how utterly mesmerising Radio Tarifa are in the flesh. "Fiebre" has a good crack at capturing the charisma of their live performances, but like most live albums manages to not quite make it. How can a simple sound recording replicate the experience of being there?

If you get the chance to see Radio Tarifa live, take it. Travel great distances, cross freezing mountains and boiling deserts. These guys are utterly brilliant live.

It would not be daft to call them a great rock and roll band. Once they are on the stage, there is no build up, they just hit it, hard and fast. The sheer intensity, the obvious joy they get from playing, the dazzling musical skill, all add up to an overwhelming power.

Listening to Tarifa's studio recordings, you may expect a studious, intellectual exercise, more conservatoire than grimy bar.

Nah. You get fire and brimstone, instrumental gun-slinging. Ever seen sometime laying down a red hot solo on a custom electric Oud? I thought not somehow ...

Do not miss if you get the opportunity.

Recorded in concert and covering music from their previous discs this disc reveals the passion of their music, hence the title "Fiebre" or fever(hot, on fire). Radio Tarifa employs other musicians for their live sets but the sound pretty much remains the same. The result is a fusion delight that features Middle Eastern sounds mixing seemlessly with Spanish guitar for a nice wolrd music treat. The opening track "Jote Bereber" exemplifies this fusion as Spanish folk music is mixed with Moroccan rhythms. Lead singer Benjamin Escoriza breaks the extended jam session with a sorrowful and painful tale of love. The blending of Middle Eastern ad Spanish cultures is further presented with "Elli Yeddi Hag Ennas" that utilizes old(Precursor to Rai) Algerian music as passionate vocals and sax lively up the set. There are many great songs here including "Oye China" that is more of a traditional flamenco song with Latin American influences, the title track from one of their previous CD's entitled "Cruzando el Rio" features flamenco tango and wild flute,"La Mosca" that features Bereber folk instrumental parts to a traditional Granada folk song with multi meanings and the old Sephardic-Jewish melodies found in "Cancion Sefardi" which has French Rennaisance instrumental parts over Benjamins grief ridden vocals. If you like world music fusion or flamenco inspired music than you will love this disc. I have their previous discs that are studio produced and this is a nice addition to the Radio Tarifa collection. The live versions are at times more interesting than the studio versions, at other times vice versa but anyway you look at it, this disc is a winner. The accompanying booklet has all the lyrics in Spanish and English and is very informative regarding the origins, influences and inspiration for each song. Great world music for that musical voyage.

There songs are mesmerizing (but not in a flaky new-age sound way). There are strong Flamenco sounds intertwined with Middle Eastern and other world influences. There voices sound good and the instrumentals sound good too (especially the various percussion and world instruments), so it's not like some other artists that are only good at the singing or only good at the instruments.