Customer Reviews

Guantanamera/The Sandpipers

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an American who lived in Latin America for 13 years, I can vouch for the fact that the version of Guantanamera alone merits buying this album. It is truly startling to witness an American folk group capture the essence of The Latin Heart. It is one of the most moving songs ever written and difficult to do correctly even if you ARE Latin. These guys do it in nearly flawless Spanish and with all the feeling and meaning appropriate to this Masterpiece of World Heritage. I hope somehow they can read this and know their efforts are well-appreciated

The Sandpipers, with their cool tones and gently pulsating rhythms, remained successful even when the principle focus of the music industry changed to rock and roll. They possessed to ability to touch hearts and minds with their songs; and they sang flawlessly in English, Spanish, French and Italian. Wow.

The CD consists of all the tracks from two of their record albums entitled Guantanamera and The Sandpipers. The CD begins with the classic Latin song "Gauntanamera." I agree with the reviewer who writes that they deliver this song flawlessly and their rendition of this song alone is worth the price of admission. Other very well done Spanish songs on this CD include "La Bamba" and "Enamorado." The Sandpipers do an especially good job of singing "Michelle" in both Spanish and French. Impressive!

"Stasera Gli Angeli Non Volano (For The Last Time)" is performed very well in Italian by The Sandpipers; the musical arrangement is beautiful. Indeed, their enchanting vocals and arrangements make the classic children's song "Inch Worm" evolve into an infamous masterpiece. Bravo!

Other touching songs on this CD include "Try To Remember" from The Fantasticks; "Strangers In The Night;" "The French Song" and "I'll Remember You."

The quality of the sound is excellent and the liner notes provide copies of the reverse of the record album jackets for both record albums. There are sharp pictures of The Sandpipers as well.

The Sandpipers made an indelible mark on the music industry that even rock and roll combined with time cannot erase. Their music remains soothing, passionate and pensive after all these years. Fans of the oldies, 1960s "mood music" and classic pop vocals will cherish this CD.

When I looked up the Sandpipers I did not expect to find any copies to be available. My two favorites were in combination I found after receiving the CD with 24 recordings that I loved from the two albums that I owned years ago. The albums were destroyed, so I had no way of replacing them and I never dreamed that I would find them on CDs. The first has the flavor of Spanish and the second the flavor of French, both equally as well done. It is a light airy uplifting collection of songs with a uniqueness the Sandpipers had of their own. No one could ever replicate this grouping of songs as the Sandpipers have done, and those who had these albums thirty years ago would be equally as thrilled to know that they are still available in CD format, as we had the large albums that were easily damaged or lost along the way in the last thirty years.Times have changed, but those who loved the Sandpipers and the variety within the boundaries that they kept,never boring, always putting their own personal touch into their music to make it sound so creative with their music as well as their voice and arrangements will always be loved and perhaps gain a new generation that appreciates them as we did years ago and today. Once again, thank you Amazon[.com]. Mrs. Symmington

"Guantanamera"is without a doubt one of the best albums ever made!This was the way music was supposed to sound like, these songs have the power to seduce ,comfort and inspire the soul. I don't know why these guys aren't around anymore

Many, many moons ago, when I was a young bride, my husband and I spent most of the first year of our marriage in a one-room log cabin on the Yukon River in the wilds of Alaska. We roughed it. We had no running water and no plumbing, but we did have electricity. I brought one trunk with me packed with warm clothes and 'essentials'. Among the items I 'had to have' were a stereo and only a few LPs and one of them was the original version of 'The Sandpipers'. (That's how much I loved the LP then and this blended CD now). We listened to it almost every night as we were going to sleep. Listening to this CD brings back many lovely memories. I miss the sound of lonely wolves howling to each other in the distance, though.

I first discovered The Sandpipers in the mid to late '60s and fell in love with their soft, harmonious melodies. It's amazing how effortlessly (and beautifully) they transition from English to French to Spanish. On this blended CD, I love every song but particularly 'For Baby', (The Sandpipers were singing Denver songs before the rest of the world even knew his name), 'The French Song', 'What Makes You Dream Pretty Girl?', 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind', 'Angelica', 'Yesterday', 'La Mer (Beyond the Sea)', 'It's Over', 'Inch Worm', 'Softly', and 'Michelle'... and who else could make 'Louie, Louie' sound like a love song? After 40+ years, these are still some of my favorite songs, and I'm still listening to their recordings. This is an incredibly special CD from an incredibly special group.

For over t30 years I have treasured my old LP of The Sandpipers. I've copied it onto tape twice and dragged it from state to state as we moved. The Sandpipers had a mellow blend of voices, and there is a sweetness to their arrangements. The soprano background on several numbers is a lovely counterpoint.
The selections are so varied that it is never boring, even the changing of language adds interest. The nursery song
"Inchworm" takes on a whole new meaning. There is a fascinating song "Glass" , which I have never heard elsewhere. Every word has meaning in their hands. I couldn't really select a favorite track.
It has always been a regret of mine that these three young men didn't, or couldn't, continue their collaboration.

This cd compiles two of the best lp's on this long out of print group. Today they are still remembered by teir "Guantanamera" hit. However if you are inclined to folk pop of the sixties era, this is an essential.Many covers of the era are included."For Baby", is an essential listen, and there are endless treats of easy listening. "Memories are made of this", or ...were.. Harmonies are magical and pleasant.

The blonde girl on the album cover is Deloris Erickson. She was also on Cy Colemans "witchcraft" album and she was most famous as a brunette on Herb Alperts album "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" She was a ford model and now she's retired to Kelso Washington near Seattle.

This album brought me back to 1966. When my son was two years old, he walked around the house singing "Guantanamera", which in itself, was amazing. The song was just beautiful and the other offerings in the CD are just as good, especially "Cast your fate to the wind", another favorite. I also wish they would come back and have a concert!

"Guantanamera" is one of the greatest albums ever made without a doubt,this is what music is supposed to sound like! Every song on this album has the power to seduce,comfort and inspire the soul, why aren't these guys still singing?