Customer Reviews

Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

These 2 months marked my entry into a new genre of musical enchantment. I used to like pop, rock and jazz (still do), but a chance introduction to the romantic and seductive sounds made simply by an acoustic guitar got my motors firing on all cylinders...

I am totally mesmerised and i've fallen in love with the music of the acoustic guitars. I hv. NEVER heard any of these masterful artistes' names ever before in this GREAT album. The music from this album earns 100 stars! (out of five)

Thereon, I have purchased more CDs than i've previously did in 10 months! In a short two months, i've collected the following albums;

Jesse Cook:- "Free Fall" "Vertigo" and "Gravity"

Ottmar Liebert:- "Innamorare - Summer Flamenco"

Armik:- "Rubia" "Rosas del Amor" and "Gypsy Flame"

Oscar Lopez:- "Armando's Fire"

Next, I'm planning to purchase a couple from "Govi"... Is this testimony enough that "Guitar Greats - The Best Of New Flamenco" is a superbly GREAT buy?

From lightning-fast latin rhythms to haunting passages reminiscent of Old Spain, this CD provides consistently excellent sounds within the "New Flamenco" genre. Most of the tunes are contagiously upbeat and danceable -- I wasn't able to listen sitting still for long. What is also refreshing is the consistent quality of the entire CD -- no need to fast forward past any of the tunes. Particularly enjoyable to me were the contributions by Armik, NovaMenco, and Young & Rollins, the latter being charismatic newcomers to the latin music scene. If you need one good CD for a road trip, this could definitely be it.

This is an outstanding compilation, I couldn't believe that all the big names are here like Ottmar Liebert, Oscar Lopez, Armik, Jesse Cook, Strunz&Farah, NovaMenco, Govi, Shahin&Sepehr, Lara&Reyes and the new comers Behzad, Young&Rollins. Every song is a winner, you just cannot dislike this CD, I particularly like The Flavor, Barcelona Nights, Gypsy Renaissance and Jardin but the other ones are fine pieces of songs too. If you like this CD, you should also own "Gypsy Passion" from Narada, I just cannot have enough of those 2 CDs ! In the same style as this, I also own Oscar Lopez's "Seduction" , Armik's Rain Dancer/Gypsy Flame and Govi's Passion&Grace, Guitar Odysey. Just do yourself a favor, listen to this CD and relax, it's new flamenco guitar at its best!

*Guitar Greats, The Best of New Flamenco* at first sight might look like one of those `Various Artists' loss leader compilations you see on Info-mercials or UHF stations at two in the morning. Or you might mistake it for the traditional, Segovia version of flamenco.

But NOoooooooooo! This disc is really quite good! It is a fine collection of energetic, up-tempo, well-rendered and well-sequenced songs in the 'nuevo flamenco' style. Contributions from Govi, Young & Rollins, Strunz & Farah, Ottmar Liebert, Nova Menco, Oscar Lopez, and other artists make it first rate.

I'll guarantee it. Most of these tunes will cause you to dance in your car or your office chair, or just plain get up and dance.

My spouse brought it home after hearing it playing in Borders. We soon discovered this is great car-driving music, especially with the sunroof and windows open, hair flowing in the wind.

I recommend you purchase this CD and put it in your player. It will make your house dusting a little more exciting and go a lot faster. Or you can always put on your best peasant girl outfit, clench a rose between your teeth and let the music carry you away...

This CD is absolutely fantastic!!! I have been listening to this almost everyday since I bought this a few months back. Its really great, especially after a long day at work - a fabulous way to unwind..it totally transforms your mood. Its soothing and at the same time invigorating, very rarely can something be both.

Also goes well with a glass of wine, with a book, for a nice evening with your partner, almost anything!! Even my 10 month old daughter just loves it!

And, oh yes, the guitar work is stupendous, out of the world - if you are a guitar aficionado, you GOT TO HAVE THIS.

Worth its weight in gold.

This album is simply the finest album I've bought in years. It contains rich melodies, lush harmonies, and fascinating rhythms. If you're not a romantic and have no passion, then this album's not for you. It's a wonderful antidote to the cacaphony we now call music.

Some folks just don't get it. This CD doesn't purport to be pure flamenco -- by saying "new" the album title legitimately denotes something entirely different. But debating semantics is the most small minded approach to music. This is not Flamenco. Fine. Doesn't claim to be. Thank God it ain't, in my opinion. Pure flamenco happens to be repetitive, woefully simple background music for flamenco dancers. Don't get me wrong, straight flamenco is great for a dance show, but it has never made it as a succesful solo instrumental genre. Sadly, most people who listen to pure flamenco are flamenco guitarists and flamenco dancers. Why do you think Paco de Lucia branched out into jazz?? Well, he knows the limitations flamenco places on a true artist interested in creativity, as opposed to the pure flamenco guitarists who are relegated to performing strictly in Spanish restaurants like animatronic museum dummies. This album represents a much needed overhaul of the grating, unmelodic tedium of the pure flamenco genre. These artists bring in more sophisticated melodies, chord changes, and harmonies in their music. Check out Strunz & Farah, for starters. Their music is far more complex and rewarding than any straight flamenco CD I have heard. As a whole, the music on this album is refreshing to hear and you don't have to be a guitarist to enjoy it. There are many different musical ideas at work and many different colors in the tunes. Thank God there are creative musicians like these who do not confine themselves to one narrow genre!

This is a CD made up of master guitarists... For those listeners interested in this type of music I would recommend other CDs by Nocy, Gipsy Kings, Lara & Reyes, Wayne Wesley Johnson & Ruben Romero, Armik, Ottmar Liebert, Shahin and Sepehr, Willie and Lobo, Strunz and Farah. In particular I would recommend "Hypnotic Safari"(Wannadu) or "Flamenco Flavors" (IAGO/Talking Taco) by Wayne Wesley Johnson & Ruben Romero.

Flamenco or not. The album has great music. I love to play this in the night with sub-dued lightling. It gets you into a great mood. Audio quality is great at low or high volume. My favorite piece is by Mediteranean Breeze by Nova Menco.

Very nice compilation of Flamenco guitar music with a modern twist. I find this album to have the perfect selection of songs to ride my horse to. It is great music for the dressage rider as well as anyone who loves the Spanish guitar.