Customer Reviews

La Llorona

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading all the rave reviews for the past few years I decided to break down and get this CD. The art cover closed the deal. I was even more impressed to find out she did it. Where to begin describing something so unique and different? There is only one Lhasa de Sala, there is no mold so they'll be no copies. The only voices I've heard that remind me of hers are Linda Ronstandt on her excursions into Espanol and Edith Piaf. Listen to the opening track, "De Cara a la Pared" as she hauntingly invites you into her own cabaret, joining in as though her voice is a violin, softly, seductively enticing the listener entry into her world. The comparisons to the two above mentioned artists stop there and really do no justice to her brand of music created with Yves Desprosiers. This is really a collaboration as Desprosiers pens many of the songs with her and plays no less than eight instruments! He also is the producer. Of course the focus is the voice of Lhasa but the guitar and acordian work Desporsiers lend to the CD give it the sidewalk cafe sound. It is not just her vocals and the beautiful arrangements but the cutting lyrics that stand on their strength alone. Although the songs are all entirely in Spanish a non-Spanish speaker can understand the songs because the booklet is bilingual. To say that Lhasa's songs lament would be an understatement, the pain comes out in her voice even if you don't understand Spanish. There is a mysterious quality to the songs, a spiritual quality, music from deep within her soul, La Llorona cries out. I like to say which songs I particularly like but all the songs are strong and stand out with individual characteristics. If I had to pick one song it would be "Los Peces" because of it's theme, The Virgin Mary, and the simple poetic lyrics she so eloquently demonstrates. The CD is a triumph for a first effort and will probably be hard to match. Although considering the talent and her last words in her acknowledgments, "Viva La Evolucion", she probably will make another stunning piece of music. If you like Gypsyesque-Spanish music tinged with folkloric Argentinian and Mexican melodies, soulful interplay into categories undefined but refreshingly fresh, this is a CD for you. I suspect Lhasa has much more to say and those that heard this CD will be waiting for her sophmore effort. I should have bought it long ago.

Some of Lhasa's songs on "La Llorona" sound like they could have come from a Parisian (or Montréal) bistro as easily as from Mexico. Some songs feature accordion and klezmer. Lhasa de Sela is a Mexican-American who lived in Montréal until recently. She grew up travelling across Mexico and the United States in a schoolbus.

"La Llorona" (the Wailing Woman) is the name of a legendary Mexican woman who threw her children into the river in her anger and jealousy. The villagers found her dead as well the next morning, and her ghost continued to roam the earth, wailing for her lost children. That title is appropriate enough for this splendid, unexpected collection of songs (only three are not original).

Lhasa's voice is haunting, much like the mythical wail of "La Llorona." There is an urgency and passion in her singing. My favourite song has to be "De cara a la pared," a haunting waltz with unusual sound effects (rain, splashing, musical saw). I heard Lhasa for the first time on the Canadian TV series Due South, which actually introduced me to a host of lesser-known Canadian talent. I fell in love with the songs and rushed out to buy "La Llorona."

This is my absolute favourite Spanish-language CD in my collection. It is mysterious, uplifting, joyful, and energetic, like Mexico itself. If you're looking for something uniquely Mexican in flavour, something mysterious, passionate and soulful, or simply a change from the ordinary, look no further than Lhasa de Sela's "La Llorona."

I never waste my time writing reviews, but this is well worth it. Lhasa de Sella not only has talent, but also the insight to make it flourish in meaningful ways. When I hear her, I cannot but wonder why mediocre pop artists make it to the top of the charts in both Spanish and English and she remains practically unknown.

Esta muchacha tiene carisma, tiene talento y en su arte hay profundidad. Sin lugar a dudas, vale la pena no solo oir su música, sino también vibrar con ella, comprenderla como se comprende a un amigo. Lo único que lamento es que la mediocridad reine en los medios hispanos de Estados Unidos y otras partes del mundo y que no se transmita en ellos esta voz melodiosa que me tiene a mi a mis amigos bailando de regocijo.

The music on the album is astoundingly beautiful and heartbreaking. Lhasa's voice is filled with emotion. She's really pouring out her heart and soul into these songs. She sings poetry. She sings of pain, tragedy, love, and hunger. And her words are not words that can be wasted. They are precious words that speak of human truths. In a way, they are very raw...beautiful but raw...like her voice.

With the disastours state of popular music, one must dig a little deeper to unearth original, vital music. Such a find is the miraculous Llasha CD. Seamless in production, songwritting and musical arrangement this CD is one of the finest put out in the last couple of years. I'm looking forward to a new release from this amazingly talented woman -- who, by the way also painted the picture used for the album cover!

I heard Lhasa de Sela last June in San Francisco at the Lilith Festival. Although I myself am a struggling musician with my own CD's to sell, I was enthusiastic enough to want to buy several copies of La Llorona. Unfortunately it wasn't availabe in the US, and over the past several months I had searched for a copy to no avail. I was given the CD last week and have listened to it non-stop since.

Lhasa and her band are obviously deeply steeped in the traditional music of Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Central Europe. But she has an authentic and original voice that is able to transform those influences into something truly original and transcendent. When you hear her voice and melodies, you know she speaks the truth. She sings like a woman of passion who has no place in her life for cynicism or boredom.

Luckily she has a band that knows exactly how to support her vision. The music balances on a strange edge between the haunted loneliness of flamenco and and the topsy-terviness of a small-time circus band.

I will be buying several copies of this CD.

I've been listening to Lhasa De Sela all summer in the bistro where I wash dishes. Every time it plays Life seems to become more poignant. I can feel the clients en-Joying their food just that much more, we are all trance-ported to the rythmns of this exotic and hauntingly beautiful music.
I finally borrowed it to make a tape for myself. I was surprised to realise the singing is in Spanish. The music is just that international that the actual language is of the Heart!
I have one critisism:it is very hard to read the liner notes penned by Lhasa De Sela.
I'm glad that I've been able to order it as a gift for my father who has introduced me to great music all my life; I'm able to give him something to stir his soul! Thank you Amazon!
I also appreciate learning more about this artist here. It will add just that much depth to what I can only describe as magically moving music; check this out!

This is a masterpiece. Lhasa has a unique and powerful voice - flexible, sexy, and captivating. So subtle in its beauty, it will make you tremble. And the laments will crush your heart. I am not fluent in Spanish, but the music totally gets inside your skin. Beautiful arrangements, beautiful melodies, beautiful voice. It can only make your life better.

I like this album so much I've bought it three times. She's one of the living greats, along with Cesaria Evora, Susana Bacca, Clare Fader, Mary Coughlan, Omara Portundo. I keep waiting for her next album.

What a pleasant find... I was sampling music here on Amazon and on a whim looked up "La Llorona"... the title reminded me of "lluvia" and rain is always one of my favorite themes and this CD does not disappoint. The vocals weave a dreamy and yet gutsy thread throughout this very elegant work. The music is beautifully simple... lulling and almost mesmerizing. I find that on the mountain road portion of my drive home it suspends time and I sense the music keeping rhythm with the curving road. Lhasa has a very seductive voice... she reminds me a little of early Sade but in a simpler (and more passionate)way. There is really nothing musically dramatic going on in this CD, but the lack of drama is more than compensated for by the often scorching vocals, excellent pacing and slow burn of this CD. The rain indeed... Lhasa presents her music like a soft yet endless, steady autumn rain. One can almost imagine listening to this music as rain falling on a roof... now softer, now growing in intensity, never really a downpour but always soothing and refreshing. This has become one of my favorites... one of those CDs I'll put on when I want to relax, be close or drift off.