Customer Reviews

Vengo

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

 

 

This is a beautiful cd featuring amazing flamenco guitarists and singers, including many that are hard to find elsewhere. Naci en Alamo is simply gorgeous music. The movie Vengo is also wonderful. People who like non-commercial flamenco and roots music will probably love this album.

The plot of the movie itself was a trivial and obvious excuse of a skeleton on which to superimpose some grand flamanco and Arabo fusions. This soundtrack, while a remembrance of that movie, can stand alone. After all, we can hear flamenco nuevo guitarist Tomatito and also singer La Paquera de Jerez with guitar accompaniment of another esteemed artist, El Parrillo de Jerez. One of the strangest combinations is Sheikh al-Tuni, a charismatic Sufi singer from upper Egypt, with Tomatito and respective ensembles. It would have made more sense to have a Moroccan Sufi singer, as both regions are Andalusia and share common heritage. The track, longest of the album, is more Egyptian than Spanish. Two other tracks are Arabic music, which underline the influence of Arabo-Sefarad music in the development of flamenco. We also hear a throw-away techno-pop rendition, which in the film was appropriate to a sex club. Other artists include Ramon and Emilio Fernandez de los Santos of Gritos de Guerra, Grupo José, the Turkish ney player Kudsi Erguner, and singers Remedios Silva Pisa and La Caita.

Track 13 may seem odd, the tree with duende, but in the movie is the most memorable scene for me. Think of the tree as metaphor, whose roots reach deep. The theme, Naci en Alamo, is composed by the Greek musician Dionysis Tsaknis.

In short, this album is rather international,. When we hear unadorned flamenco, it is raw and heart-felt. Otherwise, the arabo-flamenco fusions and popular tunes are pleasant and interesting.

Full track listing with artists' names first:

1. A Mi Nina Rosa Alba [Tomatito]
2. Naci En Alamo [Remedios Silva Pisa]
3. Arrinconamela [Gritos De Guerra]
4. Calle Del Aire [La Caita]
5. Techno Del Rey
6. Flamenco Soufi [Tomatito & Sheikh Al Tuni]
7. Buleria [Gritos De Guerra]
8. Apparition [Groupe Jose]
9. Lloro Por Tokyo [Maria La Coneja]
10. El Moro [Gritos De Guerra & Kudsi Erguner]
11. Madad [Sheikh Al Tuni]
12. Chant Du Bapteme [La Paquera De Jerez]
13. L'Arbre Du Duende [Bobote]
14. Chant De La Douleur [La Paquera De Jerez]
15. Sawwah [Mostafa Benhmad]
16. Mecanique Garage
17. Naci En Alamo [Remedios Silva Pisa]

A great ethno/world music/folk album standing on its own : I had it for a couple of years before I have seen Tony Gatlif's movie. Once you have seen the movie, you will probably appreciate some of the tracks more than you have appreciated others (L'Arbre du Duende for instance). This track is a real mixture of influences (a Turkish ney player, an Egyptian Sufi singer, a Greek composer and finally one techno-sort of track sounding a bit like a musical misunderstanding!) with the dominance of flamenco guitars and singing.
A very emotional album, as per Tony Gatlif's note about the movie from the booklet: "Vengo is primarily about that: a call, a song, a hymn to life, to love, to mourning, to blood money. A hymn to the Mediterranean spirit."

This album contains all the music from the movie Vengo and thus a must buy for those who enjoyed the soundtrack.

It's a pity the movie is not for sale anymore. I have heard of a few people who would like it.
the sound track is pretty good but I would love to see the movie to get more of an overall understanding of the music.

The music is great, although maybe not for the listener who hasn't seen the film - it sounds better in the context of the film, or at least if one knows what scene the music belongs to (like most soundtracks, I guess). Then again, if you're checking this soundtrack online, I'm thinking you've already seen the film, yes?