Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Melodic and Inventive., May 29, 2000
By A Customer
This CD came out right after "Frontera", which was truly a milestone in the recording history of this gifted duo. Although it does not reach the majestic level of "Frontera", nonetheless it has its share of brilliancy and creativity. It is a more intimate setting than the others, with Strunz playing acoustic nylon guitar for most of the CD, while Farah keeps to steel string. The result is a powerful blend of silk and steel that produces several unforgettable cuts: "Zambalera", based on a South American rhythm; "Sueños (Part I)" which starts out as a fantasy theme and delivers outstanding solos; and "The Feathered Serpent." Don't let the corny title fool you, this cut is just amazing, incorporating the sarod, brilliantly played by Ashish Khan. "Zambalera", in turn, features Enrique Cruz on zampoña and kena, and Hugo Pedroza on charango. These three gems well justify the purchase of this work. On the first listen, this CD might sound way too exotic and "out there", but it grows on you with further listening. Great job, guys.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Early Pickings, July 7, 2007
Digging through my old cassettes the other day looking to listen to something I hadn't heard in a long time, I stumbled upon Guitarras. So I pulled it out and let it play continuously all day in the office. So, while there are some treasures here I have been missing out on, there are also a lot of cuts, pleasant and relaxing as they may be, which just don't qualify as everyday fare.
I first heard Strunz and Farah on an Austin radio station back when Primal Magic first came out. Now that is a stunning piece of work and one which brought the duo a bit of recognition. I liked that very much and also the subsequent album Americas which proved to me that they were more than just a one album wonder. So not only did I follow their music forward from that point, I went back to their beginnings as well.
First issued in the mid-1980s, Guitarras can be characterized as "early pickings" on which the fan can hear the genesis of their style. They search, experiment, and often just noodle around trying to find the chemistry that will eventually propel them to world music stardom and a place on the playlist of every coffee house and high-end Mexican restaurant in the country. That last is ironic, because neither the duo nor its music are Mexican, although some elements of Mexican styles can be heard throughout their now extensive oeuvre.
The best song is definitely Zambalera. Now that is something that I could hear with pleasure on a daily basis. At around just 40 minutes, this recording is short by today's standards and if there is a remastered reissue in the future, it behooves the record company to add some out-takes or alternate versions so that the listener can get his/her money's worth.
I give this only three stars because that's all it deserves when you measure it against what Strunz and Farah accomplished later. That may not be exactly fair but in no way is Guitarras of near the quality of Primal Magic, Americas, or Heat of the Sun. The lightning-fast guitars are front and center, but their melodic style here is relatively undeveloped.
I will listen to this in the future and maybe even buy the CD hoping for better liner notes than the cassette has. But if you are new to the duo and are looking for highlights, try out one of the others I mentioned before you buy this.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Arguably their finest work?, August 4, 2007
Well only if you have an ear for complex music.
Thousands - possibly millions - of people have come to learn about Strunz and Farah throught their commercial albums: Americas, Primal Magic, etc. But there is an earlier story to this duo: one of a pair of highly inventive, visionary musicians who seemingly wanted to test the very borders between Jazz, Fusion, Hispanic, Flamenco and Arabic music. Much as John McLaughlin challenged the world with groups such as Shakti - his Jazz/Indian fusion group - here were a pair of musicians who (on their "Frontera" album) shamelessly pairing the Jazz sensibilities of players such as Stanley Clarke (acoustic bass) with music that seemed want to drag Flamenco back, kicking and screaming, to its Arabic musical roots.
Considering the time "Frontera" was released, it is phenomenal music (a prior album - Mosaico - predates and presages some of McLaughlin's most famous work with Flamenco maestro Paco De Lucia). The music is powerful, intense, inventive and unashamedly ambitious and grand. It shows both melodic and harmonic mastery.
However, in some ways, this album is more focused and mature than "Frontera", with less of the musical showcase of guest musicians, and more focus on compositions. While "Frontera" was more of a tour de force, with highly pieces (arguably needed to allow room for all the guest musicians), the focus is more on the composition as a platform for small ensemble interplay.
The result is pure magic. The twin tracks "Suenos" (parts 1 and 2) particularly show melodic accomplishment, ending in a passionate torrent of improvisation from the duo. Suenos pt 2 in particular threatens even to veer towards the type of melodic/harmonic inventiveness reminiscent of Allan Holdsworth. For someone who is more inclined to listen to Jazz than "Gypsy Kings" music, it is rewarding music and shows both a Jazz sensibility and attention to structure and arrangement that would make the likes of Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin look to their laurels.
Strunz's solos are defintely on fire here. Although, as I have come to learn through repeated live concerts, he is not really an improvisor - his "solos" are actually composed and are usually played note-for-note in concert - his solos retain a spontaneous feel. However, Ardeshir is no slouch either.
However, it is a very rich and heady mix. People more accustomed to their more commercial offerings, and whose ears are not ready for the radically altered harmonic content (modes of the Hungarian Melodic Minor Scale, for example) may find this music confusing and, frankly sometimes, challenging. It is certainly not dance music and does not have the "Latin Theme Park" feel of some of their less challenging commercial pieces. As people, who have tried so-called Indian food at a strip mall restaurant are unprepared for how real Indian food tastes on the streets of Mumbai, so too will many people - whose tastes are more conventional - be unprepared for this musical menu.
And it certainly does not surprise me that some people who have come to them through their commercial music find this "less rewarding".
However, there are some of us for whom evoking romantical musical images is far less important than scaling the heights of artistic achievement, and this album has artistic achievement and integrity in spades. Indeed, having had the opportunity to ask the gentlemen themselves, as well as their close friends, it is clear that they too hold this album very dear.
So, to those who are Armik and Gypsy Kings fans, be ready to be challenged: if this music leads you to explore music more deeply, than you will be rewarded with a profound musical experience.
But for those of you looking for dance music, or dreams of Spanish romance, or the sort of pseudo-Spanish schlock perpetrated by Ottmar Liebert, this is defintely not for you.
Thankfully.
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