For our
13th round pick, team
Twist/Shout picks
Ciudad de las Ideas by
Vicente Amigo in the
Folk/World/whatever/Flamenco category. (Also sold under the English title
City of Ideas.)
If there are ever crimes of musical ignorance, it's that so few people outside the spanish speaking countries even know who this guy is. Sure, he might be one of the most (if not THE most) famous flamenco artists of our time, but that's in my mind isn't nearly the enough.
If you find this stuff interesting, I recommend starting either with this album or
Vivencias Imaginadas, which is older and has IMO a slightly more "edgy" feel, which makes it maybe even more accessible to your average western rock fan.
Track listing: (all tracks by Vicente Amigo)
- Tres Notas Para Decir Te Quiero
- Tarde Es Caramelo (Alegrías)
- Ojos de la Alhambra
- Compare Manuel (Tangos)
- Bolero de Vicente
- Tatá
- Córdoba (Soleá)
- Ciudad de las Ideas
To say that this guy is widely considered to be one of the greatest guitarists alive is not saying enough. I for example have seen a tons of bands, many with musicians that are considered to be among the best, and just three days ago when I first saw him live I realized that I have never before heard what a true virtuoso really sounds like. There really seemed to be no limits to how fast, hard, aggressive, happy, emotional, complicated and beautiful this guy can play. And yet he never once seemed to be reaching for his limits. He was smiling, relaxed and hit every note with not only accuracy, but style.
He is one of the greatest guitarists ever, and a great musician overall.
Wow. Just wow. His concert was one of the better live concerts I've been to, and that's considering that I don't understand a word about the lyrics and there wasn't anything to look at except a bunch of middle-aged guys sitting on chairs. (There was a really good dancer also, but he only danced on two songs.)
You really should check it out. The sounds might be a bit weird first time round, especially the singing, but flamenco in general is a great genre (especially the newer stuff), and this guy is, I dare to say, the best there is. Definitely worth the effort.
I own all his albums, but I picked this one not only because it's one of my favourites, but because it's in my opinion a little more accessible to someone who doesn't know anything about flamenco, and because I found a lot of tracks on YouTube. If you find this impressive, note that he has become significantly better. On these tracks, he looks like he has to concentrate on the harder parts. These days, he plays those same parts twice as fast while looking like he's just jamming a bit for fun. And forget the technique, he can just load even more emotion into the songs.
The videos are from a live concert, but this is a studio album.
Tres notas para decir te Quiero (a nice, catchy track)
La tarde es Caramelo
Ojos de la Alhambra
Ciudad de las Ideas (one of my favourite tracks)
Bolero de Vicente (mellow romantic stuff)
EDIT:
Just for kicks, here's a glimpse of the dancer that currently tours with Amigo. I don't think much of the band on this video (they start at about the halfpoint), but it gives you an idea of how amazingly good the best flamenco dancers are technically. This guy backed by Amigo and a great band literally made me forget breathing for a while. And usually I just don't get dancing
Here's Dani Navarro: