Camarón, complete discography
by José Manuel Gamboa

In 1987 the first live album of Camarón was published, titled "Camarón con Tomatito. Flamenco vivo". We insist on "first" because it will not be long before more will appear, time will tell. This kind of recording is not common in flamenco and should be appreciated because it transmits an emotion and intensity very difficult to accomplish in the studio. The tapes came from the files of its producer, Ricardo Pachón, who seems to have recorded them with a Nagra tape-recorder. The attractive jacket design, an original by Javier Fernnández de Molina, presents an album that brings back the memories of those unforgettable musical evenings that he so many times granted us. The sound quality is excellent and the numbers are passionate and of high caliber. In a word: thrilling.

This album contains "alegrías" (unreleased), tangos, fandangos (unreleased) and three "bulerías" to enjoy oneself. The producer considered including a "soleá", but decided against it because of the defective tuning of one of the guitars (a typical problem in live performances) when it was recorded. We recommend this album because of the musical power expressed by its performers and because there are new details to savor in practically all of its cuts.

Camarón, meanwhile, collaborated with Tomatito in his first solo album, "Rosas del amor" (1987). Camarón sings in the tango-rumba cut that gives the album its title, which was written by Juan Antonio Salazar and Tomatito. The catchy composition was produced by Ricardo Pachillo. We should mention that J. A. Salazar, son of "La Negra" and Eugenio de Badajoz, is one of the young composers most admired by his peers in the profession.