Camarón, complete discography
by José Manuel Gamboa

After a year of silence, in 1979 Camarón returned with a breakthrough -an ambitious and absolutely fantastic album. "La leyenda del tiempo" marked a giant step in the renewal of flamenco, both for originating from Camarón -who by now moved the masses around him - as well as for the bravery of including rock and jazz instrumentation in flamenco. And even though it was the target of ferocious criticism from rigid purists, it is also true that at no moment did it veer an inch away from flamenco and the flamenco world. Incidentally in the colored back jacket cover we see Camarón "bullfighting" a heifer (this is on the vinyl recording, in the compact-disc it was omitted together with the credits -higher prices equals less features).

A few things are surprising: the change of image of the "cantaor", who appears with a beard (his acolytes would soon also sprout beards): the shortening of his artistic name to Camarón, eliminating "de Ia Isla"; the absence of Paco de Lucía, who is replaced with fortunate aplomb by a young man called José Fernández Torres "Tomatito"; the literary references taken from poets such as Federico García Lorca, Fernando Villalón or Omar Kayan; the composers, among whom we find the outlawed Kiko Veneno (who is made to bear the blame for the path to nowhere the brothers Raimundo and Rafael Amador -"Pata Negra"- would take); and the producer, Ricardo Pachón, known for his iconoclastic attitude and who turns out to be the co-author of most of the cuts.

"The legend of time" is a vibrant "bulería", where melodies of the "bambera" and some other popular "cantes" are uncovered. Hand-clapping is heard, the guitar comes in and -listen!- the keyboards of Marinelli and the electric bass of Manolo Rosas announce the entrance of the drums of A. Rodriguez. Over this layer of sound appears Camarón, singing the chorus, and harmonizes with a second, feminine voice. His lonely, aching throat talks to us of Lorca's dream of time, and after the last chorus the enigmatic moog of M. Marinelli is lost in the distant background. Too much! It continues with the "Romance del Amargo" over the rhythm of the "bulería por soleá" (8). A purer flamenco cannot be played nor sung. A new artistic duo has been born: Camarón and Tomatito. Together they also perform the next "bulería" in "Homenaje a Federico", composed by Veneno and Pachón. When it seems that they have finished, the sound of the drums come in. Without any other accompaniment, Camarón finishes off the "bulerías" with this percussion instrument. Heresy! Regarding this the rebel explained to Paco Espínola:

"One must treat flamenco with love and respect, and that is why you must have control of what you are doing, because it is very risky to include, for example, drums in a "bulería". Including an instrument like that is very difficult. I take many risks, but it is a responsibility. Now then, I have never gone beyond the limits of flamenco!".

With Tomatito and the dance of Manolo Soler, Camarón continues his recital, performing a few intimate "cantiñas" of Pinini in "Mi niña se fue a la mar". We can talk of progressive music with respect to the musical treatment with which "La Tarara" is taken up. What seems at first to be a "taranto" starts opening, opening until an electric guitar is heard, played by Julio Roca and accompanied by the drums of José Antonio Galícia, the percussion instruments of Ruben Dantas, the bass of Rosas and the keyboards of M. Marinelli. The precedent of the gypsy rock of "Pata Negra" is found here. It must be mentioned that the band playing in the album is "Alameda", even if its members are listed individually. Side B is begun with a declaration of principles written by a very refined Catalan, known as Kiko Veneno and who knows very well how to say things in Andalusian. We refer to "Volando voy", which summarizes a whole philosophy of life:

Volando voy,
volandovengo.

Por el camino
yo me entretengo.

Enamorao de la vida
aunque a veces duela...

Señoras y señores
sepan ustedes,
que la flor de Ia noche
es pa' quien la merece.

Porque a mí me va mucho
la marcha tropical,
y los cariños en la frontera,
me van.

A delicious rumba, fed by experts such as Pepe Ebano, Tito Duarte, the guitar and bass of Raimundo Amador, the flute of Jorge Pardo, the bass of M. Rosas and the electric guitar of J. Roca.

"Bahía de Cádiz" are "alegrías" that follow to the letter the structure of dance, respecting the "silencio" and the "escobilla" (zapateado). Maybe this is the reason it has been sung so many times for dancing. It is, besides, the first time in which the "silencio" is sung (wherethe tone shifts from high to low and the rhythm ceases). The zapateado is simulated by the drums. Electric bass, moog and, at the forefront, the guitar of Tomatito are equally present. In "Viejo mundo" Camarón returns to the "bulería", with Tomatito and Raimundo on the guitars and the bass of Manolo Rosas. The "Tangos de la sultana" begin to the sound of "pitos" (snaps), over which Tomatito plays a "falseta" based on the style José would sing immediately after: the tangos of "la Pirula" that "La Repompa de "Málaga" made, which he finishes off with other "extremeños". This "legend", wich already is ended with the passion ae 'Nana del caballo grande", which the "quejío" (lament) of Camarón features almost totally alone, everso-slightly accompanied by the sitar of Gualberto and the keyboard of M. Marinelli.

From our point of view, the significance of this "Leyenda del tiempo" to the history of flamenco is comparable to that of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band on rock.