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"HE SINGS BETTER EVERYDAY"
12th Chapter of:
CAMARON DE LA ISLA: COMPLETE RECORDINGS.
by JOSE MANUEL GAMBOA RODRIGUEZ
The next album "Viviré",
arrived a year later. Despite the short space of time passed, we notice a certain
change in the timbre of Camarón's voice, which can maybe be blamed on the
recording's mixing. It is the first time the front jacket cover is formed by a
drawing, a bust of the "cantaor" drawn by the specialist Máximo Moreno.
In this album the Paco de Lucía Sextet attains a significant role, except
for Ramón de Algeciras, who is absent. Pepe de Lucía returns to
compose (five cuts), and with him Antonio Humanes (three). In production the responsibilities
are shared by Ricardo Pachón, Paco and Pepe de Lucía.
"Vivire'" is the "bulería"
opening the album. It has an almost identical structure to the "Gitanos andaluces"
of the Sextet, except that here José sings and Tomatito plays second guitar.
"Campanas del Alba" is based on the "cante" with "seguiriyas" that Camarón
performs with astounding pathos, and is intelligently arranged by Joan Albert
Amargós, who brings back the memory of Manuel de Falla's music definitely
not a bad thing. "Mi sangre grita" is a "tango-rumba" in the style of Humanes,
with catchy choruses that are well-executed. The guitars play with the flute of
Jorge Pardo, and the choir and hand-clapping come in at the end. The "alegrías"
"Mar amargo" also reminds us of the Sextet. The bass of Benavent comes in every
time the chorus "Hacia la mar Ia vela" is repeated and has a significant role
in the flourish of Paco de Lucía. "Ná más que'r día"
is a tango in the rumba style in which the whole group performs efficiently, and
"Nuestros sueños" is similar to a "tanguillo-rumba" stupendously accompanied
by the guitars, bass and "cajón" (box-drum). What remain are two "bulerías"
accompanied on guitar and hand-clapping "Dios de la nada" of the Sextet, followed
by "Tres luceros", which starts out in major mode then rambles through variants
of the classic "cante por fiesta", also recovering a bit of "La Repompa". It cannot
be understated.
To be continued
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