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"HE SINGS BETTER EVERYDAY"
14th Chapter of:
CAMARON DE LA ISLA: COMPLETE RECORDINGS.
by JOSE MANUEL GAMBOA RODRIGUEZ
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.
To be continued
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