“I want you to let me do things my way a little bit”. That’s how Camarón de la Isla used to face and share his great art. Those words can be heard (in Spanish) on the bonus track of ‘Reencuentro’, the fandango ‘La víbora rabiosa’, and are as touching as his matchless quejío. And this new installment of the Cádiz-born cantaor’s previously unreleased sound and visual archives might already be worthwhile for those words only. Archives which, by the way, seem to be endless. And with a reason, since it has hardly taken it three or four weeks to climb to the second slot on the Spanish record charts.

'Reencuentro' (CD + DVD + T-shirt + 5 photos)

Through his son Luis Monje and Maín Gómez-Escolar, searching has been done in the archives of Radio Televisión Española, in those of the record company Universal and in those of the family, and previously unreleased finds have been ‘cleaned’ and redone. Its makers assure that it was arduous studio work, not just storing but also wrapping, since one has ‘dared’ to add new musical arrangements by musicians such as Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Tino di Geraldo, Manolo Nieto and Diego Amador. To begin with, a potpourri por tangos over five minutes long has been done which includes ‘Soy gitano’, arrangements by the Lisbon Symphony Orchestra and a collaboration by La Susi. It continues with ‘La saeta’, a duo with Spanish singer-songwriter Serrat and choruses by the group Jarcha. And next, a series of several cantes through styles such as soleá, alegrías, bulerías and a Christmas carol, with special collaborations on guitar by Tomatito and Luis Monge.

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If the album - due to the re-elaboration, not the cante - is subject to criticism, tastes, preferences and appraisals, what is unquestionable is the DVD. It includes eleven clips of Camarón live, all of which come from the archives of Spain’s public television company. And together they take a worthwhile tour which shows how the cantaor evolved artistically, vitally and even esthetically. Most of them are shows by the artist with different accompanists, on several stages and with different cantaor tessituras. But there are also statements by personages like María Picardo, the owner of Venta de Vargas, Raimundo Amador, Manuel Molina, Remedios Amaya, and of course, Paco de Lucía. All of it guided and contextualized by the here analyst and guide José Manuel Gamboa. And the thing is that what’s seen in ‘Reencuentro’, which is presented in a box set with a gift t-shirt and photos, is much more believable that what is heard. More reasons to believe in him. Oh, by the way, it’s a limited edition.