“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.
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.
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.
