Just from glancing at the cover you can see this is something different. El Pele and Vicente Amigo give an open display of their mutual understanding. And that's the essence of 'Canto' (released in 2003 on the BMG label), an embrace between cantaor and guitarist which reveals much more than a joint career and shared 'nationality'. The bond between them is as affectionate as the embrace on the cover, a smiling embrace with a knowing wink, with a note of humor, full of mutual admiration and love. And turning to the material, love is the underlying theme running though the album.

Accessibility is the name of the game in this new crossing of paths between El Pele's booming voice and Vicente Amigo's prodigious guitar. And here we have more evidence of Vicente Amigo's creative flair, which has already spawned creations such as Remedios Amaya's 'Me voy contigo' and José Mercé's 'Del Amanecer' - he's the one who oversees production of the disc, as well as writing the music and lyrics to almost all of the songs. The album 'Canto', meaning simply 'song', contains ten tracks where up-tempo is the rule: alegrías, bulerías, rumbas and even sevillanas. And the recipe? On the one hand the impressive voice of Manuel Moreno Maya with generous accompaniment provided by his 'Amigo', and on the other hand the catchy rhythms and infectious choruses throughout the disc. There'll be those who feel the album is overly superficial... and it wouldn't be an unjustifiable claim.

The album opens with the alegrías 'Canto', a clear demonstration of the vibrancy that this team-up have to offer today's flamenco scene. A fresh-sounding canto, its infectious melodies sung by coros, it's also something of a biography in verse of the cantaor. 'Los amantes', por bulerías, is dedicated "to the memory of Enrique Montoya," and follows in the same vein. La Susi eases the number in as a gentle ballad, before the guitar and palmas enter, hailing the powerful lungs of El Pele. The music for this romantic bulería is rounded off with percussion (Paquito González), drums (Pedro Barceló), sax (Cristobal Agromonte) and bass (Antonio Ramos), and the result is irresistibly captivating. 'Iré con el viento' uses the formula of accessible flamenco applied to a tango rhythm. It begins slowly, with light strumming guitar and the gentle marking of time. The coros give way to the voice of the cantaor, who gives his all, forceful, spiralling into the upper registers... And Vicente Amigo stamps the performance with his own personal seal, adding ornamentation in the form of his beautiful falsetas.

And nothing stands in the way of the rumba. 'Enamorao' is something of a narration, beginning with a light, unadorned guitar, joined by the smooth, soft voice of El Pele. And as the song develops there's a seamless transition to the chorus, the pivotal point of the song. And rumbas crop up again in 'Llámale amor', a light-hearted, catchy tune, leaving plenty of room for Vicente Amigo's soaring guitar to embalm the song at whim. And 'Canto' also features a Jerez-style bulería: 'La estrella de Manuel' where the cantaor gives an exhilarating performance to the sound of a vigorous guitar. The icing on the cake: La Susi's lyrics interspersed with those of El Pele. The up-beat 'festero' section of the album is rounded off with 'Sevillanas del pañuelo', composed by El Pele, breathing new life into the classical format of the sevillana, with a storyline woven into four sections. And, to close the album, 'Gitana cordobesa', a "bolero" set to the time signature of a bulería, which pays homage to the famous muse from the paintings by Julio Romero de Torres.

There's also space on the album for more somber moods. Between bulerías and rumbas, El Pele and Vicente Amigo shake off all kind of ornamentation, and perform a sparse soleá 'Rincón de los amargos' - a bitter corner "with space for everybody". Here it's just El Pele on vocals and Vicente Amigo on guitar. Cante and toque with substance, wise, knowing, full-bodied. The seguiriya appears in a different light on 'Aconteció': more searching, more concerned with bringing the past into the future. And so this orthodox form of cante forms the backdrop for the artists to play around with the music, and the result is a moody, intense song. These two tracks round off a disc which is much needed in today's flamenco market - with full marks for accessibility, quality and cordiality.

More information:

Interview with Vicente Amigo and El Pele about 'Canto' (October, 2003)