Martín Guijarro, January 2006

Old-time cante for the beginning of flamenco's third century. Tomás de Perrate keeps alive the heritage of his elders and Utrera's cantaor idiosyncrasy in ‘Perraterías’. But with nuances. His archaic cante comes ‘seasoned’ with production by Ricardo Pachón – Camarón's producer beginning with ‘La leyenda del tiempo’-, especially in the songs with pop-rock instrumentation. El Piyayo's reggae-style tangos and the tonás with drums exemplify those innovations which don't contribute anything new to flamenco's musical scene, but try and give a different touch to a cantaor who himself doesn't need much seasoning.

And the thing is that to be liked most of all on this album is the voice coming from the past of the son of the mythical Perrate de Utrera. That unhurried zest is bared in songs such as the soleá ‘A solas con papa’ and the grand finale through bulerías ‘Magia La Perrata’. Having their own special something are the cuplé through bulerías ‘Olvídate’, Fernanda de Utrera-style; and the bulerías ‘Compay Diego’, a tribute to Diego del Gastor which includes the “tales” made up by his uncle Curro el Vereó, with lyrics by Tomás de Perrate himself.

The CD is accompanied by an extensive libretto with black-and-white photos, all the lyrics, a text written by the cantaor and commentaries of all the songs, as a sort of listening guide. All of it, in Spanish and English.