Notes & Personnel Info |  | Performers include: Carlos Gardel, Astor Piazzolla Y Su Quinteto Tango Nuevo, | | Anibal Troilo, Adriana Varela, Beatriz Pichi Malen, La Chicana, Lorena Astudillo, Hugo Diaz, Caceres, Osvaldo Piro, Roberto Grela, Barbara Luna, Cuarteto Almargo, Jamie Torres, Domingo Cura, Antonio Agri & Ricardo Dominguez, Alberto Rojo, Chango Spasiuk. | | Liner Note Author: Dan "Boxcar" Rosenberg. | | Photographers: Alejandro Lavagnino; Eduardo Torres. | | Arranger: Juan Carlos Caceres. | | While attempting to show off the diversity of Argentine music beyond the omnipresent tango, The Rough Guide to the Music of Argentina may have countered its own intentions, by displaying a wide variety of tango, certainly, but also by displaying other non-tango styles, wherein it happens that the influences of tango can be heard quite often. That said, it's an excellent primer for the diversity of the tango, with small additions from outside the genre. The album opens with a vocal tango courtesy of Adriana Varela, before moving into some candombe-inspired very early-style tango from la Chicana. Some straightforward folksinging from the powerful voice of Lorena Astudillo marks the first departure from the main focus here, but the sound turns quickly enough back to the tango, with a surprisingly capable rendition on the harmonica. Juan Carlos Caceres updates the sound with a little more rhythm, and two of the brightest lights in instrumental music are presented in sequence, with Osbaldo Piro's emotive bandoneon playing and Roberto Grela's excellent guitar work, both former members of Anibal Troilo's legendary bands. Walter Rios performs the heaviest, strangest rendition of "La Cumparsita" you're ever likely to hear, followed immediately by another updating of sorts, with the addition of salsa piano riffing to the basics of milonga song. At this point, the biggest three names in tango come in a somewhat out-of-order sequence: Carlos Gardel provides a nice vocal piece (unfortunately not "Por una Cabeza," but good nonetheless), followed by a piece from Astor Piazzolla and his Four Seasons suite, and then a work from Anibal Troilo (who, realistically, should have been between Gardel and Piazzolla) -- all excellent pieces from the greatest artists. Moving out of the tango idiom entirely for a bit, the album moves to Jaime Torres' charango for a fine huella, an old Mapuche folk song from Beatriz Pichi Malen, and the "emperor of the bomba" Domingo Cura for an excellent example of the chacarera style. Moving back into tango are violinist Antonio Agri and Ricardo Dominguez, followed by something almost Cuban from Alberto Rojo. Ending the album is a bit of chamame on the accordion -- country music from the heartlands of South America, and mildly similar to some Tejano singing. Give it a listen for the tango, and dig a little for the good parts of the non-tango repertoire as well. ~ Adam Greenberg |
Producer: Phil Stanton (Compilation); Dan Rosenberg (Compilation) |
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