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Product Description
Review
Rodrigo y Gabriela are one of those rare acts who can leave you open-mouthed in awe when witnessed live. There’s something mesmerising about watching the Dublin-based Mexican duo thrashing seven shades of salsa-flavoured jazz-metal fusion out of their long-suffering acoustic guitars on stage. Much of their appeal lies in this exceptional playing: the pair can often resemble a couple of demonically possessed Hispanic street urchins caught just after trading their souls to el Diablo at a crossroads somewhere near Guadalajara.
Their three studio albums proper and three live recordings thus far have only partly succeeded in transferring the energy of their stage performances. A tendency towards meandering, progressively-inclined instrumental sojourns can make for difficult listening when unaccompanied by the sight of its creators in frenzied axe action.
On this occasion they’ve chosen to enlist C.U.B.A., a 13-piece band (can you guess where they’re from?) to beef up the two nylon-stringed acoustic guitars that form the core of their sound, as they attempt to rework nine numbers from their back catalogue. Unfortunately, with these new layers of accompaniment, there’s often just too much going on to keep the listener’s attention focused.
The hooks of Ixtapa are engulfed by lengthy instrumental excursions, ritzy brass decoration and overcrowded polyrhythms. Meanwhile, the constant prog-tastic changes in tempo become exhausting and disorientating. You feel like you’ve run a triathlon just listening to it sometimes.
If you’re here to admire the musicianly chops on display then you might be more in your element. Meanwhile, guest appearances from Anoushka Shankar’s sitar improvisation and Palestinian oud virtuosos Le Trio Joubran will doubtless interest World Music connoisseurs. But the casual listener may not be quite so enthralled.
Their sense of adventure seemingly knows no bounds, yet when, after six leisurely minutes of jazz-rock noodling, 11.11 suddenly segues into a passage of Cuban folk singing backed by a lone drummer, the strong whiff of pretension might hang rather too heavy in the air for some tastes.
That said, when their breathless guitar workouts are allowed space to breathe by lighter salsa-style backing, as on Master Maqui or Tamacun and the electrifying turbo-flamenco of Diablo Rojo, they regain that hypnotic quality that entrances so effortlessly live. Ultimately, though, these are tantalising tastes from an otherwise over-egged pudding.
--Johnny Sharp
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CD Description
Rod & Gab songs rearranged and rerecorded with a 13-piece Cuban band. The album is called 'Area 52' because they felt like Mulder & Scully while recording it (experimenting, new frontiers, etc). · 'Area 52' is their first recorded collaboration with another group of musicians; a thirteen piece Cuban orchestra composed of some of Havana's finest young players, collectively known as C.U.B.A. On 'Area 52' Rodrigo y Gabriela revisit nine of their compositions and reinterpret them in a new and dramatic fashion; this is Rodrigo y Gabriela as they have never been heard before. Guests on the album include Anoushka Shankar on sitar, rock drummer John Tempesta (The Cult, White Zombie, Testament) on two tracks, jazz bass player Carles Benavent (Miles Davis, Paco De Lucia, Chick Corea) on two tracks, Palestinian group Le Trio Joubran and Samuel Formell Alfonso from Los Van Van.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Complete masterpiece. If you are already a fan and come with an open mind you'll fall in love with it. It's like the second half of their Live in Manchester and Dublin album x 100. As mentioned in the review by TexasBrit there is a wide range of styles on display and the arrangements have been carefully thought out to highlight the beauty and energy of both melody and rhythm. A lot of the tracks on 11:11, where half of these tracks originate, were nods to Rod & Gab's inspirations and these arrangements help illuminate those without ever descending in to pastiche, parody or instrumental karaoke. It's worth getting the version that includes the DVD as this gives a good insight into the care with which the album was made. A superb album that rewards repeated listens and will lift your mood whenever you play it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Not quite as full on guitar as others but fabulously funky, arrangements with depth and dance and worth getting into.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'm a fan of the duo and have both their earlier CDs and I have to say this wasn't what I expected. I do like it but it took me a while to get into it. If you are used to their wonderful guitar pyrotechnics then this may come as a shock. They play with a Cuban band and sometimes the guitars are swamped by the overpowering band. It certainly grows on you but it is very different from their earlier work
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
area 52
wonderful album a total new experience of their music with the Cuban influence. It takes the music to a new level.
Published 27 days ago by John Wright
Not what I was expecting from this CD
When I first heard of Rodrigo y Gabriela in a guitar mag I had to get the CD. I chose this one first but was disapointed not to hear a CD of guitar music, not to say this CD is no... Read more
Published 27 days ago by Garry Booth
Different, but good different.
As per usual, Rodrigo y Gabriela are amazing. In this album they are playing along side Cuban musicians and have made a very Latiny albums, doing some Latin versions of previous... Read more
Published 2 months ago by orsharp
so far from the quality of the rest of their stuff
I have got all their albums and they all get played - but not this one. Went to see them live on tour with CUBA too - but left.
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Simon J. Kyte
Rubbish
A real shame that the product does not meet the advertising. I bought their previous album and it is one of my most played, sadly this album is almost exclusively Cuban style which... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mayday
Rodrigo y Gabriela + C.U.B.A.
Some reviews complain about the album sounding Santanaesque. Well I guess that's a fair comment. However, Rodrigo only seriously picks up the Gibson Les Paul - the first time he's... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. C. E. Waters
area 52
rodrigo gabriela have come a long way in last eight to nine years this cd shows it and good it is,they are one of the best in this modern age.ivan
Published 3 months ago by Mr. I. C. R. Cleak
A favorite album upon its first hearing
I'm sorry that the other reviewer felt that this album was just a kind of rehash of Carlos Santana. I couldn't disagree more--Rodrigo y Gabriela have created in "Area 52" a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by TexasBrit
Latin Junk.
I bought this because i loved all the other albums, for the Spanish Guitar sound.This is just a remake of old songs but with a Latin American(Cuban) band that drown them out!! Read more
Published 4 months ago by DougieC
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