Search - Strunz & Farah :: Frontera

When they used to play more than cocktail lounge flamenco

03/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This remains the best and most varied record from these two trendsetters. While their more recent records have become monotonous with the same beats and solos in every song, here every song is a majestic world of its own: the tempered jungle floatation of "Quetzal;" the human rights outcry of "Zona Liberada" featuring their most intense blurring speed whiplash inducing guitar break; the psychoerotic bellydance of "Reng;" the serene,firebreathing astronomy of Cassiopeia; the 100% Agave, lambada mayhem of "Rio Nuevo;" the scorching, sunbaked romance of "Abrazo;" the floating, eastern meditation of "Amitsar;" the opium-trail, mystical-caravan desert adventure of "The Dervish." This whole record has a unique atmosphere all its own, something like joy-of-aspiration-fulfilled running through it. Strunz and Farah's fusion of middle eastern sounds with flamenco, jazz, rock and latin elements reached its zenith on "Frontera." It went downhill from here, though very gradually. Trust me, if you're interested in the quality of the music, long after you're sick of eating the Guacamole Burgers of their disco records you'll be feasting on the Filet Mignon of "Frontera." Also, since you like acoustic guitar of the highest caliber or you wouldn't be reading this, I will recommend to you Larry Coryell's fantastic "Bolero" record. Buy that and "Frontera" and five years from now you'll still be listening to both."

One of Strunz and Farah's finest albums

09/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased this CD in 1989, but I just noticed that nobody has reviewed it here yet. Frontera is arguably one of the best S&F albums of their career, not only because of their amazing technique and compositional abilities, but also because here they are backed by some of the best musicians in jazz: Alex Acuna, Stanley Clarke, among many others. The opening track is my own personal favorite of Strunz's songs, so complex and melodic at the same time. The opening lick of this tune was taken by Ketama for their own recording of "Vente Pa' Madrid", which shows the influence that this duo has even with Nuevo Flamenco groups of today. Other highlights from the record are Reng, Rio Nuevo, Abrazo and Amritsar. The latter one is just incredible, full of blazing scales at top speed. Frontera is definitely worth buying if you have S&F's latest releases but are not too familiar with their old stuff. This CD will serve as a great introduction."