Search - Vicente Amigo :: Paseo De Gracia

A bit disappointing

TD | 09/14/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you enjoy easy-listening flamenco you will love this. Technically it is also superb--Vicente Amigo's fingerwork is simply stunning. The playing is beautifully precise with incredible range from an almost whispering softness to thundering rasgueados. There are practically no other flamenco guitarrists who can manage to make a guitar sound like that. Having said that, I find many of the melodies rather kitsch and too commercial. The best tracks are the one with Estrella Morente, where the singing keeps the guitar grounded in a more profound kind of playing, and the one with Enrique too (who sings with a beautiful low voice), except for the rather jarring chorus."

Disappointing

Daniel Volovets | Minneapolis, MN | 10/05/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"After the excellent "Un Momento En El Sonido", which was a brilliantly tasteful combination of tradition and innovation, "Paseo de Gracia" falls flat. After I listened to the album for the first time, I proclaimed that it was Vicente's best. Then, I realized that most of the tracks were cleverly disguised rumbas... there are some other palos, such as bulerias and tangos, but all the tracks come off as extremely derivative, especially the one with Estrella Morente. Vicente is one of the best guitarists out there, period -- "Paseo de Gracia" is not one of his best efforts. I read in a couple of interviews that Vicente wasn't wild about recording a "pop flamenco" record, and I can tell... the tunes on this album are, for the most part, lifeless. I sincerely hope he will return to what made his music so great -- a mix of flamenco tradition and new melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ideas from outside the flamenco realm."

Excellent addition to my collection

Robert Ortiz | So Cal | 03/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I find "Paseo de Gracia" is an excellent compliment to my collection of Vicente's previous works.

Colorful, dramatic or romantic textures, chilling vocals, I really love what Vicente and friends have done with this CD!"