Rodrigo Y Gabriela (+DVD) - Rodrigo Y Gabriela > Reviews > Guitar music for any occasion

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Not applicable
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Blend of heavy metal and latin guitar styles produces an excellent sound
Disadvantages:	Entirely instumental so not for the lyric orientated

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Ok, as a guitar player and a fan of great rock music I was a bit sceptical about listening to an instrumental spanish guitar album. I admit I wasn't expecting to like it.

Let's just say how wrong I was! This is guitar music for guitar players but also doubles as great background music for any occasion. I don't know anyone who has listened to this album in my presence and asked for it to be switched off.

Now to the tracks. One thing that modern rock lacks is the flashing of guitar proficiency. This album has guitar proficiency by the bucket load. The music is typically fast paced and rhythmic. The two players rodrigo and gabriela play together seamlessly with rodrigo providing the introcate melodies and gabriela providing the wall of sound that make up the rhythmic strumming sections of each track.

Tamucan is the first track (and also the first single) from the album and is deserved of a five star rating. The following tracks diablo rojo and vikingman do not fail to live up to this standard.

I feel it is all too often in an album that they get the classics out the way and start to fill space and on first listening I often wait for this decline to occur. This album however does not drop from its five star standard at any moment and each track is memerable in its own way.

Then we come to the covers. First, Stairway to Heaven a track that I would consider untouchable. Covering this would only end in disappointment, right ? wrong again. This version of stairway has been given a fast paced latin feel while conserving that all important solo and the result that matches if not betters the original. The other cover is Orion a song originally by Metallica. Ok this is not a song I have heard before but this version builds up over a good seven minutes at is like a musical journey. For those who like long tracks that build and build over time this is certainly a great track. The song has a dark heavy metal feel throughout and is very rhythmic in its style and perhaps my favourite track on the album.

This album has a range of styles of music and is in no way repetitive. From the up beat melodies of Tamucan and Juan Loco to the dark rhythmic sections of Orion and Diablo Rojo. This album is in no way just another spanish guitar album but an album of a unique style that can be played over and over again.