World > Latin World > Tango > up to 5 GBP

Advantages: Gorgeous sultry tango music for late-night listening.
Disadvantages: Only about 40 minutes of music, not to everyone's taste.

Argentinian Astor Piazzolla was responsible for the creation of "tango nuevo", or new/modern tango, fusing traditional tango music with jazz and classical elements. (If you know of Gotan Project, he was an inspiration for them - they also sometimes play his compositions.) While most of the other albums he recorded are sparklingly precise, this one is slightly rougher round the edges, often slow, sultry, even dirty - and deliberately so, Piazzolla ...
...be played by drunk musicians in a bordello". Which is fair enough, given that is exactly where the tango originated. This is a late recording, made in 1987 (he died in 1992) and features a small group of musicians playing piano, violin, bass, electric guitar, clarinet/alto sax, and bandoneon, which Piazzola himself plays - he did so on all his recordings. The bandoneon is a type of accordion - and before I discovered this kind of music, just thinking ... Read review

Advantages: Some really poignant songs
Disadvantages: None really

Christy Moore - Ride On. 1984. I have long been a fan of Irish music, and a fan of protest songs, from John Lennon to The Clash, so it is fair to say that I have a fair collection of Irish protest music, some of which has a distinctly anti-British feel. Before anyone slates me for writing a review of well known IRA sympathisers' songs, many of which are very supportive of the IRA cause, let me say this. Like it or not, there has been a conflict ...
...Great opener. 8/10. 2. Ride On The title song. Gorgeous guitar work with a real Latin feel for the introduction. It is a folk tale of admiration and perhaps jealousy. The story of a peasant looking on to a woman of riches riding on, who he may or may not have had a dalliance with. To me it is very folky and not that strong, but pleasant enough. 6/10. 3. Vive la Quinte Brigada This song is fantastic. Many people may not know that a bunch of Irish ... Read review

Advantages: composition, vocals
Disadvantages: none

Anybody can recognize "The Girl From Ipanema", it's a classic. But where did it come from? Where did Bossa Nova spread its roots? Pianist Tom Jobim is credited for the composition of most of the classic Bossa Nova standards, but is was João Gilberto who took these standards, and interpreted on the guitar what we now identify as Bossa Nova. By harmonizing the chords on the guitar with the traditional Brazilian Samba rhythm, Gilberto evolved Jobims' ...
...virtuous, but what really captures me is his voice. He sings with a "blown" quality as if he is blowing air from his gut, which produces an intimate close-to-the-microphone sound. It's possible to hear his lips smacking dryly during the pronounciation of certain words, and he has an excellent vocal amplitude, using mostly low-pitched but well chosen notes. This album is fun to compare to his other work, as over the years his performances have become ...