International music reviews

If you like the kind of bluegrass that was featured on the Andy Griffith Show, you will like this cd. It has the same crisp sound and vocals. However, the young lady that accompanied them on the show does not sing on this album. Two favorites from Mayberry are on it-Tom Dooley and There was a time. There is a little humor between some of the songs (remember, it's almost live).

I was thrilled to find these albums on CD, since my LPs are pretty much worn to dust. The music is great, and the sound quality of the CD is very good.

However, two minor points.

First, a note to the Amazon folks - you should have this listed under Dillards, not Dillard and Clark. I almost didn't find it. Dillard and Clark was formed in 1968 by Doug Dillard and Gene Clark of The Byrds. Clark had nothing to do with these 2 albums.

Second, somebody needs to tell Johnny Rogan, who wrote the notes in the booklet that accompanies the CD, that Salem, Missouri is NOT "infamous in history for its witch trials". That's another Salem altogether.

I don't know anything about the "Darlings" or the Andy Griffith Show... I saw the Dillards in a Los Angeles club way back in the 60s. Liked their schtik and loved their music. Bought an album of theirs (33-1/3 rpm) and played it until it was well and truly dead. It's a treat once more listen to "Whole World Round" and "Never See My Home Again" and all the great riffs on the mandolin and banjo. It never grows stale.

This is my first Willie Rosario CD and I'm very pleased with what I've heard. It's loaded with great music with performances by great vocalists: Gilberto, Tony & Papo. I highly recommend this CD.

This is the style of salsa that I listened to growing up in Ponce Puerto Rico. Nothing wimpy here. No cry baby lyrics, no R&B fusion B.S. All 100% real salsa with real instruments and 100% really danceable. Great contributions by Tony Vega, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Papo Lucca. Worth buying, worth listening to and worth dancing to it.

Willie Rosario AKA Mr. Swing, Mr. Afinque, El Rey Del Ritmo has recorded a landmark album in celebration of his 40th anniversary as a musical director, band leader, arranger and drummer. Over the years, he has earned the respect and admiration of everyone in the (Latin) music business, despite the fact that he has never taken a solo!But that is another story....

A protege of the late Tito Rodriguez, Willie Rosario has been leading his orchestra since 1958. His band has been "escuela" (like a college) for many up and coming vocalists and musicians. In fact, this is a reunion of sorts, with vocalists such as Tony Vega and Gilberto Santa Rosa appearing with the orchestra (to name a few.) Add to this formula the spectacular Pappo Lucca on keyboards and arrangements by Bobby Valentin (another master in the genre) and you have a winning combination.

Getting down to basics, this fine recording is for dancers and swings from beginning to end. In my opinion, this recording is highly underrated. More over, it was certainly worthy of a Grammy nomination in the Latin music category (1999.) Unfortunately, it was never even considered. Go figure!

In conclusion, I dare you to listen to this recording and not get up and dance! This recording is great for a party. Enjoy!

Este es probablemente el mejor cd de Soda Stereo. Lo sigue muy de cerca el Sue�o Stereo del '95 y el unplugged. No digo que sea el mejor solo por que contenga m�sica ligera en su tracklist. De hecho el album tiene sorpresas incluso m�s agradables. Mucho Rock, solos de guitarra y bateria. Gran trabajo en Hombre Al Agua y Sueles Dejarme Solo. El album m�s rockero de Soda Stereo, sin perder la sutileza que los caracteriza.

"Canci?n Animal" es seguramente el mejor disco de la m?s popular de las bandas de rock de Am?rica latina de todos los tiempos, Soda Stereo.
Pero es m?s que eso. Es el disco que permiti? a toda una generaci?n disfrutar de las m?s bellas poes?as en combinaci?n con los mort?feros riffs de la guitarra de Cerati y la demoledora base que componen Bossio-Alberti.
Es probable que si este disco no hubiese salido al mercado muchas de las grandes bandas latinas de hoy no hubieran existido.
Por suerte para todos, el disco sali? fue exitoso y es un ?lbum clave para entender al rock en espa?ol. Temas recomendados: "Un mill?n de a?os luz", "Canci?n animal", "Hombre al agua" y, especialmente "De m?sica ligera".

The other reviewers have pretty much said it all: signed and delivered. This production by extinct Argentinian super-band Soda Stereo, marks the peak of their creativity. Their work can almost be defined as pre-Cancion Animal and post-Cancion Animal. With some the band's most solid works, such as "El Septimo Dia" (the Seventh Day), "Un Millon de A�os Luz" (A million lightyears), the track that gave the album its title, "De M�sica Ligera" (Made of Light Music) and "Hombre al Agua" (Man Overboard), this production is as solid as any Rock en Espa�ol act can aspire for, but also it marks a musical landmark that should serve as a reference for Rock music at large.

By blending styles gradually from Ska, Punk Rock and a sound that resembled The Police in Spanish in their first years, the band rised up to the ocasion during the years when music in English was not well regarded in Argentina (after the war in the Falkland Islands). Later on, they took on a particular-yet-ever-evolving style that would only belong to them, as the best Rock act in Latin America, during most of the eighties and the first part of the nineties, something that not even Mana or Cafe Tacuba can come remotely close to. If you want to get into Soda deeper, get this album, get Signos, and get "El Ultimo Concierto" (A and B). You won't regret it ever.

This is a mix of rithms and thoughs between Eurpoe and Latinamerica. This work reflects the reaility of LatinAmerica through songs like Senor Matanza. Excellent Job!

Good to see everyone speaks so highly of this CD.

What can you say about Mano Negra that has not been said? This CD is one of the best top 10 Castellano rock albums of all times. How do I know this? Well besides being from Buenos Aires I have traveled Latin America and Espa�a all my life and this CD is always in any hip rock bar's jukebox from Argentina to Mexico. It's true + what Manu did with Clandestino, etc... set this cd into eternal immortality. Rock, rap, reggae, Caribbean sounds, punk, English, Castellano, French (+ you start to notice Manu playing around with the sounds bites from TV and radio on this album) Buy it and you will not be disappointed. Amazon has all from Manu and Mano Negra on here which you should check out. Look for the Bolivian mountain sessions on MP3 Download sites, also has a rare Mano Negra appearance at a French prison early 90's. " 2 de la tarde 28 minutos con radio recuerdos...tu suerte merece un chance...._" Arturo

I MEAN IT. I WASN'T SURE TO BUY THIS ALBUM BECAUSE I WASN`T SURE IT WAS MY STYLE YOU KNOW, I WAS (AND AM) INTO SONIC YOUTH, DEAD KENNEDYS, KYUSS, HENDRIX, FUNKADELIC AND THE MARS VOLTA, BUT I BOUGHT IT A FEW MONTHS AGO AND IT IS MIND BLOWING. YOU CAN`T DOWNLOAD JUST "SOME SONGS" BECAUSE THIS ALBUM IS ALMOST A CONCEPT ALBUM, YOU GOTTA HEAR IT THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH. I DON`T GIVE A XX@@� ABOUT THE VARIETY OF STYLES, I REALLY DIG IT BEACAUSE OF THE VERY CORE OF MUSIC ITSELF. ENERGY, PASSION, FIRE. YOU`LL NEVER GONNA GET TIRED OF THIS CD. NOW, I MEAN IT.

I RECOMEND YOU THE MERCURIO'S CD BECAUSE YOU CAN IDENTIFY SOME MOMENTS OF THE YOU LIVE WITH HIS SONGS AND ENJOY HIS FELLING.

What can I say about this CD everyone who has ever listened to it has to admit that this is Mercurio's best CD. Forget the past and their new stuff, this is the one to get. Poncho, Alex, Danny, Rodri and Hector have never sounded better.

I RECOMEND YOU THE MERCURIO'S CD BECAUSE YOU CAN IDENTIFY SOME MOMENTS OF THE YOU LIVE WITH HIS SONGS AND ENJOY HIS FELLING.

I haven't heard much of the full album "Cry", and I'm far from the biggest fan of Faith Hill more generally. "This Kiss" and "Breathe" were each annoying in their respective ways. "The Way You Love Me" is a clever song with some cool couterpoint at the end. The more recent Faith seems very pretentious without interesting songs to back it up.

Taken on its own, however, "Cry" is one of the most excellent songs in recent memory, and I don't just mean in country music. The way that the voice stays just out of sync with the strong drums builds up just the right feeling of tamped-down rage. The bare lines at the end of the bridge ("I don't want pity; I just want what is mine.") lead to an explosion in the last chorus. As someone who listens to a lot of stuff classified as folk, indie-pop, or alt-country, I just don't expect this much ambition in songwriting from the major Country scene today. "Cry" is a nice exception that everyone should check out.

I got the single back in Oct. of 2002, before "Cry" was released, and I was shocked at the new sound that Mrs. Hill was sporting. You could tell that she was branching out, and redrawing-if you will-the bounderies of country music. I've read alot of articles that say Shania Twain was the original "cross-over" pioneer for country, but I think that Faith has really done the job well. While Twain is hugely successful with her "two disc" sound, Hill has put everything she has into one "take it or leave it" amazing cd. The "B" tracks on the CRY single (Wicked, Shadows) show how much this artist has grown. Wicked has beautiful, single lines of poetry intertwined together to tell a heartfelt story, that I still haven't quite figured out! The poetry alone makes the song worth the price of the CD! But then it's set to a catchy, upbeat, country-rock sound that stays in your head for days! The second song, (Shadows) has to be one of my favorite songs of all times. It's the "If I Should Fall Behind" (Off 1999's "Breathe") of Hills new album. It's a song that tells a story of a pleading heart to a best friend/lover, saying "tell me the truth, it won't scare me, and no matter what, I'm here. I want to carry the pain with you". The song has so much meaning it's hard to sum it up in one line! And of course, we should talk about CRY. It seems on this single, "Cry" is left out of the reviews because of how wonderful the "B" tracks are! Cry is a wonderful song, a lover to another begging to see some more emotion, as proof that they still care. Angie Aparro did wonderful with this song, and was hugely under-rated with it. Faith Hill carries this torch well, and I'm certain Apparo is proud. I noticed that this single has a 5 star rating, that means everyone who has voted for it has given it a perfect score - so will you.

Ok, I know that all the songs that dont make the cut for the records make it to live performances, but these two songs should be execptions!!! Wicked is one of the best, hauntingly creative songs I have ever heard before. Shadows is also haunting in a way that it speaks to you from someones soul. It shows that you need to find that specific person deep down inside and know everyone all around. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is the best way of explaining Shadows! Again, more fine work for the woman known as Faith Hill!!

this CD is a great example of where Mexican alt/pop rock is going. Once you've played it a few times you just can't stop! Even my non-spanish speaking friends like it.

I first heard their music on a couple of neat flash videos (http://flash.vinnieveritas.com/) and I thought it rockedthen! This new CD is even better, especially the song Dia!That one is the best in my opinion.

I bought this album after buying the band's first disc and was very impressed with the growth and maturity of the group. While the first disc had a harder edge, this disc is pure pop, which is not meant to be a slander. Each song is well-crafted, radio-friendly pop music, filtered through latin ears and experiences. It is difficult to select one song to point out because they each have their charms, but 'Cada Vez que Me Voy' is incredible. I can't think of a better-crafted pop song I have heard in the last few years.

If you prefer your latin pop music on the experimental side, stick with Kinky or Zurdok. If you just want straight pop music to divert yourself momentarily from the pressures of this crazy life, I can't think of a better album.

Three of Costa Rica's most talented musicians make up this trio. Edin Solis on the classical guitar, Ricardo Ramirez on the violin and keyboards, and Carlos Vargas (Tapado) plays percussion as well as keyboard and piano. Together they blend the styles of jazz and classical music with the folkloric sounds of Costa Rica. They are truly a wonderful sample of Costa Rican music. On this instrumental album they are joined in several songs by vocalists. The beautiful voices of Leon Gieco from Argentina, Fidel Gamboa from Costa Rica and Ruben Blades from Panama, contribute to this collection, which celebrates Editus' fist ten years as a musical group.

'DecadaUno' (Decade One) showcases the best recordings of Costa Rican ensemble Editus through their first 10 years of performance and locally released CDs. From their humble beginnings as a duo playing at wedding parties (I met them many times when I worked on the local wedding circuit - they still do sometimes, albeit in an understandably more upscale setting) to their current state, patronized by Latin music star Ruben Blades, featuring them in his latest recordings. Featured here is Editus through all their decade-long phases - from a duo by violinist Ricardo Ram�rez and guitarist Ed�n Sol�s, expanding into a trio with percusionist Carlos 'Tapado' Vargas, and into a Latin Jazz sextet. If you are into contemporary instrumental ensembles like the Nancy Rumbel/Eric Tingstad duo or are simply a world music fan, Editus will be a nice addition to your collection.

CUANDO ESCUCHE POR PRIMERA VEZ A UN GRUPITO EN UN RESTAURANT ALLA POR ESCAZU Y HARA UNOS 12 A�OS DE NOMBRE EDITUS QUEDE IMPRESIONADO.AQUELLOS DOS MUCHACHOS NO ERAN PARA TOCAR MIENTRAS UNO ESTABA CENANDO.
EL TIEMPO HA DADO LA RAZON .EDITUS AHORA ES UNA BANDA COMPACTA, MADURA,CAPAZ DE HACER JAZZ,NEW AGE ,FUSION Y HASTA DE ACOMPA�AR A UN CONSAGRADO COMO RUBEN BLADES...Y ESO ES DECIR MUCHO.
ESTE DISCO ES FABULOSO,TAN BUENO COMO CUALQUIER DISCO HECHO EN CUALQUIER OTRO LUGAR DEL MUNDO.Y ESTAN PARA MAS.GRUPO DE CALIDAD MUNDIAL PERO MADE IN COSTA RICA.QUE ORGULLO!!

I absolutely love this CD. I first heard the music when a friend of mine played the (then) album just after we both returned from Spain on foreign study in the '70s. The words of Machado said so much to me about what I had seen and learned about Spain, and the music by Serrat couldn't be more appropriate. I managed to buy the album a number of years later on a trip to Mexico and them bought the CD many more years later when it was available from Amazon. In my mind, it's timeless. If you have a sense of the history of Spain and the Spanish people, you will love this music. My personal favorite is La Saeta.

I was heartbroken to find that the quality of the recording is this bad... lots of hissing and noise that could be easily removed with modern technology. It just goes to show that music companies like BMG prefer to put resources on junk than to pay attention to what people really buy, because even with the bad quality, Serrat's work shines. Joan Manuel, if you are reading this, get rid of BMG, go somewhere else. You are too good for that mafia.

Serrat obtuvo el 26 de julio del 2000 el Primer Premio Antonio Machado que lo otorga la Fundaci�n Espa�ola Antonio Machado, debido al gran trabajo que realiz� con este disco en el a�o de 1969, dando a conocer a muchos, al gran poeta espa�ol del siglo XX, de una manera tan hermosa y deliciosa. Este disco contiene 11 poemas de Machado musicalizados por Serrat, y una canci�n de Joan Manuel dedicada a su poeta. Es otro de los grandes discos de la musica en espa�ol, una obra de arte, respaldada por hermosos y grandes poemas y una musica tan c�lida y exquisita, acompa�ada por la particular voz de, para m�, el m�s grande cantante de Espa�a y de los pa�ses de lengua espa�ola.

Yo he comprado varios albumes de musica latina classica, para poder entender mejor la evolucion de la musica. Este disco sin una duda tiene el mejor sonido que he oido que haya sido grabado hace tanto tiempo. Parte de la razon es que consiguieron las grabaciones originales para conseguir el mejor sonido posible.

Honestamente no me gusto tanto, encuentro la musica latina moderna mas interesante. Las canciones son cortas y al punto, y a mi me gustan las canciones elaboradas y largas.

I started getting into 50's Latin music about a year ago, and this cd made it's way to me. It's at times soothing and at times infectiously energetic. I dance to this cd while cooking or getting dressed - it's one of those cd's you dance to no matter what you're doing. Great big band, hip-shakin' stuff.

To the writer Karen Tito Puente is not Cuban, he is Puerto Rican. This CD is the best. Never judge a CD by its cover.