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Rating: Francisco Sánchez Gómez, known as Paco De Lucía in homage to his mother, the Portuguese Lucía Gómez, is the most internationally renowned flamenco guitarist and is undoubtedly the artist who has most contributed to spreading the "música de los gitanos" beyond the Iberian Peninsula. Born into a family of musicians (his father and one brother were also guitarists and another brother a "cantaor", or singer), Paco was introduced to music at a very young age with strict discipline consisting of hours upon hours of practice and study on the instrument.
He began his professional career recording the album "Los chiquitos de Algeciras" with his brother Ramón de Algeciras at only 14 years old in 1961. After establishing himself through exhausting tours at home and abroad (especially in the United States), De Lucia was already considered by 1973 as one of the leading flamenco artists, and his virtuosity was accelerating the process initiated by his predecessors Niño Ricardo and Sabicas of the technical evolution of flamenco guitar from a simple accompaniment instrument for "cantaores" and "bailaores" to a true solo instrument.
The record I will examine today is perhaps the most famous by the Andalusian guitarist, and it is curious to note that, as sometimes happens with masterpieces, it was a hastily made album to fulfill contractual obligations with the record label, so much so that official accounts claim De Lucia entered the studio with only one ready piece, the taranta that gives its name to the entire work. "Fuente y caudal" is a must-have album for those who want to start getting to know flamenco: there is an almost complete array of all the "palos flamencos," or all the modalities (or subgenres) of traditional flamenco, and for this reason, I will briefly describe the tracks one by one.
The album begins with the famous rumba "Entre dos aguas", probably De Lucia's most well-known composition, but given its importance in the history of flamenco, I will discuss it in more detail at the end of the review.
"Aires choqueros" is a fandangos de Huelva where the fiery scales and ultra-rapid arpeggios drawn by the guitar are accompanied solely by the rhythmic "taconeo" of the "bailaores."
"Reflejo de Luna" is a dreamy Granaína that in some ways recalls the guitar transcriptions of classical music pieces by Álbeniz and Tárrega made famous by the interpretations of another giant of the Spanish guitar, Andrés Segovia. The piece surprises not only for its technique but also for the emotion the author and performer conveys on the six strings.
"Solera" is a Bulerías por Soleá that strictly follows the strongly codified patterns and rhythms of the "palo."
"Fuente y caudal" as mentioned above is a taranta and, in my opinion, is the most technically complex piece on the album, a true compendium of guitar techniques pushed to the extreme but never neglecting the emotional element: rasgueados, alzapúas, and arpeggios chase each other in a piece performable by only a few masters.
"Cepa andaluza" is a Bulerías accompanied by "las palmas" of the "bailaores" (what in English is called "handclapping"...) and is the piece closest to our somewhat stereotypical conception of flamenco made of violent guitar strumming and "olé."
"Los pinares" is a rousing Tangos in which Paco duets with his brother Ramón, with a succession of "falsetas" (phrases) also used in other famous pieces by De Lucia such as "Rio Ancho" (see duet with Di Meola) and "Solo quiero caminar".
The last piece of the album is "Plaza de San Juan", an Alegrías that worthily concludes this guitar masterpiece.
However, the most important track on the album, as already mentioned, is "Entre dos aguas", a semi-improvised composition (so much so that the Maestro slightly misses a rather simple passage...), but that opens unexpected perspectives for flamenco, a genre until then absolutely closed and conservative. The first groundbreaking element is the accompaniment, entrusted not only to the second guitar also performed by Ramón but also to a bass and bongos, instruments absolutely unprecedented in flamenco. Then the type of music, almost fusion and certainly preparatory to De Lucia's future experiences, the only one capable of hybridizing flamenco with jazz or rock without distorting it and always achieving great success with audiences and critics. Unlike the somewhat simplistic pop experiments of artists like the Gipsy King (inevitably and harshly attacked by purists), De Lucia's openings managed to create a new and fresh genre and were almost always accepted even by the most conservative "flamencos", perhaps due to the great personality and respect that all insiders have always had for the Maestro of Algeciras. In this regard, the title "Entre dos aguas" is significant, meaning between two seas, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean where the beach of Algeciras is located on the Strait of Gibraltar, an ideal bridge between the culture of Iberian tradition and the New World, between the sounds of Andalusia, Africa, and the Americas, between the gypsy rhythms of flamenco and the rhythms of jazz and rock.
A fundamental album for all Debaser friends who love the guitar, a virtuosic work but full of "fuego" and "alma" and not just an empty exercise in technique.
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