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Rating: It is not easy to talk about an ancient, complex, layered, and branched music like Flamenco. I choose to review "Castro Marin", an album from 1981, because it is the first album in my possession from the vast discography of the artist from Algeciras.
After listening attentively to all his work, including the excellent collaborations with the famous Camaron de la Isla, I believe this is the best album to approach this artist, who has allowed this incredible music to break national boundaries, consistently contributing to its stylistic evolution. These songs probably do not have the warmth and passion conveyed by a complete Flamenco formation with Cantaor/Cantaora, but for those who are unfamiliar with this genre, I find this album more accessible and “contaminated” than others, although certainly not the best.
The music is entirely instrumental, and in two tracks, Convite and Palenque, we find the guitars of Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin alongside De Lucia's. Various traditional musical styles (in Spanish Palos) are used by De Lucia in these tracks: we find Colombiana, Bulerias, Fandangos, Solea, and Rumba. The tracks present the usual instrumental and harmonic complexity typical of Flamenco, but there are numerous melodic openings, never trivial and highly evocative, as seen in the first track Monasterio del Sal and the aforementioned Convite; the virtuosity here is never an end in itself and even pushes McLaughlin to a measured stylistic level rarely shown during his solo career.
It is worth noting that in the same year Paco re-recorded many of these songs, stunningly adapting them to be played with his sextet on the album "Solo Quiero Caminar", a milestone in the development of modern Flamenco.
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