Sara Collantes: George Harrison - THE QUIET BEATLE

England, 1962: Four hairy boys, who came from the humblest outskirts of Liverpool, released their first smash hit “Love me do”. This refreshing new sound was really well accepted and their music embraced by youngsters all over the world. They were simple yet catchy songs. People really loved them anyway and they knew it. That was the key to their success.

“When I met them it was love at first sight. It wasn’t that they were great singers or great performers or great songwriters. It was that they had enormous charisma, and they were the kind of 

people that you actually felt better being with." George Martin, The Beatles' producer.

At the age of 13 George Harrison was no more than a young skinny English boy, no different from other kids his age. But George had a guitar. His first guitar, which his mother had bought for him after he recovered from a severe flu, cost £3, a huge economic effort for the family after WWII. He was obsessed with R’n’R, especially with Elvis, and he tried to practice and learn as much as he could.

George met Paul McCartney at the school bus and the latter introduced him to John Lennon, as they needed a good guitarist for The Quarrymen, the germ of The Beatles. Despite the skepticism and reluctance shown by John for George to join the band, as he was the youngest, he demonstrated his value as the lead guitarist beyond any expectation. He even turned out to be more skilled than John himself. So the seed of the Beatles had been already planted.

A few years later, in the wake of their monumental success, the different personalities in the band were perfectly distinguished. They were like the four corners of a square. They didn't interfere with each other, but the four of them worked as a whole. John Lennon liked to attract attention; he was outgoing and a bit cantankerous. Paul McCartney was kind of a romantic and egocentric Casanova. Ringo Starr was charismatic and fun to be with. And George Harrison was a mysterious, introverted man with an exceptional taste in music.  

George didn’t have the magnetic and powerful personality of Paul and John (or their baffling egos) nor was he as extroverted and friendly as Ringo. But he had a fascinating and intense character and naturally accepted his condition as the underdog of the band. Lennon and McCartney held the reins (of the band) as they were the most talented and prolific while Harrison was the overshadowed one. The writing talent of the Paul-John duet eclipsed George's, who wasn’t that bad anyway. He only wanted to play good songs which Paul and John gave him.

Some people called Harrison the “quiet Beatle”, although, as Tom Petty said, “he never stopped talking”, and that was part of his appeal. What made him really different is that he didn’t enjoy fame and fortune as much as the others. George started then to feel an indescribable attraction for both Indian culture and its spirituality, whose influence changed him forever. George visited India many times, thus establishing a friendship with Ravi Shankar, who taught him to play the sitar. This mystical way of living wasn’t compatible with George’s life in the material world, not for long at least.

Little by little, George began discovering his hidden talent and started to improve his songwriting skills, while borrowing Indian sounds and concepts from oriental philosophy in his songs. But it wasn’t that easy to include them in an album when Paul and John penned one hit after another. Nevertheless, those compositions became better and better, as good as the others, or even stood out on their own.

The Fab Four finally split up in 1970 but none of them regretted the decision. The overwhelming pressure and growing tension within the band were simply too much to put up with. George once said that he sought for success, not fame. He started then a quiet life away from stardom, but not away from music, since in 1971 he published his first solo album, “All things must pass”, featuring all the songs never recorded with the band. It was praised all over the world, and “My sweet lord”, the jewel of the album, is considered a masterpiece.

George Harrison passed away in 2001 because of a lung cancer. But he died a great artist shining in his own right; he wasn’t just an ex-Beatle anymore. He was, in fact, not just one of the Beatles but their actual soul, the best musician, the true innovator and, quite sadly, frequently underestimated. People used to say that he was the Beatle who had changed the most and that’s because that’s just what life meant to him: change. However, there’s something that will never change: the eternal sunshine of his sincere smile.

I can’t finish without recommending a wonderful documentary directed by Martin Scorsese, “Living in the material World”, which portrays the life of George Harrison both as a Beatle and as an ordinary yet passionate man. It was premiered in 2011 on the tenth anniversary of George’s death. If you like The Beatles as much as I do, you can’t miss it!!    

Thanks a lot, dear Sara! I mean, this post came totally unexpected, which makes it even more pleasing.

And then they were only two. First it had been John who was shot to death. Then, when George died of cancer, I felt so devastated. I had always deemed him the biggest musical talent within the greatest band that ever was. It is true that he often had this kind of aloof, rather mysterious personality punctuated by his love of Hinduism. But he was indeed a great human being and his beautiful songs will stay with us forever.

Like Sara, I cannot but wholeheartedly recommend Scorsese's (a staunch Beatle fan himself) extraordinary film "Living in the Material World", which, luckily enough, is available in its entirety on YouTube (in original version, subtitled in Spanish)

Eva: NATURE AND MUSIC. A REAL (COMPLETE) EXPERIENCE.

I still remember the day I picked up the phone and listened to my friend Sonia’s voice: 

- “Hi honey, have you heard the news? Sting is going to give a concert in Hoyos del Espino".

- "Are you kidding me?" I answered.

- "Of course not. It’s absolutely true. I’m going to buy tickets for me and some friends in Madrid. Would you like to come with us?”, she asked.

At first I was speechless but then I said, “Sure, I’ll come with you.”

Oh my goodness, Sting in Hoyos! It sounded so incredible! A music icon worldwide was going to drop by in a small village with a population of less than 400 inhabitants in the Sierra de Gredos. But like most things in life, there was an explanation.

The "natural" venue in Gredos

The Junta de Castilla y Leon opened the season with that concert called “Musicians in Nature”, a way to raise awareness of the respect for natural areas and also to promote them and what a better choice than Sting, a renowned activist and the philanthropist founder of the Rain Forest Foundation.

After the controversy generated among environmental movements, the initial location within the Regional Park of the Sierra de Gredos had been transferred to its limits, on a vast esplanade surrounded by pine forests and mountains.

Some months later I was able to arrange my schedule for the day of the event so I was absolutely delighted. And our musical date arrived. We organized ourselves in several cars and started our trip to the charming and lovely village.

On arrival we found a crowded place, cars and buses concentrated in tiny streets and in a jam-packed car-park. The atmosphere was electrifying and festive, and we bumped into many familiar faces. We heard people say that the star had arrived by helicopter just in time to see England’s defeat against Portugal in the World Cup.

Gordon Matthew Thomas, Sting’s real name, appeared on stage with his guitar playing the chords of the legendary “Message in a bottle” before proceeding with “Synchronicity”. He was alternating songs from his mythical band The Police with others from his solo career. “If you love somebody set them free”, “Every breath you take”, “Englishman in New York”, “Shape of my heart”, “Fields of gold”, “Walking on the moon” or “Roxanne” were, to name a few, part of his repertoire.

Truly unforgettable was the way back to town walking along a path lit by the soft moonlight and the perfectly aligned lanterns of volunteers while everybody was singing camp songs.

Songs evoke moments and I don’t know the reason why my heart has chosen “Fragile” to fill it with memories of that warm night of July. So every time I listen to this beautiful song I can’t help feeling transported to that time and I can almost sense the heat and the intense smell of pine and nature.

The magic of the moment and the music as well as the heat of that night, wrapped in a canopy of stars, made that evening memorable and surely it will remain in the minds of those who shared an experience that provided us with an incomparable setting and the infinite music of an awesome artist with a capital "A".

Dear Eva, it's great to see that, after almost one and a half long years, you have made up your mind to write a post for the blog, so congrats and a big, big thank you!

Well, it's amazing how vividly you can remember an event that took place back in July 2006, so it must obviously have made an impression on you, and understandably so, since Sting is undoubtedly a fantastic artist. I am very fond of both his solo career as indeed of his glorious years with The Police, one of my fave bands of the late 70s / early 80s.

What can I say about Eva's choice, Fragile, to me one of the finest songs of Sting's second album as a solo artist, "Nothing like the Sun", a vinyl record which I treasure to this date. A really moving intimate song which actually is inspired by the sad controversial story of an American engineer murdered by the then US-supported "Contras" in Nicaragua in 1987:

If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one

Drying in the color of the evening sun

Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away

But something in our minds will always stay

Perhaps this final act was meant

To clinch a lifetime's argument

That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could

For all those born beneath an angry star

Lest we forget how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall

Like tears from a star, like tears from a star

On and on the rain will say

How fragile we are, how fragile we are

Beautiful lyrics, aren't they? This is the lovely, somewhat minimalist original videoclip which Sting made for the song, where he - rather oddly I dare say - plays an acoustic (Spanish?) guitar:

Eva may not know that some time later Sting recorded the complete album in Spanish (and Portuguese too), under the name of "Nada como el Sol". Even if I never thought much of the Spanish cover of Fragilidad (honestly, I can't help but find the translation kind of weird at times), I've decided to embed this clip below for the sake of the evocative, well-known photographs used in the black & white montage, which suitably reminds us, these days more than ever, that "nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could" ("Nada se logra con violencia ni se logrará", Sting sings in his funny Spanish accent) ...

Sara Collantes: Bob Dylan's "Hurricane"

What’s music for? What’s its aim? Does it have a particular purpose? Can a single song change someone’s life? Many people would say that music is only there for our amusement and for the sheer pleasure of listening to it. Music itself is filled with emotions and feelings but when good lyrics are added the meaning is perfectly conveyed.

A legendary duet: Dylan & Baez

During the 60s and 70s a new wave of singer-songwriters made social problems and contemporary events known through their music. Those songs dealt with the current social situation of the time. They had a strong content of civil disobedience and were characterized by their political and social commitment. Those are the bases of the so-called protest song. It presented common issues such as women’s and civil rights, politics, or the anti-war movement. Its messages of non-conformity were spread by the likes of John Lennon, Joan Baez, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, Bob Marley, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bob Dylan as well as many other less renowned. They are some of the best exponents of this kind of music, which came to a climax in the Woodstock Festival in the summer of 1969. Woodstock quickly became the symbol of a young generation of Americans who were weary of politics and war and claiming for peace and love as a way of life while showing their rejection of the “Establishment”.

This opportunity of giving a voice to those who didn’t have one was seized by Bob Dylan many times but particularly, on one very specific occasion, in 1975. Some songs simply tell us a story and while others become part of history.

“Here comes the story of the Hurricane …”

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was a black American boxer who, accused of the triple murder of white people in 1966, was imprisoned for 19 years. Almost ten years later, during the mid-70s, Bob Dylan read The Sixteenth Round, the autobiography Carter had written in prison, in which he claimed his condition of a wrongly convicted innocent man. After visiting him in Rahway State Prison, Dylan started writing the song “Hurricane”, where the unfair story of Carter is told, and organizing benefit concerts in order to raise money and help him pay his lawyers’ fees. 

Dylan meets "the Hurricane"

After the release of the song in 1976, the case came to light and Carter had a second chance of proving his innocence on a new trial. But once again he was found guilty. Both trials were a bit obscure and misleading and in the subsequent years a huge controversy emerged both over the case and the song. The two trials, full of irregularities and racial prejudice by a jury consisting only of white people, were based on the testimony of two burglars who later on retracted their allegations. Thanks to the song, Carter’s case was known worldwide, aired in all newscasts. And so it was how black people took to the streets to denounce this gross injustice and how important leaders of the black community gave their support to the former boxer.

Finally, in 1985, Rubin Carter was freed and all charges against him were dismissed by a Federal Judge, who said that the punishment was “based on racism rather than reason”. After his release he worked as director of the AIDWC (Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted) for twelve years. Hurricane died last Sunday 20th April at the age of 76.

So, is music useful? Of course it is! Not only is it nourishment for the soul and a pleasure for the ears, but also a way of knowledge and possibly the most powerful way of communication. Music is indeed one of the most influential factors in the creation of a culture. There’s no need for it to be so specific or direct as Dylan’s “Hurricane”, but it is always great when a song gives us food for thought. Zack de la Rocha, the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, once said, quote: “Music has the power to cross borders, to break military sieges and to establish real dialogue”.

You can’t touch music, but music sometimes can touch you.

Another fantastic post, so thanks a lot, dear Sara! Hurricane is not my fave Dylan song but it’s great anyway, isn’t it? I do love its committed lyrics and I can only say that I’m really proud of the way the blog looks right now.

You know, I’d been thinking of writing something myself , and it’s only coincidence that it also deals with Mr Dylan - yet in a completely different light.

I guess you guys might have seen an advert for ING which is being shown on television these days. It features the legendary singer-songwriter in London in the mid-60s and at the end of the commercial you can hear the familiar tune of arguably Dylan’s most iconic song, “Like a Rolling Stone”. Actually, the scene where Bob does the funny, nutty play on words is part of a famous 2005 Martin Scorsese documentary called “No Direction Home” (in fact, a well-known phrase among Dylan’s fans, as it is is part of the lyrics of “Like a Rolling Stone”, which you can read here)

The thing is this campaign, designed with the consent of Mr Bob Dylan (once, as Sara mentions above, the archetypical anti-establishment singer-songwriter) has caused quite a stir among his followers here in Spain, so much so that many of Dylan’s staunch fans have bitterly criticized, to say the least, his approval for allowing the popular Dutch bank to use both the funny scene and his most famous song in order to promote the corporation’s image in Spain. The slogan reads like this (let me translate it into English to kind of “honour” Mr Dylan):

TO THOSE WHO RECONSIDER THINGS. We broke ties, we broke the ground. We improved everyone’s conditions. We created the new banking. We have turned 15. It’s only the beginning. ING Direct. PEOPLE IN PROGRESS.

A rather witty, intelligent message, ain’t it?

Well, some of you guys could know this is not the first time that Mr Robert Zimmerman, who’ll turn 73 in barely a month, has sort of “sold his soul” for the “easy buck”, as it were. Back in 2004, Bob briefly yet strangely appeared in an ad for American lingerie company Victoria’s Secret featuring supermodel Adriana Lima to the tune of his 1997 song “Love Sick”.

More recently, barely three months ago, the iconic American singer infamously used his public image - and own voice! - to shoot another commercial which was aired during the celebration of possibly the most popular sports event in the USA, the Superbowl. There was huge commotion across the Atlantic as this campaign triggered wide criticism among his home fans too, especially since Dylan was advertising a car make, Chrysler, which is now in foreign hands, namely Italian motor giant FIAT.

When I saw the ING advert, I myself thought: Poor old devil, Dylan’s succumbed for good to the charms of mindless, greedy capitalism. Long gone are those days back in the 60s when he used to write the lyrics below in his fantastic 1963 song “Masters of war", where he heavily panned both the US government and military, financed by big banking corporations during the Cold War:

Let me ask you one question / Is your money that good? / Will it buy you forgiveness? / Do you think that it could?

But Dylan is complex and multi-layered, both musically and as a public figure, as you will find if you read an interesting article by American libertarian magazine Reason.com on this link, dealing with the controversy around his recent endorsement of Chrysler. Incidentally, “Hurricane” is mentioned too.

I couldn't agree more: whatever the reason, music certainly touches people, as Sara says above. And advertisers know, don't they!

Paco de Lucia: Death of a guitar god

I probably would have never listened to flamenco attentively had it not been for the immense talent of two geniuses of Spanish music: Camarón de la Isla and, indeed, Paco de Lucia.

I discovered the genre pretty late, in the mid-80s, when I started working as a language school teacher in Salamanca at the old building in Calle Peñafiel. One of my colleagues, Santiago, was in his office listening on a cassette (those were the days!) to Camaron de la Isla's legendary record, La Leyenda del Tiempo. He asked me if I liked him and I must have replied, quite unenthusiastically I guess, that I had not listened to much of his stuff and in any case flamenco was not my cup of tea. Rather annoyed - or at least shocked - he replied in his funny madrileño accent (and I'm quoting his words in English to the best of my ability) something like: "Are you joking, mate? He's the dog's bollocks!" (Es la hos***! - if you'll pardon my French, ha!)

So he insisted on me taking the tape home and only then did I start to appreciate the real magic of that spiritual music, even if La Leyenda ... was not really a classic example of pure flamenco but rather ground-breaking and revolutionary actually, as it combined the old tradition with many elements of modern music, even a bass and electric guitar! Prior to that "discovery, I must admit I'd always thought that flamenco was second-rate, the weird music of the humble gypsies. How could I be so wrong! And we can claim without a doubt that it was the influence of both Camaron de la Isla and Paco de Lucia that elevated the often underrated genre to the category of art. I've always compared flamenco to the blues - alongside rock, my favourite musical genre - in the sense that they're both deeply spiritual, music with a true "soul". Actually, I used to refer to Black Americans as the gypsies of the USA!

Of course I'd listened to Paco's music before Camarón. I mean, can anyone say they've never heard the familiar tune of arguably the most famous rumba of all time, Entre dos Aguas? But it was that instant fondness of Camarón that years ago made me also interested in the work of other flamenco icons, mainly by the maestro de Algeciras.

There's no doubt whatsoever that Paco de Lucia is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, guitarists of all time. Venerated by his flamenco colleagues, admired by his contemporary fellow performers, his influence is out of this world. He had the technique of a god, with those devilishly quick fingers, and the duende of a one-off artist. My son David, a keen guitarist himself, says it's almost impossible to play like he does, and with the years Paco has become one of his all-time guitar heroes. So much so that he feels devastated by his sudden death.

But rather than my boring words, let Paco's glorious music speak for itself. Firstly, how about a Chick Corea classic tune you may know, Spain, which I particularly love as performed live by three "monsters" of guitar playing, who so many times collaborated with one another: Paco himself, John McLaughlin and Al di Meola. Sheer joy!

But I should not forget, of course, that Paco's roots are Flamenco and Andalucia, so without further ado, I'd like to embed this amazing buleria by the unique, majestic duet of Paco and the long-gone, sorely-missed Camarón back in 1976. Makes my hair stand on end! Puro duende!

Last but not least, there's this fantastic clip featuring Paco with the legendary Ravi Shankar (have you heard of his famous relationship with George Harrison?), a sitar virtuoso, while they discuss (in English) the much-debated connection between flamenco and Indian music. Really interesting!

You must be thinking that Paco's English skills were not that good. Indeed he was not very talkative or fond of TV interviews. That's why you'll find interesting to watch him speak the language (English, I mean) in this rare, very personal interview on Polish television. It feels weird to hear him talk (again in his halting English) about his little house on the coast of Mexico, where he loved to spend long stretches to unwind - and where he eventually found his untimely death.

HASTA SIEMPRE, MAESTRO!

Sara Collantes: DREAM THEATER's SCENES FROM A MEMORY

I don’t know yet how my brother managed to wangle all those ripped CDs and tapes that I still have in my room. He used to borrow original CDs and vinyls from some friends and then record them on tapes, thus making up a huge collection. Mountains of CDs of completely different styles, from Iron Maiden to Mike Oldfield, from Children of Bodom to Barricada, started to pile up and we would spend hours and hours listening to all of them. We used to photocopy entire booklets and I learned lots of lyrics by heart, which helped me with my weak English back then.

The first time an album by Dream Theater fell into my hands was one of those recorded tapes but I didn’t even know it, as the tape wasn’t labelled at all; no name, no title, not even a single mark. So I gave it a go. “Close your eyes and begin to relax …” 

What was that? I was absolutely astonished after my first shot; it left me so stunned that I only could do one thing: listen to it again. And then once again. I’d never listened to something like that, strange and complicated but at the same time catchy and fascinating. That was my first approach to the, to my mind, one of the best concept albums to date: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory.

For the metal “pagans”, let me dress the scene for you. Dream Theater is one of the earliest progressive metal bands and, since his foundation in 1985, the most prominent and influential in the field. They have as many staunch followers as bitter detractors; one loves them or hates them at once, there’s no happy medium. They have been voted as the best in the whole world playing their respective instruments, especially John Petrucci, who strums his guitar at the speed of light, John Myung’s extremely efficient job on the bass guitar, and my favorite, the imposing presence of Mike Portnoy on the drums.

Left to right: Myung, Petrucci, LaBrie, Rudess & (the sorely missed) Portnoy

In the late July 2012, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was voted as the number one all-time progressive album in a poll conducted by Rolling Stone. (Wikipedia quote)

Metropolis Pt.2 is the sequel to Metropolis Pt1: The Miracle and the Sleeper, the fifth track of their 1992 album Images and Words. However, this second part was conceived in its entirety as a concept album which deals with an outstanding storyline. It revolves around the story of the murder of a young girl back in 1928. This girl, Victoria, is reincarnated in a man named Nicholas, who has the strange feeling of knowing her and attends a regression hypnotherapy session to explore his own mind. I don`t believe in reincarnation or life after death. Nevertheless, both the music and the lyrics involve you perfectly and I like the album unconditionally. This is arguably the most famous track of the album, The Spirit Carries on, performed live in 2009:

When one first holds the box and sees the cover one knows straightaway that one is in front of something truly special. It has a brilliant lyrical content; the plot is confusing and dense yet interesting, and so well written that it’s worth spending 77 minutes of your life listening really carefully to it. This is not an album that you can listen to as background music or shuffled, but from the very first to the last second. The tracks aren’t separated but conceived as a coherent whole, instead of small bits. You’d better make use of your five senses, sit down with the booklet in your hands and relish the sound.

The five virtuosos during a live performance

DT push their own technical abilities to the limit. I remember thinking “How many arms and legs do these guys have?” Not only does the music fit the lyrics but it also highlights them enormously. There are some recurring melodies throughout the record which give it continuity and fluidity. The music is sometimes beautiful, soft and moving, whereas others there are powerful samples of the most elaborate thrash and progressive metal. It is a perfect blend of their hardest, most intense songs with their softest ones. 

I simply love how some melodies slightly appear and then subtly fade away, whereas others are just vigorously spread out showing all their musical delirium. Atonic, irregular rhythms are played along with shocking odd melodies, jazzy chords, samplers and lovely ballads which give the album a touch of eccentricity and also its distinguishing hallmark. Every instrument can always be clearly heard but hearing all of them together, this is perfection.

I had the chance to see them play live twice. The first time was unforgettable for me, as I was so hooked on their music that I didn't listen to anything else the weeks before the concert, which took place in Madrid in 2007. More than five thousand people were there packing the venue and I've only felt more squeezed during a Metallica gig in 2012. It was absolutely memorable: they nailed every single song and created a special atmosphere. The whole concert was projected on video screens and the acoustics of the place was impeccable.

My second time was in 2011 at the Sonisphere festival but my expectations weren't as high as the first time. This was due, principally, to the leaving of Mike Portnoy, who for me was the most charismatic member of the band and because I was also looking forward to seeing Iron Maiden, who were going to play immediately after Dream Theater. On this occasion the concert was in broad daylight, which reduced the excitement, and the set list didn’t seem right to me. Although, as usual, they played accurately, it didn't feel the same.

“Scenes from a Memory” is, without a doubt, the artistic peak of the band, in which they show an astonishing creativity and flawless execution. Nothing is missing. A perfect circle. A true masterpiece.

Sara knows how much I have longed for this post, since I'm also very fond of this fantastic band myself, though I admit I only come second (at least here in Salamanca!) after my son, David, who literally owns every single CD and DVD there is of Dream Theater - and I'm not exaggerating! 

Like Sara, I've been lucky enough to watch them live in Madrid - twice actually, and on both occasions with David -, and I must emphasize their immense talent, as they play their set list with such beauty and precision. 

They have produced many great songs both live and in the studio for over 25 years, but if I had to choose one for this post, that would definitely be the glorious, 14-minute long "Trial of Tears", in fact the longest song of their 1997 album "Falling into Infinity" - not necessarily the band's best or most commercially successful album to date. But to me Trial always sounds so so big, especially when rendered in front of an audience, as you can see on this clip I've selected from "Live at Budokan" (2004). I just love everything: the psychedelic intro, Myung and Portnoy's mind-blowing rhythmical cushion - so sad indeed that the latter quit the band 3 years ago - and Rudess & Petrucci's accurate solos, not forgetting Mr Labrie's high-pitch"screams" and versatile voice while singing some beautiful lyrics: "I may have wasted all those years. They're not worth their time in tears. I may have spent too long in darkness, in the warmth of my fears". How about that for some past modal verbs in "prog(ressive) rock" music, ha ha! Enjoy! I'm positive at least Sara - and indeed David from Holland - will - a lot!

Jelena: A short trip to the imagination with Silvia Peréz Cruz

When my classmate Maite suggested going to the concert by Silvia Peréz Cruz, I was delighted, as I saw a great opportunity to experience and learn something new. I had no previous knowledge of this singer, and although jazz, which was the main theme, is not my favourite music style, the fact that the young Spanish vocalist is moving within different music genres, including fado and flamenco, actually the ones I prefer, I felt quite curious. 

The concert was held in the “Juan del Enzina” theatre, and to my mind it was just the perfect place for that kind of music, the space that gave us the sensation of a more intimate, warmer atmosphere and one which enabled a better connection between the musicians and the audience. The simplicity of the stage and the casual look of the artists, as if they were just rehearsing for the concert, made us feel more relaxed and ready to absorb the immense quantity of positive energy and strong emotions.

The songs we could hear were from Silvia’s only CD so far, named “En la imaginacion”, the fruit of the collaboration with the famous Javier Colina trio, whose founder, the magnificent double bass player Javier Colina, made a selection of some classics of Cuban music, Latin jazz to be precise, arranged and found on the album. Each song was telling us a story of love, passion, sadness, longing and hope, and we wouldn’t have enjoyed them if it wasn’t for Silvia’s radiant, warm and versatile voice. She performed each song as if it was her own story, her own emotion, her personal experience, and it wasn’t just her voice, but her eyes, her face, her entire body that was involved in the task of conveying every single feeling, so in a way there was no need to understand all the words. 

It was a unique experience in which we enjoyed ourselves together, the artists as much as the audience. What impressed me greatly was the degree of improvisation made by the musicians, which made the concert unique and, to some extent, amusing. For two short (at least to me) hours sequenced wonderful songs were played one after another, like “Debí llorar”, “Qué dirías de mi”, “Ella y yo” and “Veinte años”, but Silvia didn’t want to make us feel too sad or melancholic, so from time to time she performed some faster, more entertaining songs like “Belen” and “El panquelero”.

The most touching moment of the concert was at the very end, when Silvia and Javier sang together a beautiful song named “Si te contara”, which she dedicated to either a friend or a relative - who apparently passed away the same day they held the concert - while telling us that there was no reason to feel sad or disappointed. With a great smile on her face, looking to the sky, she paid homage to somebody she really cared for and who obviously must have loved the song. 

Silvia truly made her way to my heart, so I have started to listen to her music, and I’m deeply grateful to my friend Maite for sharing an extraordinary musical experience with me.

Thanks, dear Jelena, a riveting post indeed. I mean, sure you can write a Spanish artist - or from any other nationality for that matter - as long as it is in English!

I am just sorry I missed the gig as I find Silvia a fascinating singer, with a beautiful voice and oozing on-stage charisma. Hopefully I'll see her perform live soon. I hope you approve of the photos and clip I've embedded!

Chani: WHEN DESTINY WANTS TO TOY WITH SOMEONE (Searching for Sugar Man)

Last Thursday I went to watch this film of the “Ciclo de Cine e Idiomas” in Van Dyck cinema, Salamanca. The experience was absolutely amazing and rewarding. Even though I had previously heard of the incredible but true history of Rodriguez I couldn’t help being moved. 

First and foremost, the documentary made me feel at the beginning as if the protagonist was dead. Furthermore, I couldn’t certainly image how something like that could have happened in this supposedly advanced and modern world.  

To a certain extent, I dare say that it is really difficult to be a prophet in your homeland. This is precisely what happened to Rodriguez, who started his musical career in his native Detroit, Michigan. His songs, based on the cruel reality of the miserable, deprived neighbourhood where he lived, are like a scream of protest against social injustice. Contrary to popular belief, not only do his critical lyrics focus on the downside of a dire situation but they also show a slight light of hope on the horizon.

The music company Sussex Records released only two albums by Rodriguez and, quite ironically, dismissed him two weeks before Christmas, as he writes in one of his songs. Unfortunately, this artist was not successful in his own country so he gave up music and carried on working in the construction industry. As far as I am concerned, the owner of Sussex, who is interviewed in the film, is the one to blame for so many years lost for Rodriguez.

A young "Sixto" Rodriguez back in the early 70s

Little did he imagine what life had in store for him. Meanwhile, far away from the USA, the story of this great singersongwriter was being written in capital letters. In South Africa, his two albums, “Cold Fact” and “Coming from Reality”, reached the peak of success. What is more, they became so popular that Rodriguez was compared to his well-known, contemporary fellow artist Bob Dylan. Not to mention the fact that in South Africa, people were living the terrible “Apartheid” – the rights of the majority of the black citizens were curtailed. Obviously, people rebelled against the tyrannical government through submissive, peaceful protests in which Rodriguez’s songs were like a strong symbol of resistance and true hymns of freedom. 

I can’t help telling you that “yes, Rodriguez is still alive!” His life took a U-turn. The first gig he played in South Africa in 1998, almost 25 years after he recorded his music, face to face with his devoted fans, was absolutely spectacular. The concert hall was full to overflowing and the audience exploded in a burst of applause. I really liked what Rodriguez said: “Thanks for keeping me alive”.

Finally, I have to praise director Malik Bendjelloul for his good decision to carry on with the determination to find Rodriguez wherever he was. Of course, I eagerly recommend you to watch Searching for Sugar Man. There are still some questions on the air to be answered such as what happened to the royalties produced by the sales of Rodriguez’s albums in South Africa? Apparently, his record company received the money but the singer did not have any knowledge. Is Rodriguez going to delight us with new songs? I hope so!

Well done, Chani! You know, I can't emphasize enough, however enthusiastically I recommended you guys the film in class, that I totally, utterly love "Searching for Sugar Man" (so much so that I've watched it three times!) Not only Rodriguez's moving life story but, above all, his awesome music, which indeed deserves recognition, as it's mentioned in the movie.

So allow me to embed this clip of an interesting interview with Rodriguez himself and the film's director, during the promotion of the highly praised, critically acclaimed documentary.

Finally, just to give an example of his immense, unrecognized talent as a (sadly wasted) singer-songwriter, I'd like to post a song whose lyrics are sheer poetry to my ears. It's called "Cause" and it's said to be the last song Rodriguez ever recorded in his fleeting career. Sadly, dear Chani, I'm afraid he's just too old now, in his early 70s, so way past his prime, to pen any more songs. But his late legacy is one of amazing beauty. Enjoy!

Sara Collantes: GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

While I am writing this, the last vinyl I bought, “Greatest Hits II” by Queen, keeps spinning and playing loudly. I have to stand up every four songs to turn the volume down but, you know, that’s the magic of vinyls.

On a day like today in 1991 Freddie Mercury, the frontman, main composer, lead singer and the heart and soul of Queen, died because of a bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS.

I was only 8 when Freddie passed away and little did I know at the time about R ‘n’ R; however, what I do remember clearly is listening to lots of rock bands such as Deep Purple, Dire Straits and, above all, Queen. All of them used to play on my father’s car radio or at home while doing the weekly cleaning of the house on Sundays. It’s a kind of the soundtrack of my early days. Many years later I rediscovered the band and I’ve been absolutely hooked since then.

It’s undeniable that he was unique and a great performer, but it’s not as simple as that. Away beyond just being a musical artist, not merely a singer, he was widely known for his strength, magnetism and thrilling performances on stage. He was a really shy man and famous for his scarce interviews but as a performer he was like a burst of energy, an explosion of good feelings, a mixture of powerful vocals and a flamboyant attitude.

The worldwide known soprano, Montserrat Caballé, with whom Freddie recorded an album, said: “His technique was astonishing. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word”. Considering the source of this statement I believe it is a huge compliment.

In his last years he was seriously ill although nobody knew except his closest friends and band mates. During those years they penned some of the saddest songs ever written, such as “The show must go on”. I’ve always believed it was his final farewell. 

“The show must go on

The show must go on

I'll face it with a grin

I'm never giving in”

Last February I was in London with my boyfriend visiting a friend when we had the opportunity to see Brian May in concert. He played a small gig at St. Pancras Station to raise money as part of a campaign by an organization called “Save Tigers Now”. It was only 30 minutes long and most of the songs were covers from other bands but the last one he played was “A crazy little thing called love”. I was excited, absolutely delighted to see him perform so I cried out of sheer happiness to be there. Now I just wonder what it would have been like with Freddie himself on stage.

At least we have all inherited his amazing songs and memorable live performances. They are the long-lasting legacy he left us. Freddie died but his songs will never do.

Thanks Sara! I almost forgot it was Freddie's death anniversary, which is unforgivable being myself a lifelong fan of the band (and Freddie indeed!). I sometimes can't believe what a major crush I had on them as a rock-oriented teenager in secondary school. I would spend all day long listening to their songs, learning their lyrics by heart (I guess it helped my English a lot at the time!) and finding out as much as I could about the band's members' personal lives. Then I must admit I sort of almost hated Queen when in 1980 they released "Hot Space", their tenth studio album, which I found so so naff and tacky! (and still do today, I just can't help it however much I love their music!). 

I mean, I was a staunch follower of their classic albums, you know, "Queen II","A Night at the Opera" and stuff, and I admit I was even more outraged to watch their provocative, humorous clip of "I want to break free", featuring good old Freddie and the rest of the band in women's gear, with the lead singer infamously dressed as a moustached housewife doing the hoover. "These are not my Queen, no way!", I thought then. From that moment on I stubbornly kept listening to their classic albums - the earlier the better - and only when they recorded "A kind of Magic" and above all, "Innuendo" did I agree to listen to their new productions.

Actually, Sara has sent me the link to the video of a relatively late song by Queen, from their 1989 album The Miracle called "Breakthru". I guess it is a perfect example of the band juggled the old style (the operatic feel of the intro - those great voices!) with a more modern, late 80s sound. Enjoy:

Freddie's sad untimely death was a huge, devastating blow to me. It's amazing how time flies, I can't believe twenty-two long years have gone by. I just wish I could have seen them perform live just the one time, but it wasn't to be. Dear Freddie, may you rest in peace wherever you are ...