mrkstvns's Full Review: El Rock de Mi Pueblo [Digipak] by Carlos Vives
His "Pueblo" these days may be the cosmopolitan capital city of Bogota, but on his 6th album, Rock de Mi Pueblo, Carlos Vives shows that his heart and his musical soul are still in the Caribbean coastal town of Santa Marta where he was born and raised. I understand that this is meant as a kind of tribute album, but it's also a very joyful and celebratory sounding album. A fun album with a young attitude and a boatload of innovation.
The Spirit of Innovation...
Y'all know that I dearly love the tejano music that's popular across the Lone Star state, but I've got ears and a little bit of discrimination left in my musical tastes too, and I know perfectly well that tejano is one of those stagnating backwaters of the latin music scene these days. Most tejano today is derivative and not especially earth shattering.
So where does a latin music fan look for innovation and creativity?
Colombia.
I was sitting back in the barcalounger last night with a tall cool glass of porter, listening to Carlos Vives while expounding on the guy's uncanny ability to craft exciting new music. Then it occurred to me that most of the performers who've truly impressed me in the rock arena over the last couple years have been Colombian: Juanes, Bacilos, Shakira....all Colombians and all doing stuff that's just far and away better than Mexican rockeros, who seem to be just a little too caught up in their images and in trying to "cross over" into a U.S. pop market that doesn't really want anything too new. Just my opinion, mind you, I'm not looking to start any blood feuds here, but if you ask me, the Colombian rockeros have their collective acts together.
So what do I see as constituting "innovation" when it comes to Carlos Vives?
Well, I think there's a couple of things working here in his favor. First, he's got these deep influences into the folk tradition of Colombia, with his firm basis in the vallenato style. I think that helps him out when he's exploring other sounds because he seems to have a knack for picking out the most critical elements of new and unfamiliar styles. Jazz, reggae, blues, rock, other latin styles....you name it, Vives will listen to it and borrow elements from it. These styles come together in a fusion that's unpredictable, seemingly incompatable, yet surprisingly solid when molded with craftsmanship and care.
It's this fusion that makes Vives stand out from the crowd.
When you listen to El Rock de Mi Pueblo, you can't help but be wowed by the way he makes the zydeco sounds of Acadia marry harmoniously with the folksy vallenato sounds that are his Colombian folk heritage. It would be a huge mistake to think of Vives as a "folk musician" though, and the fact that the title of this CD includes the word "Rock" in it should clue you in...this is extremely modern music. It is today's sound. It's fast paced, it sometimes has amazing guitar riffs and thrumming percussions.
Vallenato has a lot in common with zydeco, so it shouldn't come as too big a surprise that the cajun spicing of this album works so well. Vallenato has always been based around a big accordian sound, just like zydeco, and the faster vallenato rhythms (like the puya) are a natural fit to the zydeco sound.
But anyway, enough generalities, let's talk some specifics here...
Big, Bold, and Blisteringly Hot...
This is tough...where to start? Every single track on this disc is cool. Not once does my finger edge towards that Skip button. The Replay button, sure, I hit it a dozen times when I listen to something like El Rock de Mi Pueblo, but Skip? Nah. Can't touch THAT!
Of course it takes a great mix of different sounds to keep from getting into a rut, and I think Vives does a great job mixing it up and keeping it real. There's a little bit of something for everyone here. There are tracks that really strike me as close to pure rock --- like the title track, Rock de Mi Pueblo, which has such strong guitars and percussions that there is just no way you can legitimately call it folksy or soft pop or anything but rock. In fact, to my ears, once it gets rolling along, it sounds like its borrowing from REO Speedwagon's Roll with the Changes, yet its also a strong tribute to the coastal area that Vives calls home. It evokes the roots of the musical style with lyrics that sing of the motherload of tropical cumbia and of the patriots who make the people proud.
Yet I think that pure rockeros wouldn't be completely happy with Carlos Vives because he doesn't stick to the tired old recipe of pure guitars and vocals. All that vallenato accordian base and cumbia rhythm stuff that pervades the whole album will put off listeners looking for formulaic same-old, same-old. (Like I said before, Carlos Vives is innovative. He's got a unique sound and style. Carrying too many preconceptions into the listening experience isn't going to help you get into it.) Just go with the flow and listen to all the myriad sounds and influences and revel in a world that can have such a wonderful musical soup.
Folks who like their music with a heavy dose of rhyming and the kind of staccato rhythms that mark urban hip-hop will probably get a kick out of La Maravilla, even if those harmonicas and accordians might take a bit of getting used to. You get a little more of that urban sound in La Fuerza del Amor (which is actually a pretty cool nod of the head towards race car driver Juan Pablo Montoya).
Most of the tracks are very upbeat with positive messages and a fun attitude. I love the frisky sound and flirtatious mood of La Maravilla, and I love the sensation of sensuous nightlife and sophistication that seems to emanate from Que Tiene la Noche --- makes me want to hop a plane down to Bogota to experience it all and breathe in the atmopshere for myself.
One of my personal favorites off this album is Santa Marta - Kingston - New Orleans. It's a bouncy tune that snaps, crackles, and pops with musical electricity as it jounces its way along a journey that ties together the musical forces that stem from a common afro carribbean base, from the Mississippi delta sounds of the blues and Orleans jazz to the sing-song reggae of Jamaica to the peppy jouncy vallenato sound that is the Colombian Carribbean coast. It's a great ride!
A lot of rockers. One kind of slow mover (Voy a Olvidarme de Mi), but for the most part, the album is a 40 minute excursion that rides like the wind and that ends all too soon. Fortunately for me, my remote does have a Replay button, and my beer fridge does have a few more chilly brewskis in it, so I can nestle back into the barcalounger and listen to it all over again....
Trackin' the Tracks...
Twelve tracks, 42:24 total running time. Here's what you'll hear...
1. Como Tu 2. La Maravilla 3. Maleta de Suenos 4. La Fuerza del Amor 5. Que Tiene la Noche 6. Voy a Olvidarme de Mi 7. La Llamada 8. Santa Marta - Kingston - New Orleans 9. La Princesa y el Soldado 10. Gallito de Caramelo 11. El Rock de Mi Pueblo 12. El Duro el Original
Bottom Line... El Rock de Mi Pueblo is probably my favorite new album of 2004. It's a shining example of what can happen when creativity and innovation is exercised by a musical mind with the curiosity to explore other genres and other styles and to borrow with passion and zeal. This is the 6th major album to come out from Carlos Vives, and I for one, am hoping that the man has a very, very long and prolific career because this is great stuff! Give it a listen...
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