Real World
2002
Mi Cante Y Un Poema
About This Album
When Peter Gabriel's label, Realworld, began its production and distribution deal with Narada productions in the late '90s, many thought it was the end, given Narada's predilection for schlock new age recordings. The naysayers turned out to be blowing smoke. Partially as a result of this collaboration between label and distributor, Realworld has been able to issue even more recordings that stick closely to Gabriel's original vision. Flamenco singer Estrella Morente's My Songs and a Poem is a case in point. Rather than deal with world music revisionism, or the straitjacket of authenticity, this recording, like many on the label, offers a new look at an ancient music with its roots still deeply embedded in the Andalusian soil. Ms. Morente's voice is full of adventurous twists and turns and sharp shifts in both tempo and color. Accompanied by the genius guitarist Alfred Lagos and a small regiment of palmas (handclaps), Ms. Morente uses both contemporary and classical forms to get at the roots of all flamenco: its passion. While the song titles are in English, as are the translations in the sleeve notes, her singing is done in a pure, modern, and unadorned Spanish. Her tales and poems -- as evidenced by the opening track "Cockles," in which a sailor crosses not only oceans but time to glimpse his true love once more -- are full of the drip of heartbreak, the fury of unrequited lust, the flash of anger at betrayal, and the unmitigated joy of reunion and solidarity.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4,5,7,8,9,10,11 and 12)

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