CD Reviews.
Milly Quezada
Los Tesoros De Mi Tierra
(c) 2000 Sony Discos
Distributed by: Sony Discos
RATING: *****
Si mi memoria no me falla, recuerdo siempre haber apreciado la voz, el estilo, y el talento inconfundible de Milly. Aun mas despues de grabar en 1981 esa produccion de salsa con Luis "perico" Ortiz titulada No Te Puedo Tener. Desde ese entonces, Milly comenzo a grabar de vez en cuando sencillos de salsa. Con su hermanita Jocelyn al lado, Milly grabo un sencillo junto a Hansel & Raul, y luego grabo otro numerito con Los Vecinos producido por Tommy Villariny. Sin duda que dichas grabaciones inclinaron mi admiracion y respeto hacia Milly, puesto que no es cualquier merenguera que canta salsa, pero bien cantada. Por eso como artista y cantante, ante Milly Quezada me quito el sombrero. No hace mucho que recibi la mas reciente produccion de Milly Quezada que lleva por titulo Los Tesoros De Mi Tierra. Por lo general las re-grabaciones de covers no me agradan, puesto que la mayor parte de dichas grabaciones no hacen nada mas que fusilar la belleza y la poesia original de la cancion. Gracias a Dios, Milly con esta nueva grabacion tributando a los Tesoros.... de su tierra es la excepcion. En esta produccion de bachatas...Si, bachatas, Milly añade una frescura inedita a todos los temas escojidos. Temas tales como Pena de Luis Segura, Mesita De Noche de Victor Victor, y Burbujas De Amor de Juan Luis Guerra, gozan de una frescura primaveral tal como si fueran grabados por primera vez. El estilo de Milly al vocalizar, preserva el mensaje original de sus autores, e inyecta una nueva pasion a los mismos. Acompañada por el icono dominicano Fernandito Villalona, y una pequeña seccion de cuerdas que incluyen violines y cellos, Milly facilita ese nuevo sentir a la bachata clasica. Los Tesoros De Mi Tierra es lo mejor que hasta ahora he escuchado en el genero de bachata. Buen Trabajo Milly!
Domingo Quiñones
Mi Meta
(c) 1996 RMM
Distributed by: Uni Distributions
RATING: ***1/2
What if I were to tell you that there is a guy that writes about 80 percent of all the soneos executed by most of todays young (and some older) salsa singers today? What if I told you that same guy is a major behind the scenes player in almost all top selling salsa albums? And lastly; what if I were to tell you that before all his current accomplishments were realities, this man was in high demand by the late Louie Ramirez, Eddie Palmieri, and Roberto Roena for paid gigs world wide as a lead vocalist, after he was discovered in 1985 by none other than Luis "Perico" Ortiz? If you don't have the slightest idea of who we are talking about, read the credits on any given recordings from Puerto Rico. There you will see: Special thanks to Cuto Soto, Pedro Brull, Gilberto Santa Rosa & Domingo Quiñones. Yes we are speaking of Domingo Quiñones.
Mi Meta is Domingo's forth recording for RMM that features his patented fast paced rhythm section decorated with a very brassy swingy horn arrangement, where the soprano sax is just a little bit higher than the trumpets & trombones. Although Domingo is not known as a great instrumentalist, you can't help noticing how tight his sound is with Vicente "pequeño johnny" Rivero on congas & the usual recording cats from Puerto Rico. With every second displayed on the CD player you can feel the energy of a throbbing bass that energizes the percussion and ads flavor to Domingos' vocal qualities - He is a sonero and a singer. Like the small head of a child peeking through a group picture, the piano is cleverly sneaking in behind the musical momentum generated by the rest of the orchestra.
Although Mi Meta is not as good as Mi Nombre es Domingo (Domingo Quiñonez debut recording as a soloist), Mi Meta" has many variants. For starters, Domingo features a whooping 20 sec trumpet solo (If you can call it that) in track #4 titled "Superate", by none other that Luis "Perico" Ortiz. I must admit that those 20 seconds were most definitely a step in the right direction. "Perdon" (track #9) is a son montuno that will make the hairs on your body stand on their ends! Domingo takes full advantage of the rhythm's sweetness and conjures up a mean brew of agua ardiente with his soneos. I don't know - Domingo, Victor, & Gilberto should do an album together....A real album!!! (Hello anybody outhere!!!). There are many songs in this production that are worth your time - BUT! all of them fail in comparison to this following one. The title says it all "La Muerte Duele Igual Cuando Es Por SIDA"/"Death Hurts The Same Even When Is Due To AIDS". It is a very touching song that tells the story of an individual that dies of the disease. Everyone misses that person, and it is then realized the death of a loved one hurts the same no matter if is due to cancer, a car accident, or AIDS. This song gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.
A peculiar fact about this production is, that on top of it being very agressive in terms of musical arrangements, song selections and coro creativity; this production is also very spiritual. There are three tracks on this CD that celebrate self-upliftment and God. One of them is obviously "Superate", the other one is not so clear cut but it could go either way - that is the bolero-bachata "El Poder De Tu Amor". And lastly the get-up-and-clap-with-your-tambourine-at-hand song "El Me Escucho". Great acapella featuring the great voices of Iris Martinez and Yanira Torres.
Domingo Quiñones is without a doubt a major talent. And here with this, his latest production he once again demonstrates that year after year his meta is achieved.
Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca
Tata Masamba
(c) 1996
Distributed by: P.O. Box 3503 South Pasadena, CA 91031 Ph: 213/960-5010
RATING: ***1/2
This is 100% montuno tipico. Following the path already paved by the fabulous Conjunto Clasico, Cuco Valoy, Conjunto Candela, Johnny Pacheco, and those amazing Cuban musical leaders like Chano Pozo & Arsenio Rodriguez; afro-cuban music is graced by the one named Ricardo Lemvo. Picking up where Africando left off, Ricardo offers in this production nothing less than very danceable montuno tracks rich in rhythm and soothing trumpet melodies & harmonies arranged by Niño Jesus Alejandro Perez (Perez? Was that Virgin Mary's last name? kidding! I am only kidding!!! :) ). The blend of the conga's tumbao with the guiro & maraca scratches, will fill your taste buds with a mouth watering flavor that is transferred to your feet. You can't help but to dance! Ricardo does not have a commercial pretty voice but, he does have a voice that is very suitable for hard core montuno especially when singing in both Spanish and his native tongue from Zaire. What more can I say - Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca swings!
RATING SYSTEM:
***** EXCELLENT (Must Have!)
**** GREAT (Very Impressive!)
*** GOOD (Safe Investment)
** AVERAGE (Not a Priority)
* POOR (Don't Waste Your Money)
©Nestor A. Louis ALL REVIEWS ARE SOLELY THE OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR.
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