La leyenda del tiempo

Camerón de la Isla

The Flamenco Sgt. Pepper

When the enormously popular singer Camarón de la Isla (real name: José Monge Cruz) died at age forty-one after battling lung cancer, the government of Spain grieved along with its people. "The flamenco has been orphaned" went the 1992 governmental decree. Camarón, as he was known, had captured hearts in his early twenties by singing flamenco—the form associated with the Gypsy troubadours of southern Spain that incorporates traces of Indian raga, Gregorian chant, and Andalusian folk song—with fierce passion and almost supernatural poise.

The recordings Camarón made with guitarist Paco de Lucía when both men were in their early twenties remain some of the most riveting examples of the flamenco tradition. But the singer didn't coast on that initial success. With the experimental La leyenda del tiempo, he achieved an overhaul of the long-entrenched (and seemingly unmovable) flamenco tradition, bringing it into the rock era while avoiding the cheese factor that trapped so many castanet-wielding would-be Mick Jaggers. The songs here use spry electric piano and squiggly Moog synthesizer solos, and sometimes feature an electric guitar roaming freely in the background. Some pieces have odd and unconventional orchestrations (the sitar-and-voice essay "Nana del caballo grande," one of several featuring the poetry of Federico García Lorca), while others thrive on polyrhythms that suggest Brazilian samba.

Camarón's vocal style is well matched to the diverse settings. He sings loping, extended melodies that wriggle and wail to communicate love's torments. Buoyant and reflective at the same time, he delivers flamenco's tragic narratives without laying it on too thick. In his book Misterios del arte flamenco, historian Ricardo Molina explains that "flamenco is the primal scream in its primitive form, from a people sunk in poverty and ignorance." Camarón took that traditional style, and by being a bit of a daredevil, made it relevant again.

Genre: World, Spain
Released: 1979, Mercury/Polygram Iberica
Key Tracks: "Volando voy," "La leyenda del tiempo," "Nana del caballo grande"
Catalog Choice: Con la colaboración especial de Paco de Lucía
Next Stop: Gipsy Kings: Gipsy Kings
After That: Various Artists: The Rough Guide to the Music of the Balkan Gypsies
Book Pages: 139–140

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Comments:

#1 from carneham, Spain - 11/25/2008 2:28

Well, I’m very pleasant with selection of this masterpiece, but one and only spanish record and artist is a shame (with exception of Tete Montoliu).

Nex stop, Gipsy Kings, is a joke. Where is Paco de Lucía for himself? (Fuente y Caudal, Siroco, Luzia)

Camarón de la Isla (San Fernando, Cádiz, Andalucía)is an wonderful singer in the same level that Nusrat Fated Ali Kahn,Om Kalsoum, Mina, Amalia Rodrigues, Caruso, María Callas or Edith Piaf. A force of nature, a true genius.

1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die