Somos Gitanos

Amazon.com
It's been four years since the last studio album by the multi-guitar ensemble with a penchant for poppy rumba flamenco. Have things changed much with the Gipsy Kings' sound? Absolutely not. Die-hard fans may grow frustrated by the lack of musical progression here, but the group retains the fiery fervor that has characterized their sound for well over a decade, whether playing celebratory dance numbers or romantic ballads. Their layered guitars, passionately soaring vocals, and driving rhythms remain catchy on energetic, upbeat tunes like "Magia del Ritmo," the Latin-flavored "Jo Busco un Camino," and the rambunctious "Solo, Solo Dire." The Gipsy Kings have certainly never sought to play purist flamenco of any sort--they include harp, accordion, keyboards, and Middle Eastern instrumentation on select songs here--but they have popularized Latin guitar for a mass audience without watering down the music's spirit. And all these years later, their music still inspires one to get up and dance. --Bryan Reesman

Somos Gitanos,Gipsy Kings,Nonesuch,Ethnic Fusion,Europe,Flamenco,France,Gypsy,Latin,Latin Pop,Spain,World,World Music

Music

jazz

music

Tracks:

Somos Gitanos
Magia Del Ritmo
Quiero Libertad
Paquito A Poco
Lleva Me Al Compas
Felices Dias
Solo, Solo Dire
Majiwi
Como Un Silencio
Jo Busco Un Camino
Flamencos En El Aire
Mi Fandango

Amazon.com

It's been four years since the last studio album by the multi-guitar ensemble with a penchant for poppy rumba flamenco. Have things changed much with the Gipsy Kings' sound? Absolutely not. Die-hard fans may grow frustrated by the lack of musical progression here, but the group retains the fiery fervor that has characterized their sound for well over a decade, whether playing celebratory dance numbers or romantic ballads. Their layered guitars, passionately soaring vocals, and driving rhythms remain catchy on energetic, upbeat tunes like "Magia del Ritmo," the Latin-flavored "Jo Busco un Camino," and the rambunctious "Solo, Solo Dire." The Gipsy Kings have certainly never sought to play purist flamenco of any sort--they include harp, accordion, keyboards, and Middle Eastern instrumentation on select songs here--but they have popularized Latin guitar for a mass audience without watering down the music's spirit. And all these years later, their music still inspires one to get up and dance. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews:

Magic songs.......2004-05-22

I was sitting in the library and reading a book. There was a song from the album in the background. I thought to myself "Hmm, this is a pretty good song." Then I heard other songs and was impressed more and more. After I heard "Quiero Libertad" I knew I had to have this album. Their songs touched that hidden string in my soul. "Quiero Libertad" is a magic song for me, it so passionate. Other songs are also great. I could feel heart of the singer and musicians in every song from the album. This album is a MUST-HAVE for sensitive and passionate guys.

great production, average songs...................2003-09-04

While I had enjoyed the last album (Compas)I wasn't too impressed with the production. Those songs just sounded so much better live (especially "Solo Por Ti.") It just seemed that they were gradually burying the guitars in the mix (compare this album with their debuts, the truly acoustic "allegria" & "luna de fuego." And their guitars didn't really sound acoustic anymore, if that makes any sense. With the subsequent tours, I heard a lot of great uptempo songs, so I couldn't wait for the new album. When it arrived, I was disappointed to hear that most of those new songs I had heard the last three years weren't on the album!!!! The only ones I remembered were Solo Dire, Lleva me el Compas, Majiwi, Poquito a Poco, and Mi Fandango, so naturally it was wonderful to hear them in their studio versions. THe production has improved, you can hear the guitars again! These songs sound just as good live as they do on CD. I wish they had attempted this on Compas. THe other songs are mediocre, in my opinion. The title track starts promisingly enough, but never quite reaches its potential. The other songs just don't do it for me. I think I would have been more impressed had they used more of the songs from the tours (they were new songs, I have all their albums, so I do know they were new)leading up to the album. So while I was disappointed with the album as whole, the handful of songs that I do like (listed above)require me to give a four star rating.

If it is not broke don't fix it.......2002-08-15

The Reyes gitano family, minus Canut Reyes, released yet another disc last year amidst their greatest hits packages using the same successful formula of pop flamenco. This time around don't look for a new direction, more pure instrumentals (there are two), or pure flamenco, it is pretty much the same as all their other releases. That said, it is a very good disc. "Mi Fandango" rings more true than most of their pop inflected tunes with the soulful mouring of Nicolas Reyes. Nicolas Reyes takes the lead vocals on all but one track and gives the group it's continuity. Coupled with the lead guitar work of original Gipsy King Tomino Baliardo, much of their appealing sound and longevity can be attributed to these two factors. On the one track where the lead is relinquished, entitled "Poquito a Poquito," the familiar sound changes just barely and seems to rely on backup vocals to fill the void without Nicolas Reyes. "Felices Dias" is a pure instrumental song that could fill in nicely on an Ottmar Liebert disc and no one would probably be the wiser. "Flamencos En El Aire" is a lush beautiful song with the a soothing quality that breaks up the fiery tempo of some of the other songs. "Quiero Libertad" is a lamenting song with nice keyboards and harp that adds a worldly texture to the song. The Middle Eastern influences are throughout the disc and help give the pop flamenco some authenticity. The accompanying booklet is odd, it lists the musicians on all the tracks in big print for every song but has no lyrics included. By now we know who they are and the booklet would have been best utilized with words to the songs. Basically if you like the Gipsy Kings you will like this disc, more of the same type of music that has made them world wide favorites. They continue to please their fans with more of the same.

One great song, five excellant ones, six good enough ones.......2002-06-15

Well, that above is my not always humble opinion, but if you're a Gipsy Kings fan, you'll soon enough have your own favorites.

The one which I consider the great one of the group is the ninth cut, "Quiero Libertad". This one has a different quality than anything by them I've heard before. Admittedly, I'm not good at understanding the Spanish language, but the whole tone and sound to this song speaks for itself as a strong heart felt statement for freedom.

The title cut, "Somos Gitanos", gets the album off to a great start, and the second one, a ballad, has a great instrumental break which keeps it going. And of course, "Mi Fandango" is representative of the groups best of the upbeat songs. I was quite impressed with the instrumental, "Felices Dias", and felt it blended well as a lead in to "Poquito a Poco".

This album does not present the group at their very best, but it still is outstanding.

"Lack of musical progression.".......2002-04-10

Four years have passed since The Gipsy Kings' last album Cantos de Amor. Despite this, their lack of musical progression and the fact that they're still pretty much playing same song over and over, shows that this album is nothing more but an attempt to cash in on the seven Spanish has-beens. Playing their usual formula of a dance number followed by a romantic ballad followed by yet another dance number, The Gipsy Kings have shown us that, like Kylie Minogue, to make it in the music world all you really need is one catchy song which you can recreate over and over - it doesn't even have to be any good. But that doesn't mean that this CD isn't enjoyable. Starting of with the title song "Somos Gitanos", using a wide variety of multi-layered guitars to craft a tune that'll get you grooving to their Latino sounds, and followed by the Mariachi-inspired "Magia Del Ritmo", the Gipsy Kings get off to a typical start complimented by their heavy rhythms and fervently towering vocals. Using a wide range of instruments on this album, including the accordion, harp, keyboards and even various Eastern tools, their main strength lies in the guitar, with their proficient resonance and heightened tempo coming in to play quite well. But not everything is all fine and dandy; "Majiwi" sounds like its more suited to a Robert Rodriguez western than this easy-listening CD, while the extremely tedious "Como Un Silencio" lasts for entirely too long, dragging out what could have been an enjoyable track. This album also sees the Kings first attempt at recording a semi-English language song in the Bob Marley cover "One Love" - the chorus and backing being in English and all other lyrics in Spanish. While it's not exactly a perfect track, it is interesting - actually, that's a sentiment that could be said about the whole CD.

Average customer rating:

Somos Gitanos
Gipsy Kings
Manufacturer: Sony/Columbia
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music

Flamenco | Latin Music | Styles | Music

General | Latin Music | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005NUXZ
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Tracks:

Somos Gitanos
Majiwi
Mi Fandango
Como un Silenco
Lleva Me el Compas
Felices Dias
Poquito a Poco
Magia del Ritmo [Rhythm Is Magic]
Quiero Libertad
Jo Busco un Camino
Flamencos en el Aire
Solo, Solo Dire

Album Details

Includes One Bonus Track, a Cover of Bob Marley's "One Love".

Average customer rating:

Somos Gitanos

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Tracks:

Somos Gitanos
Magia Del Ritmo
Quiero Libertad
Poquito A Poco
Lleva Me El Compas
Felices Dias
Solo Solo Dire
Majiwi
Como Un Silencio
Jo Busco Un Camino
Flamencos En El Aire
Mi Fandango
One Love (Bonus Track)
Inspiration (Bonus Track)
Volare (Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu) (Bonus Track)

Album Description

Japanese edition of 2001 album for the world music stars has earlier release than the domestic scheduled for Oct 2nd. 15 tracks including two bonus 'Inspiration' & 'Volare (Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu)'.

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