The opening title track of this fine and varied pop flamenco collection would be brilliant if not for one thing -- you could swear you were listening to an outtake from any recent album by rumba flamenco master Jesse Cook.
That's a compliment in a way, because it's wild, energetic, and generally much more absorbing than the most popular of the new flamenco gods, Ottmar Liebert.
All that said, Linstead tries some unique things that Cook rarely does.
He plucks and swings over a sizzling horn section and the occasional trumpet shout on "Mango." His graceful guitar dances with Vasyl Popadoiouk's seductive violin and Linstead's own tasty piano harmonies on "A Mi Guitarra." And he goes a bit folksy in a duet with the wordless vocals of Alla Kadysh on "Suenos En Tus Ojos." The intro to "A Mi Muerte" is like a wild chops contest between guitar and violin; the song then settles into a gentle melancholy tenderness.
The clear objective is no doubt to be inspired by the harmonic possibilities of these other instruments, and Linstead eventually carves his own niche in the genre by doing just that.
He's also a beautiful balladeer, as the lush "Ilusion" bears out.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MangoJohannes Linstead | Johannes Linstead | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | ZarzamoraJohannes Linstead | Johannes Linstead | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Guitarra Del Fuego | Johannes Linstead | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | Sueños En Tus Ojos | Johannes Linstead | Play | 05:08 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Ilusión | Johannes Linstead | Play | 05:58 | 13 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | A Mi Muerte | Johannes Linstead | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Me Voy Mañana | Johannes Linstead | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | Samba Por Allí | Johannes Linstead | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | Los Moros | Johannes Linstead | Play | 05:09 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 42 mins | 97 MB | |||||
| 42 mins | 260 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Chonsky | Congas, Maracas |
| 2 | Johannes Linstead | Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Palmas, Percussion, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Shaker |
| 3 | Joe Orlando | Bass |
| 4 | Terence Yallop | Executive Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |