Area 52

Just WOW!For those who are looking at the track listing and thinking, "I already have most of those songs on other discs," NO YOU DON'T! Not like this. C.U.B.A. changes everything. Dramatically.The addition of the horns and percussion really cranks up the energy level of this duo's music in a big way. It also demonstrates something interesting about their music: the "Latin-ness" of it has always been there, but in way that was less recognizable. Hearing it in the context of a distinctly Latin Rumba Cubana band, it seems obvious that many these songs were always salsa- and rumba-style songs, but performed in a way came across differently. Now, hearing the Latin percussion and the blaring, sassy horns, this stuff actually makes you want to dance!But, it's not just the energy level of the music that impresses: this album also demonstrates a level of musical maturity that hasn't necessarily been expressed in most of their previous work. There is a breadth and depth here that I haven't heard from them before now. The music has strong, well-arranged jazz elements. And there are surprises. For example, an extended, very soulful sitar solo by guest musician Anoushka Shankar on Ixtapa. It's beautiful, and fits naturally with this version of the song. Lots of other guests grace this disc, too many to list, just suffice it to say that everyone who contributed contributed well, and the music as a whole benefits by the contributions of all of the musicians.All of these other instruments and musicians do not, however, diminish the prominence of Rod and Gab's playing. Rather, they enhance and amplify it with texture, context, syncopation and band interaction, precisely as a good band should.The entire album is very well mixed and engineered. You might expect this to be a problem, given that all they had to deal with in the past was two guitars. But everything comes through very well, and the "big" parts are all coherent and clear.This is definitely their best album yet, in my opinion.My only disappointment right now is that their tour will not bring them close to me(Charleston, SC). Hearing this album, you just know this music will be amazing live : (EDIT: So now I have watched the DVD that comes with the album. It's a well-produced "making of" type video. Two things: first, the comments by the musicians and producers generally validated my own impression after listening to the CD. Specifically, what they were trying to achieve with the album was pretty much what I perceived in listening to it. Secondly, for those who are familiar with this duo, this may come as a surprise, but Gabriella does not cuss or use any foul language at all in the video. A quirky part of her charm is that she tends to use the F-word and the S-word(and their Spanish equivalents) in approximately the same way as many folks use "the" and "a". None of that in this video.As an aside, I play in a style similar to hers -- inspired by her, actually -- and I recently bought a new guitar. I was pleasantly surprised to see in the video that she is playing what looks to be a higher-end model of the same guitar that I recently purchased right here on Amazon, which I like very much and will soon review.

I read some mixed reviews so I waited a bit before passing judgment. I am glad I did because like a great movie, it is hard to catch everything that is going on in just one listen. It is a much different experience for Rod-Gab fans, so I understand the purists casting a skeptical ear on this project ... However if you get past the fact that they are sharing your ear with other musicians then you can appreciate what an amazingly complex cd this is.Santo Domingo just blows me away every time because it feels like I am getting hit from every direction with sounds and instruments; it is a furious composition that never lets up. Hanuman and 11:11 feature electric guitar which shows Rod's skills, and Ixtapa, which has always been a favorite of mine, is done really well, with the pleasant introduction of the sitar. The whole cd is like an adventure, where you find different twists and turns around every corner. It bounces mixes Latin, Jazz, Rock, Cuban sounds, with a sprinkle of Far East here and there. They take their intensity as musicians and expand it to a 13 piece orchestra.... While not perfect, especially because Gab is not a prominently featured, it is a great piece of music, and I cannot remember anybody in the music world doing anything this interesting in a long time...

I have had Rodrigo y Gabriella and 11:11 for years and really enjoy them. Sampling some of the tracks, I thought this would be an interesting remake of some of their best songs. I didn't notice that track 3 featured someone named Shankar until I started listening to it. My fault. I can't begin to describe how much I detest the sitar. Some time ago, I heard someone call it an Indian banjo. That is an insult to banjos everywhere. (I like banjo music.) I would rather listen to bagpipes all day than ten seconds of sitar. The point of this rant? Even though I usually skip over track 3, this CD is still a very solid five stars and I listen to it a lot (except track 3).

Let me preface this by saying that I have every single piece of music put out by R&G and respect their decision to make a CD with a band. I buy their music because they are, and please feel free to offer other examples, the best acoustic guitarists I have ever heard.C.U.B.A dilutes the clarity which I love about R&G. This takes their music from "Amazing", with a capital A, to excellent - which leaves me wanting for their older material; luckily, as I mentioned, I have all of it. I was looking forward to seeing them live when they come to the US. Since they have announced they are including C.U.B.A. in their tour I will, sadly, not be attending and I will be deleting, give me a minute . . . done, "Area 52" from my music collection.If you are an R&G fan to the point that anything they touch is, without question, the best in the universe then more power to you. I hope you can forgive my effrontery at suggesting that you listen to sample tracks before purchasing this one as I wish I had done.

If you're a fan of Rodrigo y Gabriela, you should get this album. While there are no new songs on it, the album does contain some fun re-interpretations of their previous songs! It's definitely not my favorite album of theirs, but that is because it feels like they spent a lot of time on the post-production of the album to make it feel polished. Their older albums had more of a rough acoustic sound, like they were trying to record every song in a single take without any redos, and you could feel their raw passion for those songs. This album, on the other hand, feels like everything was calculated and re-worked to "perfection", which unfortunately lost a lot of the feel in their songs that I enjoyed.Still, it's a fun album that any fans will enjoy to hear at least once.

I have found this cd to be excellent and quite original in the way the music has been choreographed, each time I have played it, I hear different things going on and enjoy it more and more. I would not say that the album was am instant hit you in the face love it, but it really grows on me more and more, to the point where I now find myself really in to it big time.I would dispute some comments of the band drowning out Rodrigo and Gabriella, as if this cd is listened to on a good system you will find that they do not, they just merge and blend closely in certain areas of the album, just like most good music does. I have a Class A amplifier and yes, this does make a whole lot of difference to the listening experience.I have two other albums by the duo and love them both, I admire their musical knowledge, skills and prowess and the excitement of the experimentation that this album brings. I think that it is an excellent addition to my music collection.

A beautiful mix of the fantastic new Mexican sound and Cuban brass and local rhythms, had to listen to it 4 times straight off, I'm begging all my friends to give it a chance! It's utterly brilliant!

Love this music

really love his !

Very different from other material. On this album they have added high production