Search - Manuel Agujetas, Moraito :: Cantaor

Delicious and painful cante flamenco, a treasure

Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 07/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This, my friends, is `the real deal'. Manuel Agujetas is a flamenco cantaor in a class by himself - his style is as real as it gets, completely raw and untamed, his singing as hot as the iron he works in his forge at home, his delivery at times as violent as his hammer pounding the white-hot metal on his anvil. In fact, one of the songs on this CD, `Martinete', is sung a cappella, accompanied only by his ringing hammer. All of the others were recorded in a small venue before an audience, with Agujetas being accompanied by the amazing Moraito on guitar. At times it sounds as if there is more than one guitarist at work, but there's `only' one. The interplay between guitarist and cantaor is astonishing, even by the elevated standards of the genre. Even though there are only six tracks here, it's over 50 minutes in length - a good deal of great music for the price.



The CD is actually the soundtrack to an amazing 1-hr film called AGUJETAS CANTAOR, directed by Dominique Abel - it's one of the most incredible documentaries I've seen on any subject. It's one thing to hear this amazing music - and I'm eternally thankful that I have, and that it's available - but to actually see Agujetas perform (the reactions of members of the audience, both those who are familiar with him and those who are apparently experiencing his art for the first time, are absolutely priceless), and to hear him reminisce about his life and expound on all sorts of subjects (he's quite the character, at one point referring to himself as 'dangerous') is a real treat. I don't know if a reference to YT will survive Amazon's editing process, but there are excerpts from the film available for viewing there, albeit of course at a much lower level of quality than the actual DVD.



I hope Amazon makes the film available through its site - watching it is an experience that no one will forget. Until then, check this CD out - I can't recommend it highly enough. This man is a living treasure.

"