Search - Maria Dolores Pradera :: Maria Dolores

A Voice For The Ages

Mark D. Prouse | Riverdale (Bronx), NY | 08/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Right off, I'll just state that I've been a fan of this great lady for over twenty years, and have collected as much of her music as I could get my hands on. It is impossible to describe why her voice captivates me so, but I'll try: she is at once sensuous, sexy and motherly. Her voice inflames the passions but can just as easily relax the senses. Her deep, almost masculine tones are yet entirely feminine. She has a flamenco attitude, a pop smoothness and modernity, and the qualities of a mother singing a lullaby to quiet a restless child. She can belt, but like Peggy Lee, she usually holds it back just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. The effect is quietly stunning.



This relatively recent recording spanning and celebrating a career that began in the early forties, has a startling crispness and clarity. Old songs, freshly recorded, get new life breathed into them. The stereo separation brings the music right into the room you are hearing it in. The full chorus, weighted heavily with male voices, is breathtaking. The guitars spread through both channels and the voices in the center bring the ancient Spanish music of Maria Dolores Pradera into the digital age, but their vivid presence sacrifices none of this timeless music's classical beauty. There are pop touches, bits of folk, Mexican, Portuguese and South American flourishes. Through it all, Pradera's voice remains the main attraction, which is as it should be. The music is full and rich, but never drowns her out. I highly recommend this fabulous recording, one of the best in a career overflowing with beauty and artistic excellence. If you have never heard the gorgeous voice of Maria Dolores, this is a perfect place to discover it. I'd give this ten stars if I could!"