Rodrigo y Gabriela : Diablo Rojo

I really like Rodrigo y Gabriela.  First of all, I really dig acoustic guitar, especially in twos and threes.  I like the fact that they are taking the acoustic guitar and are expanding its capabilities, bringing both their native Mexican and metal influences to their duo. They strum and thump with the energy of a metal band, but groove and sway with latin soul.  I like them because in interviews they seem to be honest folk who really really just love to play music and want to share that love with the world.  That is awesome.

Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero met in a thrash band in Mexico City and decided to make their fame and fortune by ... moving to Ireland.  On one of their live discs, Gabriela tells this fantastic story about their move, the unforeseen complete frigidness of Ireland in the winter, their inability to speak nearly any English when they moved, and trying to convince their landlord to show them how to get their fireplace working.  The way she tells it, down to mimicking her own accent when she first got there, is absolutely touching.

"Diablo Rojo" (which my rudimentary Spanish translates as "Red Devil") is a very upbeat latin-rhythmed rocker.  It starts with furious drumming on the guitar body, along with some severely muted strumming.  This develops into a finger-picked version of the theme, which opens into a nicely strummed version.  The rest of the song consists of variations on the theme, plus a mid-song percussive breakdown.  In all, a fun tune and a great listen.

"Diablo Rojo" is from their self-titled 2006 LP, Rodrigo y Gabriela.  It also contains their cover of Metallica's Orion, which is superb and is what first turned me on to them.  It also houses their cover of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, which is also excellent and is not cheesy at all, despite the over-saturation of the original.  Great album, just bought mine with my Christmas money.  Go get one.

Hey, I just realized it's St. Patty's Day and this album has a vague Irish connection.  Yay me for staying topical!  Almost!

[You can listen to Rodrigo y Gabriela's "Diablo Rojo" by navigating to the post "Song053" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Delaney & Bonnie and Friends : Come On in My Kitchen

There's not much too this song, except that it's a nice version of a Robert Johnson classic. Delaney & Bonnie were a married couple who recorded some albums in the late sixties and early seventies with such heavyweights as Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, Leon Russell and George Harrison backing them up. They were somewhat popular for their time, it seems.

The tune follows Robert's blues structure pretty closely with some gospel influences. There's just a little bit of acoustic guitar and piano for accompaniment, with some bongos thrown in as well. It's a very sparse, stripped down sound, so it's very reminiscent of Robert's original, and it sounds like they actually recorded this in a motel somewhere deep in the south. Again, not a blockbuster, but nice.

You can find "Come On in My Kitchen" on Delaney & Bonnie and Friends' 1971 release, Motel Shot. If you'd rather the originals, check out Robert Johnson's 2-disc Complete Recordings box set

[#37]

The Lost Fingers : Careless Whisper

The Lost Fingers are a gypsy-jazz band from Quebec, which is in Canada. You may not have heard of them, but in 2008, they sold the second most records of any Canadian band (in Canada), right after Nickelback, who you probably have heard of. Named after Django Reinhardt's missing digits, the group models their sound after the same sort of acoustic jump-jazz Django was so great at.

Armed with two acoustic guitars and a stand-up bass, they attack 80's standards (?) with gusto and a Quebecoise accent. They do fantastic takes on "Billie Jean" and "Straight Up" among others. Here, with a little funk and the singer's strained vocals, they nail the raw frustration coursing through this classic Wham! confessional and take it from the dancefloor to a dark, smokey coffeehouse where it belongs.

You can find this tune on their 2008 debut album, Lost in the 80's. It is truly a fun, fabulous album.

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