Luis Miguel Breathes Life and Romance Into Every Song

When I write these reviews, I try to stay generally objective which is not always easy. Especially when you are writing about a performer you really enjoy and appreciate. Otherwise, it begins to read like Tiger Beat (those of you baby boomers will remember that rag).

Sure, anyone and their brother can get on a blog and chat up the merits of their favorite performers. It would be easy to say Luis Miguel, for example, is as cute as the day is long. And it would be true! But the point of this exercise is to explore the performer, his craft, and the genre. The cuteness-factor is really not the issue here.

All that being said, sounding like a fan or not, here goes:

I stumbled upon Luis Miguel (born Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri in 1970) in the mid 90s. According to his bio, Miguel is Puerto Rican born and Mexican raised. He began his career at 11 and by the early 80s, he had already recorded four albums. In 1985, he had won his first Grammy for his duet with Sheena Easton for the song Me Gustas Tal Como Eres. By this point, Miguel was cranking out albums like crazy and racking up a bucket-load of platinum and gold.

Miguel became an international success - particularly in Spain, but eventually all over Europe and South America. And the planet. As a Latin performer, Miguel has broken all kinds of records for concerts and CD sales and at this point, I'll add the link to his official bio - http://www.luismiguel.net/.

What makes Miguel an appealing musician to me?

For starters, if you've listened to him over the years, one thing is for certain - he gets better and better with age. I was deeply moved the first time I heard his rendition of Besame Mucho. He took this traditionally beautiful bolero, punched the tempo a bit, but still kept it as smooth, dark, and rich as a cup of good espresso!

And that brings me to his next cover - Cuando Calienta El Sol (When the Sun is Hot) - which has been one of my favorite songs of all time! In years past, pretty much everyone (including Connie Francis, Vikki Carr, Jose Feliciano, and Trini Lopez) has done a cover of this tune and often within the traditional bolero ballad boundaries. And as ballads go, (and I tend to lean towards the uptempo) it's a classic. Then Luis Miguel came along and breathed an amazing energy into this arrangement. It's fun, funky, and upbeat, but Miguel manages to keep the romance and meaning in the song.

I've added the lyrics as well as this tune to this post:

Cuando calienta el sol aquí en la playa,

Siento tu cuerpo vibrar cerca de mi;

Es tu palpitar,

es tu cara,

es tu pelo,

Son tus besos,

me estremezco, oh, oh, oh!

Cuando calienta el sol aquí en la playa,

Siento tu cuerpo vibrar cerca de mi,

Es tu palpitar,

tu recuerdo,

mi locura,

Mi delirio,

me estremezco, oh oh oh!


Translation:

When the sun heats up here at the beach

I feel your body vibrate near me

It's your heartbeat,

it's your face

it's your hair

They're your kisses,

I get dizzy, oh, oh, oh


When the sun heats up here at the beach

I feel your body vibrate near me

It's your heartbeat

the memory of you,

my insanity

My delirium

I get dizzy, oh, oh,oh

Then we move on to another of Miguel's best interpretations - La Bikina - written by Maria Jose' Quintanilla. I've added a link to YouTube to Miguel's performance of this song from a concert in Caracas, Venezuela last year -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRDXn-YI9qg&NR=1.

As I tried to explain to my daughter just the other day, it certainly does not hurt to be backed by a group of Mariachis and Miguel seems to understand not only the interpretation, but also the presentation and romance of the package. And I admit this - the serenading Mariachis are infinitely more romantic to me, than one standing in the rain with a boom box (or any appliance) on one's head. The serenading Mariachis, for me, are the real deal!

For those interested in testing the waters, I recommend starting with Grandes Exitos double CD along with the Romances. These will give you an idea of Miguel's range of talent. Quite honestly, I've yet to hear him lay down a bad track!

I've also added more YouTube videos - some are older, but they are all fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDjnHs5jr0A&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq10HGVu-BQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG5flDxauIc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IexQjTx4oRc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZxcbwmuJKY


Enjoy and next time, Michael Buble'!

The Day The Music Died

Yes, it's a line from the song, American Pie, and maybe even a cliche, but when Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and J. P. the Big Bopper Richardson's chartered plane went down in a cornfield shortly after takeoff, a bright light in our musical history went out as well.

Ritchie Valens, born Richard Valenzuela May 13, 1941, grew up in the San Fernando Valley listening to a combination of Mexican Mariachi, Flamenco and R&B. There were influences from both sides of the border and Ritchie loved them all. And even though Ritchie was left handed, he was so eager to learn to play guitar, he adapted and was soon performing for his friends at Pacoima Junior High School.

At 16, he joined a local band known as the The Silhouettes.

It was apparent that Ritchie had talent as a singer and guitarist - enough so to be approached by the president of Del-Fi Records, Bob Keane.

The name change came to broaden his appeal. Remember, this was the late 50s and unfortunately, we (as a people) tended to play down the ethnicity of a performer. And partly, to homogenize and make the performer a household name. In a sense, Ritchie Valens was a simplified version. Another case in point: Connie Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero. Armand Catalano became actor Guy Williams. Sure, easy to remember on the one hand, but how American sounding is that? What happened to America - the melting pot??

But I digress...

Ritchie's music was energized and there's no doubt he inspired future Latino performers - Los Lobos and Carlos Santana and Los Lonely Boys as well as Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. La Bamba, a Mexican folk tune became Ritchie's signature song- and for Ritchie - possibly the first Latino to cross over into mainstream rock and roll. He set the bar and I guarantee - no matter what you are doing or where you are, when you hear the first riffs of La Bamba, you can't help but smile and move to the beat and sing along to the lyrics.

I've included the lyrics to La Bamba as well as the tune itself:

Para bailar, la bamba
Para bailar, la bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia pa'mí y pa' ti
Ay Arriba y arriba
Ay arriba y arriba por ti seré
Por ti seré
Por ti seré

Yo no soy marinero,
Yo no soy marinero,
Soy capitan
Soy capitan
Soy capitan

Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba, bam

Para bailar, la bamba
Para bailar, la bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia pa'mí y pa' ti
Ay Arriba y arriba
Ay arriba y arriba por ti seré
Por ti seré
Por ti seré

Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba
FADES
Bamba, bamba

I've also included Come On Let's Go for your listening enjoyment.

That fateful day, February 3, 1959, Valens, Holly, The Big Bopper and several other musicians were performing the Winter Dance Party tour. The next stop was Fargo, ND. The bus had broken down, winter conditions were taking a toll on everyone. (To some degree or another, several had colds or flu) Holly chartered a Beechcraft Bonanza that seated four. Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to Holly. Ritchie, who overcame a fear of flying won (or lost) the coin toss to take the plane.

To this day, I wonder just how far this talented young man would have gone, had he stayed in Iowa for the night. Ritchie Valens was a star and his memory still shines today and hopefully for generations to come.

I encourage everyone to view the movie La Bamba, starring Lou Diamond Phillips.

Also I've included some Youtube clips - a tribute to Ritchie Valens -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nVHaw-xYKA

And a performance by the Gipsy Kings -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4f75F1YbJ8&feature=related

And by Carlos Santana and Los Lonely Boys -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4COLJ5tBUr0&feature=related

And a clip from the movie -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YicJPLT1dWU&feature=related

And finally - the official Ritchie Valens website -
http://www.ritchievalens.com/

Next Time - The incomparable Luis Miguel!

Beyond the Sea and Back Again

How did we get from Meat Loaf to Bobby Darin? Good question! That's the beauty of this blog - you never know what's going to happen next!

First off, let me refer everyone to the 2004 movie, Beyond the Sea, which was directed, co-written and produced by and starred Kevin Spacey. While it is said the movie is not wholly accurate, I suspect Spacey gave a pretty fair account of Walden Robert Cassotto's life. And listening to Spacey croon the tunes - WOW. It's almost scary!

The biographical movie is full of energy and guts and that is wholly accurate of Darin's performances.

Bobby Darin's music evolved - from teen heart throb performing Splish Splash and Queen of the Hop (both 1958), Dream Lover (1959), then taking Mack the Knife (from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera) and giving it a slick, jazzy facelift.

Darin followed that up with Charles Trenet's beautiful yet sleepy La Mer - Beyond the Sea (1960). Beyond the Sea was transformed into a full-out jazzy, upbeat production. (You may want to note Spacey's Beyond the Sea musical sequence in the movie - once again - wow.) After cutting Beyond the Sea, Darin began to set all manner of attendance records at the Copacabana nightclub in NYC. And this made him a hot commodity to headline in Las Vegas.

Later in 60, Darin came out with one of my favorites - Artificial Flowers -another jazzy, fun tune that turns itself into a full-blown mega-performance. By this point, Darin was leaning towards show tunes which fit in well at the time with the Vegas scene.

Later in the 60s, Darin turned to folk music and this was fueled particularly by the assassination of Robert Kennedy.

Darin battled health issues his entire life - a damaged heart as a result of rheumatic fever. Darin passed in 1973.

This week we feature Bobby Darin's Beyond the Sea and Kevin Spacey's version of Bobby Darin's Artificial Flowers.

And here's a look at Bobby Darin from Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qrjtr_uFac
as well as a montage of Bobby and wife, Sandra Dee set to the song, More - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B0tiLMhJjo&feature=related.

And a fantasy sequence scene from the movie - Beyond the Sea - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbcjW9SQabc
Enjoy!
Next Time- Ritchie Valens!