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Flaco Jimenez
Squeeze Box King
label: Compadre
released: 09.23.03
our score: 4.0 out of 5.0
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So you just put in
this disc and you’re confused, because you’re not
really sure why this Mexican accordion player and his band are
playing “In Heaven There Is No Beer.” Well, first
of all, because it’s a kick-ass drinking song; second of
all, because polka is a huge part of Texan and Mexican music,
having been brought down there by all the German immigrants so
many years ago; third of all, because it’s even more of
a kick-ass drinking song when it’s sung in Spanish AND English
AND Dutch.
So now you’re
like, okay, cool, but who’s Flaco Jimenez? Here’s
a hint: the disc has another title: “El Rey del Acordeón.”
Y’see, young’un, Flaco Jimenez helped to invent Tex-Mex
music as a collaborator of Doug Sahm and one of the original Texas
Tornadoes, he’s played on a bunch of records you’d
never expect him to have played on (including discs by Bob Dylan
and Buck Owens and Brian Ferry), and he’s still going strong
after FIFTY YEARS as a musician. He’s probably one of only
three cool accordion players in the world, and one of them is
Weird Al. (The other one is named Isaac “Campa” Valdez.
He’s in the best band in the world. They’re called
El Gran Silencio.)
So now you’re
like, okay, but is the rest of the disc worth paying any attention
to at all? Well, that depends on whether or not you like fun.
If you do, then you will get completely into fun cumbias like
“Cuando Te Quiero, Te Vas,” excellent rancheras like
“Ojitos Negros” and the horribly sad two-stepper “La
Rosa Negra,” and sexy boleros like “Soy Romantico.”
The main singer, Raul “Nunie” Rubio, has one of those
melty-type voices, and Flaco’s fine leads float right along
the same way they’ve been doing since your parents were
still in diapers.
No, it’s
not the coolest music on the block, but if you’re still
worrying about that then you’re a sucka. This is truth,
yo, la verdad real, and you pass it up at your peril.
11-Mar-2004
11:55 PM
If you
liked Squeeze Box King...
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Tracklist:
1.
En El Cielo No Hay Cerveza (In Heaven There Is No Beer)
2. Tan Solo
3. De Donde Has Sacado
4. Ojitos Negros
5. Cuando Te Quiero, Te Vas
6. Prenda Del Alma
7. La Rosa Negra
8. Soy Romantico
9. Tumba Sin Flores
10. Un Viejo Amor
11. La Tormenta
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