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Polo
Urías y Su Maquina Norteña
En La Cumbre
label: Fonovisa
released: 08.10.04
our score: 3.5 out of 5.0
buy
it: here
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If you ever
hear this sometime, you'll probably think it's trivial nice cutesy
Mexipop without a brain in its head and you'll dismiss it. You'll
be wrong to do so for a few reasons, which I will break down for
you right now.
First off,
it's tighter than 10th grade jeans. His band is not called His
Norteño Machine for nothing-the picture inside the record
tells the story: they dress alike, their facial hair is alike,
every note is perfect. God help anyone who screws up a note; I
doubt very seriously that Polo Urías suffers fools lightly.
All norteño singers look like they're tough guys, and he's
no exception. This is a band that can negotiate all sorts of northern
Mexican music, heavy on the accordion, through all the twists
and turns thrown at them by the songwriters.
Secondly,
Urías is a great singer. He's not exactly Placido Domingo,
but this isn't exactly opera. Norteño and banda are not
difficult musics, but they do require that someone be able to
croon pretty well and sound sincere while doing it, and he performs
on both accounts. There are some nice harmony moments on slow
jamz like "Mi Amor Se Fue" and "Que No Daría."
He handles himself well enough on the uptempo stuff too; his leaps
into the upper register on "Para Que Me Fingiste" are
kind of awe-inspiring. He's been doing this since 1974, he ain't
playing around here.
And, third,
you just can't dismiss an album in any genre of music when it's
done perfectly. En La Cumbre isn't cutting-edge in the
least, nor will it be on anyone's top ten lists at the end of
the year. But if you're looking for a record that defines everything
about norteño and/or banda music in the year 2004, stop
looking. You've found it. Now enjoy it.
Because you
will enjoy it. This is not fancy-person art-snob let's-discuss-semiotics
music, this is not angry prove-yrself music, this is not music
by and for machines. It's simple music for good times and cold
beers and hot salsa. It's music that you might want to have on
if the cute person in the cowboy hat feels like two-stepping.
And it sounds great in the car.
12-Oct-2004 10:06 PM
If you
liked En La Cumbre...
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Tracklist:
1. Mi Primer Amor
2. Caricia y Herida
3. Como Amigos los Dos
4. Mi Amor Se Fue
5. Como Lograr
6. Braza
7. No Vale la Pena
8. Para Que Me Fingiste
9. Dimelo
10. HQue No Daria
11. Caliz de Tus Besos
12. Aquel Amor |
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