Published on Jul 29, 1998
Whenever I’m stressed out from the day-to-day grind of life,
there’s nothing more soothing to me than listening to some gentle,
acoustic music to calm my frazzled nerves. I’ve heard some
incredible music in this category over the last few months, all of
which has surely kept me from punching out a wall on occasion.
(From what I understand, the wall always wins. Ask Tom Petty.)
The classical guitar duo of Fred Benedetti and George Svoboda
have taken Spanish-influenced songs and raised them to a similar
art form, as evidenced by their recent release
Flamenco Dreams. While I would question if all the music
contained herein is true flamenco music, it does contain some
amazing guitar work from these two.
One thing about this disc that is a bit discouraging is that I
can’t find any credit for the backing musicians. Unless Benedetti
and Svoboda overdubbed some of the rhythm tracks, it would have
been nice to give credit where credit is due. Still, the main focus
is on the guitar playing, and what a wonderful playing it is.
Songs like “Mallorca Sunset” and “Moresca” almost make it feel
like you’re looking out of a hotel window in Spain, watching the
daily life below you unfold. The energy level in the playing of
Benedetti and Svoboda, on “Mallorca Sunset” going from sleepily
calm to a high-energy dance-like rhythm, captures the mood of the
moment and the music in a way that mere words can’t accurately
describe.
However,
Flamenco Dreams does feature more styles of music than just
Latin-flavored. “Romanza amor” is a gentle ballad that almost
sounds like something that could have come off a new age album in
America. The light touch of the lead guitar on this one adds just
the right voice to the track, speaking a language that a human
voice could never have captured. Likewise, “Duende” almost sounds
like something Segovia could have fiddled with, as you hear the
rolling guitar lines near the middle. (These aren’t quite as fluid
as I might have liked them to be, but seeing I can’t do any better,
I have no reason to grouse.)
Flamenco Dreams has only one major obstacle to overcome – a
slow start. The opening tracks “Isla Mar” and “Ritmos de Valarta”
don’t capture the moment the way that one would have hoped, and
they tend to impede my enjoyment of the disc overall. Fortunately,
Benedetti and Svoboda are able to step over this one small landmine
and almost make you forget about it.
Anyone who likes good acoustic guitar work will undoubtedly find
much to like about
Flamenco Dreams. Although I still prefer
Reflections, another album out of the Domo stable, this disc
will do in a pinch when I need a musical stress reliever.