Search - Jose Alfredo Jimenez :: Cuando Lloran Los Hombres

Songs of Passion

Enrique Torres | San Diegotitlan, Califas | 12/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For about fifty cents each song you can have this dozen of Jose Alfredo Jimenez's most popular songs. The included tracks which are not given in the details here are as follows : 1. "La Del Rebozo Blanco" 2. "Vamos" 3.Viente Anos" 4."Viejos Amigos" 5. "Paloma Querida" 6. "Si Tu Tambien Te Vas" 7."Adios a Carrasco" 8.Cuando Lloran Los Hombres" 9."Tu Enamorado" 10. "Llegando a Ti" 11."Tu Partida" 12. "Noche Criolla." Undoubtedly if you are a collector of Jose Alfredo songs you will find several songs here not found on the various compilations. One such song is "Viente Anos" which is one of those rare gems not found elsewhere for whatever reason. Several other less popular but equally satisfying as their more well known counterparts are "Viejos Amigos," "Tu Partida," "Adios Carrasco" and "Noche Criolla".If you love the music of El Rey than this is a nice addition to your collection or a good place to start. An interesting aspect of this disc is that these are the original versions of the more popular releases that are on the compilations. Apparently on the compilations there has been some modifications made to the originals because they are definitely different. For one the originals are monaural but play with brilliant fidelity on a quality system. One suggestion offered to me was that possibly the tracks on the compilations were using "canned " or archived backup material and the voice layed on later or vice versa. In any case there is a noticeable difference. The differences aside, the songs featured on the original disc are the same in terms of excellent musicianship, with El Rey belting out his compositions as only he can and the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan showing why they are considered the best mariachi and setting the standard by which all others are measured. The voice of El Rey is young and vibrant with the years of hard living and the ravages of time have not yet done noticeable damage . His voice has more of the suttle nuances of Pedro Infante. This is El Rey in his embryonic stage where his distinct vocal stylings have not yet matured but are riping beautifully. It is worth noting these differences because many people are only familiar with the material offered on compilations. El Rey offers his familiar and unfamiliar including the beautiful love song to his wife "Paloma Querida" in which he immortalized her for future generations. A lesser known song, "Viejos Amigos" was written while visting Cuba and after an encounter with a shoe shine man, in which the Cuban figured out he was Mexican because Mexicans "sing" when they talk, he was inspired to to write the song in a garden in Havana. All in all this is a good collection of twelve original recordings of passion. This is another in a line of original recordings, at a bargain price with no frills but just great music. Recommended for fans of ranchera music and one of it's best proponents, the late great El Rey, Jose Alfredo Jimenez."