Excellent : includes some of Jose Alfredo's top songs
05/06/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It is well known that Jose Alfredo Jimenez is something more than a composer or a singer. He is one of the century's top musical geniuses, who completely renewed th Mexican popular music. Though his voice is not the best, his feeling is unrepeatable. It is impossible to summarize his career in 33 songs (he recorded, it is said, over 350), but the ones included in this CD are among the very best he wrote."
One of the best collections
Enrique Torres | San Diegotitlan, Califas | 01/27/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Add a star to the rating on this collection of "greatest hits." Probably every one of El Rey's most popular recordings on one double disc. This is the quintessential CD for lovers of ranchera music penned and performed by El Rey. Although I own most of these recordings in original vynyl it is handy to have them on CD. All the songs are written by El Rey and performed with the godfather of all Mariachi's, El Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlan with arrangements and direction by el maestro Ruben Fuentes. There are classic songs of love like "Ameneci en tus brazos,""Un mundo raro,""Cuando vives con migo," and his great tribute song "Paloma querida." There are songs of many loves like "El siete mares" where he sings of having a woman in every port, of heartbreak as in "La Enorma Distancia" where he longs for his lover who is miles away and "No me amenaces," where he practically cries telling his lover to leave "pero no se ha ido." There are various Serenatas and songs that are about the pride of being Mexican but they have an appeal that is universal. Some songs may be considered by some to be "tears in your beer" music but El Rey has a way of making even the saddest of stories uplifting, it appeals to the macho in all males. Not one loser here just winners. My only complaint is that "El 15 de Septiembre" is missing. Also missing is the heartfelt "Gracias," his tribute song to all his fans, if you've never heard it you're missing something. He's written so many songs though that it is understandable. This is a superb disc that will get countless play from ranchera lovers. The accompanying booklet is brief but informative. Ranchera music never gets old and although Jose Alfredo Jimenez has long ago passed through this world his legacy lives on for new generations to discover and those familiar to savor. Fittingly enough the CD ends with "El Rey", Jose Alfredo Jimenez "sige siendo el rey.""
Sigue Siendo El Rey
07/16/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Muy pocos son los compositores y cantantes que han logrado la gloria de inmortalizarse al mantenerse como figura estelar por muchas decadas y continuar en ese primer plano despues de varios anos de su fallecimiento. La musica de Jose Alfredo Jimenez ha deleitado a millones de personas de diferentes paises por varias decadas; ya sea en su propia y caraterística interpretacion, o en los mas variados estilos, voces y arreglos de una infinidad de interpretes que van, desde los mas sincillos trovadores, hasta los mas renombrados cantantes rancheros y baladistas internacionales. Con canciones sencillas y de situaciones cotidianas expresadas con mucho sentimiento e inspiracion, ha sido capaz de llegar indiscriminadamente a lo mas íntimo del corazon y la mente de multitudes, desde los mas humildes hasta los mas intelectuales, quienes se han convertido en mas de alguna ocasion, en protagonistas de sus historias o plegarias. Ahora despues de 26 anos de su fallecimiento, el corazon y carino de multitudes le han tributado su reconocimiento, consagrandolo como el mas grande de los compositores de la musica ranchera de México."
Quintessential
J. Marquez | Los Angeles, CA | 05/02/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Its futile to argue about the merits of the music, its undeniable. The only thing I can add is that this particular compilation was materfully remastered especially in comparison to the 100 Canciones series which sounds hollow, distant & unbalanced.
Discutir los meritos de esta musica es un ejercio en la necedad, simplemente no se puede negar. Lo unico que puedo anadir es que esta compilacion, en particular, fue digitalizada brillantemente...particularmente en comparasion al la quadruple 100 Canciones que suena hueca, distante y sin balance.
"
"El Padrino" of Mexican Music
r_silva | San Jose CA USA | 01/24/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jose Alfredo Jimenez was the best all time composer of this type of music. All his songs contained in this collection have been sung by many different artist everywhere. Although he is no longer with us, his songs will always remain in our hearts. One of the best collection yet. I have all these already and really enjoyed them. They're sung from the heart!!"