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Tango collection - Edgardo Donato

RGS 1640

Since El Bandoneón deleted their Donato CDs a few years ago, there has been nowehere to refer you to for lots of classic tracks from Edgardo Donato. El huracán, Chiqué, Hácete cartel, and La cumparsita were completely unavailable, whilst Santa milonguita, El día que me quieras, Ruego, were only available on an expensive mp3 collection from Argentina. I could also add El chamuyo, only recently available once more on the 10 CD box on Membrán.

Now you can find all these tracks on this new CD from RGS. The CD is not entirely classic 30s Donato cuts however; there are also 7 cuts from 1950-1951. Apart from the instrumental El acomodo, you can spot these on the listing from the vocalists, Adolfo Rivas and Carlos Almada. These are mostly forgettable, although the vals is fun and it's interesting to hear both versions of Donato's signature track, Se va la vida.

The fidelity is okay, but nothing outstanding, certainly no better than what we had from El Bandoneón. As so often with Argentine labels, the singer information on the back cover is incomplete. Nevertheless the album becomes essential by virtue of being the only player in a sparsely populated field. Great value at 25 tracks.

Track list

1. La cumparsita
2. El huracán
3. Chiqué
4. El camión
5. Se va la vida (1950)
6. El día que me quieras
7. Porque no me besas vals
8. Preparate pa´l domingo
9. El acomodo (1951)
10. Santa milonguita
11. Por qué doblan las campanas
12. La caída de la estantería
13. El vinacho
14. Pasíon criolla
15. Tierrita
16. Rosa poneme una ventosa
17. Hácete cartel
18. Papas calientes tango-milonga
19. Carnaval de mi barrio
20. Ruego
21. Sácale punta milonga
22. El adiós
23. El chamuyo
24. Se va la vida (1936)
25. La tablada

Cantan:

• Félix Gutiérrez (2)
• Juan Alesio (6)
• Adolfo Rivas (7)
• Hugo Del Carril (12,16)
• Carlos Almada (4,8, 11,13)
• dúo Lita Morales/Horacio Lagos (19)
• dúo Antonio Maida/"Randona" (20)
• dúo Horacio Lagos/"Randona" (21)
• Horacio Lagos (17,22,24)

Rodolfo Biagi - Sus éxitos con Alberto Amor

EMI 499968

When I first listened to this CD I liked it for only one track: the killer milonga Pobre negrito (Flor de Montserrat). There's nothing else like it, and the rest of the CD features a Biagi we don't really recognise. Alberto Amor's first recordings with Biagi are in 1943 - some years after Biagi's fast paced early hits with Teófilo Ibáñez and Andrés Falgás. Amor's opportunity came when Jorge Ortiz left Biagi to work with Miguel Caló. They recorded 30 tracks together in the years 1943-1947; 20 of them are in this disc.

The way to approach this music is not to expect from it what you expect from early Biagi, because it's not fast-paced. Imagine that it's Biagi's elder brother. This is the same period when Héctor Mauré recorded with Juan D'Arienzo and it's a similar pairing, although not as classy. Mauré imposed a slower and more melodic interpretation upon The King of The Beat, and the best of Biagi/Amor has the same feeling, for instance in tracks such as Arlette where Amor's baritone voice carries the melody over an arrangment that is more melodic than usual. It's a classic track, and amazingly comes from their first session together. The best tracks are the slower ones: Marol maintains the same feeling. Find the right time to play it - later in a long evening, or even at a tea dance - and it's right on the spot.

As ever with Biagi there are nice milongas and valses. Recommended if you are looking for something a little different.

Track list

1. Nada
2. Café de los angelitos
3. Si la llegaran a ver
4. Arlette
5. Paloma vals
6. Me quedé mirándola
7. Cuando llora la milonga
8. Tus labios me dirán
9. Seamos amigos
10. Pobre negrito (Flor de Montserrat) milonga
11. Cuatro lagrimas
12. Marol
13. Y dicen qie no te quiero
14. Por algo será
15. Prisionero vals
16. Tres horas
17. Lucienne
18. Hoy te quiero mucho más
19. Pudo ser una vida
20. Con mi perro milonga

Cantan:

Alberto Amor (1-20)

Carlos Di Sarli - sus priméros éxitos vol.1 - Roberto Rufino

TARG 41298

Carlos Di Sarli is one of the legendary figures of the golden age of tango, one of the first names to come to mind whenever tango music is discussed. But it was not always so. In 1931, considered merely derivative of Fresedo - with whom he had worked for a while as a pianist, in one of the 5 parallel live orchestras that the maestro ran in the mid 1920s - Di Sarli lost his recording contract and thus effectively his job in the cutbacks following the talking-pictures revolution. In the mid 1930s he left Buenos Aires, withdrawing to Rosario.

He re-formed his orchestra in 1938 and, after achieving success on Radio El Mundo, re-entered the recording studio on December 11th, 1939, after an absence of nearly a decade. He choose to inaugurate the next phase of his career on record with the two now iconic opening chords of the wonderful tango Corazón, his own composition.

It's hard to take in that the singer on that day, Roberto Rufino, was only 17 years old. He sings with a maturity that belies his age. People grew up faster in those days.

This album is just quality from start to finish. Rufino's voice soars like a bird above Di Sarli's strings, which handle both the rhythm and the melody. The few valses and the one milonga - like Pugliese and Troilo, Di Sari recorded very few - are excellent.

Track list

1. Tristeza marina
2. Verdemar
3. Mañana zarpa un barco
4. Canta, pajarito
5. Cosas olvidadas
6. Rosamel vals
7. Charlemos
8. En un beso la vida
9. El cielo en tus ojos
10. Pena mulata milonga
11. Patotero
12. Cascabelito
13. Griseta
14. Alma mía vals
15. Corazón
16. Necesito olvidar
17. Un día llegará
18. Cornetín
19. Noche de carnaval (Otra vez carnaval)
20. Tarareando

Yiddish Tango

RGS 1261

A real curiousity: a CD of Yiddish tangos, both classic and contemporary, form various artists. Zully Goldfarb is a contemporary Argentine tango singer.

Limited stock

Track list

1. Papirosen - Zully Goldfarb
2. Gedenk - Benzio Witler
3. A bisale glik - Benzio Witler
4. Tate mame - Rosita Londner
5. Ale farloin - Benzio Witler
6. A shoa daine - Shifra Lerer
7. Skripka - Henri Gerro
8. Yiddish tango - Bernard Potock
9. Rivka ben zabes - Bernard Potock
10. Zwei schwrartze oygn (Two dark eyes) - Benjamin Sandler
11. Friling - Zully Goldfarb
12. Mir lebn eybik - Duo Myr
13. Ich hob dich lieb - Jacob Sandler
14. Libste (Dearest) - Benzion Witler
15. Tango margarita - Jacob Sandler
16. La cumparsita - Jose Derasner