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RCA Victor 100 Años

Carlos Di Sarli

BMG 87490

For years the Di Sarli disc we all wanted was the Instrumental disc on FM Tango, which collected many of the great instrumentals from Di Sarli's late period, tangos which we adore for their spaciousness, for the sweeping sensuality of their strings, for the compás stretched further than others had thought possible. That disc is now deleted and stocks are exhausted. Although you can get the same disc on Solo Tango there is now an even better alternative: this disc on RCA Victor 100 Años series. The transfers on this CD are taken not from 78s or LP reissues but from the original masters in the RCA vaults. They are immaculate - this CD sounds as though it was recorded last week. The best selling tango CD in the UK.

normal UK selling price: n/a (unavailable in the UK)
our price: £9

Track list

Bahía Blanca; Milonguero viejo; Rodriguez Peña; Buenos Aires; La cumparsita; La morocha; Don Juan; A la gran muñeca; Fumando espero; Comme il faut; 9 puntos; El ingeniero; El once; Verdemar; Germaine; El jagüel; El amanecer; Nido gaucho; Organito de la tarde; Cara sucia; Viviani; Palabras de Carlos Di Sarli - El choclo

Ausencia

Osvaldo Pugliese

EMI 835886

If D'Arienzo excites us, then it is Pugliese who moves us, who makes us tremble with emotion. Pugliese took the musical invention of De Caro and clothed it in humanity. The recordings he gave us so generously stand today as testament to a great human being and one of the greatest musical geniuses of the twentieth century.

Pugliese was a communist who ran his orchestra as a collective, with the income spilt equally amongst its members. In one famous incident he visited the striking workers at the Ford factory and embraced them. These tendencies were not popular with the authorities and he was at times blacklisted and even jailed. On these occasions his orchestra, who were completely devoted to him, played without him, placing a red carnation on the empty keyboard to mark his absence. Following the maestro's death in 1995 that absence has now become permanent. EMI Argentina draw the connection very elegantly with the particularly poignant cover photograph - this time with the more appropriate rose - on their commemorative album Ausencia (Absence).

There are a lot of Pugliese discs available, but look closely and most have (albeit minor) drawbacks: the transfers are poor, or there's no balance between the instrumentals and the sung tangos, or between the early and late periods, or you don't get La Yumba. Ausencia suffers from none of these defects. It is the only one to give a good representation of his entire oeuvre. Chanel's Rondando tu esquina, Morán's Pasionál, Maciel's Cascabelito - all his great singers are here. The great late instrumentals, too: Nochero soy, Emancipación, La mariposa. And finally, his defining work, La yumba. Other discs claim to have it, but this is the only one with the immortal 1946 recording.

There is a lot of great Pugliese which is not on this disc, but there is nothing on this disc which is not great Pugliese. Pura emoción, and a bargain at this price.

normal UK selling price: £10.49
our price: £7

Track list

Farol; Mala junta; Recuerdo; Rondando tu esquina; Fuimos; La yumba; Puente Alsina; Pasional; Chiqué; San José De Flores; Desvelo; Emancipación; Antiguo reloj de cobre; Cascabelito; Remembranzas; Nochero soy; La mariposa; La beba; Arrabal; Desde el alma vals

Cantan

Roberto Chanel (1,4,5) Jorge Vidal (7) Alberto Morán (8,10,11) Miguel Montero (13) Jorge Maciel (14,15)

Yo Soy El Tango

Aníbal Troilo

BMG 659436

This is musical history in the making. The combination of the brilliant Troilo sound with the voice of Francisco Fiorentino, the first time that the singer had been fully integrated within the orchestra, is a powerful one.

RCA Victor originally reprinted Troilo's complete recordings over 26 lps in 1959. El Bandoneón reprinted the first lp (more or less) as their first CD, El Bandoneón (EBCD-1) in 1991.

Then in 1995 RCA made a new collectors series on CD, reprinting the LPs over 16 CDs. This was a good series for collectors, with sleeve notes from Oscar del Priore and complete discographic information.

Now, in 2004, RCA have discontinued that series and have made a new edition. They are going back to the original LP covers - infinitely more attractive than the previous ones - but printing one LP on each CD. This means that there are now 26 cds now instead of 16. This is a real frustration for the collectors who want to collect the whole set, but for the rest of us these CDs are much more enjoyable to own. Pop the CD in your computer and you'll find some multimedia features: all the lyrics, as well as photographs and newspaper cuttings on Troilo's career.

Now for the music. In general it is well nigh impossible to pick out particular tracks as every one of these cuts is a classic but my own favourites would be Tabernero, Cachirulo and the gut-wrenching Te Aconsejo Que Me Olvides (I Advise You To Forget Me).

normal UK selling price: £12.49
our price: £9

Track list

Yo soy el tango; Toda mi vida; Con toda la voz que tengo milonga; El bulín de la calle Ayacucho; En esta tarde gris; Mano brava milonga; Milongueando en el '40; Tabernero; Una carta; Total, pa' que sirvo; Cachirulo; Te aconsejo que me olvides; Cordon de oro; El cuarteador; Guapeando; Maragata; Pajaro ciego;

Solo Tango - Juan D'Arienzo

Juan D'Arienzo

BMG 71372

With his irresistible compás, Juan D'Arienzo quite literally propelled five million people to their feet, bringing about a revolution in the social and cultural fabric of his country. It's an astonishing achievement.

D'Arienzo's early sides from the late 1930s have tremendous drive and foundation but it's his material from the 1940s and early 1950s, where we hear him beginning to experiment with concepts that would later become familiar as the show tango sound, which is most exciting and familiar. This disc, originally on FM Tango (BMG ECD 50609) and now reprinted on the Solo Tango label, captures D'Arienzo at his most exciting and danceable, avoiding the excesses of some of his later output. Amazingly, it is still the only one with his seminal 1951 recording of La Cumparsita. Also included are a number of irresistible early recordings such as El Flete, Felicia and Pampa, as well as later works of tremendous excitement such as Loca and Mas Grande Que Nunca. Each and every one of the twenty tracks is a masterpiece.

- Mike Lavocah

normal UK selling price: £8.99
our price: £8

Track list

Because D'Arienzo recorded his hits on so many occasions we include the recording dates on this album so that you know which version you are getting

La puñalada milonga (1951); Don Juan (1950); Canaro en Paris (1950); El flete (1936); Yapeyú (1951); Rawson (1936); Joaquina (1953); Independencia (1953); Felicia (1939); Pampa (1939); El irresistible (1954); La payanca (1954); El enterriano (1954); El internado (1954); Jueves (1955); La catrera (1955); Loca (1955); Don Goyo (1957); Más grande que nunca (1958); La cumparsita (1951)