milonga.co.uk

Building a library - Recommendations for Absolute Beginners

Absolute beginners have special requirements. They need music which is not too complex which will help them to understand the rhythm and melody of tango, as well as music which will inspire them!

Compared to our "essential" selection, we are offering different cds of D'Arienzo and Pugliese, whilst Troilo has lost his place to Canaro. Only the Di Sarli survives unchanged.

Whilst I would have liked to offer a cd of Miguel Caló as well, I decided to keep the selection (somewhat arbitrarily) to four cds.

This 4 cd set is available from us priced £30 + p&p. Email sales.

Juan D'Arienzo - sus priméros éxitos 1935-1940 vol.1

BMG 63341

D'Arienzo was the musician who propelled a city to its feet and these are the tracks with which he did it. This cd is stuffed to the gunnels with tangos which are strong and rhythmic without being as fast paced as his 50s sides. As a bonus the cd also contains the killer milonga Milonga vieja milonga which is otherwise quite hard to obtain. Essential stuff.

normal UK selling price: £14.49
our price: £8

Special offer: buy with the companion cd sus priméros éxitos 1935-1940 vol.2 for just £15 + p&p.

Track list

Francisco Canaro - Bailando Tangos, Valses y Milongas

Reliquias 595159

Canaro was a populist, happy to accept his very considerable gifts to whatever seemed most popular at the time. This made him extremely successful, although as time progressed his work had less and less character. This cd has tracks recorded between 1935 and 1941, which, unsurprisingly, is roughly the same time frame as the D'Arienzo cd above. The strong rhythms and simple rhythms are easy to enjoy, and the milongas are treasures

normal UK selling price: £10.49
our price: £8

Track list

Osvaldo Pugliese: In the 1940s

HQCD 159

Pugliese's 40s sides were amongst his best but are hard to find in good fidelity. The music has all of his passion and tension, but is less dramatic than his 1950s output: it's so different that people sometimes don't recognise it as Pugliese. This is music that demands that you dance from the heart.

With 26 tracks, not one of which is a dud - Pugliese didn't record any bad tracks in this period - this cd is also superb value.

normal UK selling price: £10
our price: £10 (we regret can't offer a discount on Harlequin).

Track list

Carlos Di Sarli: RCA Victor 100 Años

BMG 87490

Di Sarli was the master of melody in tango. This cd presents recordings from the late 1950s, towards the end of his career, and contains most of the instrumentals he recorded at this time. The transfers are taken directly from the original studio tapes and sound as if they were recorded yesterday. This music has been overplayed, but for good reason: it's just immaculate, and the slow beat is as good for beginners as it is for advanced dancers, who will interpret this music in a different way.

If you already have this cd, then take Instrumental vol.2 on Tango Argentino instead.

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

Track list

This 4 cd set is available from us priced £30 + p&p, saving £5 on our normal prices.
Postage is free for members of tango club.
Email sales.