RODRIGO Y GABRIELA & C.U.B.A. – AREA 52

The music of Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela is already admirable in so many ways. With nothing more than two acoustic guitars – and no singing – the pair have combined sublime melodic phrases with jaw-dropping virtuosity to create something universally praised and distinctly theirs. However, this limited sonic set-up seems to have finally run its course after ten years, so Rod and Gab’s decision to release their first collaborative album couldn’t have come at a better time.  With the help of producer Peter Asher and the 13-piece ‘C.U.B.A’ orchestra, they have rearranged and reworked some of  their favourite tunes – and the results are phenomenal. Opening track Santo Domingo begins as it does in the original  recording, but percussion, piano and horns are gradually introduced, and these colourfully revitalise this already stellar tune. The huge brass calls on Hanuman are perfectly suited to the song’s heavy-metal riffage, and 11:11 has been transformed into a Latin-jazz-rock epic. Diablo Rojo is now a wildly energetic Cuban salsa number but, as with all  these tunes, the driving twin guitar attack distinguishes these songs from anything else you’ve heard before. Without compromising the original Rodrigo y Gabriela tunes, Area 52 brings the couple’s best work spectacularly to life. A triumph in so many ways.

**** ½