Nine numbers from the pair’s back catalogue are reworked, with mixed results.
Rodrigo y Gabriela are one of those rare acts who can leave you open-mouthed in awe when witnessed live. There’s something mesmerising about watching the Dublin-based Mexican duo thrashing seven shades of salsa-flavoured jazz-metal fusion out of their long-suffering acoustic guitars on stage. Much of their appeal lies in this exceptional playing: the pair can often resemble a couple of demonically possessed Hispanic street urchins caught just after trading their souls to el Diablo at a crossroads somewhere near Guadalajara.
Their three studio albums proper and three live recordings thus far have only partly succeeded in transferring the energy of their stage performances. A tendency towards meandering, progressively-inclined instrumental sojourns can make for difficult listening when unaccompanied by the sight of its creators in frenzied axe action.
Read the rest of this review on BBC CD reviews
Source: BBC Music