domingo, 30 de octubre de 2016

GRANDES DISCOS: Back To Black (2006) de AMY WINEHOUSE (10 Aniversario):




Ya han transcurrido diez años desde que se pusiera a la venta el disco de consagración de la malograda Amy Winehouse "Back To Black". Pues fue tal día como hoy de hace una década cuando con este soberbio álbum  la joven inglesa de origen judío dio un paso adelante respecto a su debut y abrazó junto al jazz vocal el soul, el rythm' n blues y el pop en un colorido, delicioso e imborrable trabajo.
Con el disco "Frank" (2004) - el título en homenaje a Sinatra - Amy había saltado a la fama en Inglaterra cosechando grandes elogios de la crítica y un seguimiento mediático aun soportable, pero sus traumas por el abandono de su padre, por sus inseguridades empezaron a llevarla por malos caminos.
En el momento de la grabación de su segundo disco acababa de romper con su novio (y futuro marido) Blake, para este volver con su antigua novia, dejándola inmersa en una depresión que la arrojó de lleno al alcohol y a la bulimia pero que a la vez dio rienda a su creatividad que plasmaría en bellas canciones de crudas letras. Y es que los contrastes siempre acompañaron a la joven cantante afincada en Camdem, pues siendo una persona de clase media-baja, con unas conductas y un lenguaje no deseable y soez, su basta cultura y conocimientos profundos del Jazz y de la música en general resultaban fuera de lo común. Ello se plasmó en sus canciones cuyas melodías y desarrollos reflejaban una elegancia y una madurez que contrastaba con algunas expresiones y lenguaje utilizados en sus letras. Quizás fue esa naturalidad y simpleza de lenguaje, la conducta desinhibida e imagen propia de las clases populares, lo que conectó con una juventud que acabaría adorando una música del todo impensable para ellos.

                                           
La colaboración con uno de sus ídolos Tony Bennett confirmaba su papel de renovadora del jazz vocal al hacer de nexo entre generaciones hasta entonces demasiado alejadas. Aunque nada hubiera sido posible sin la inusual y privilegiada voz de una Amy que hacía fácil lo que parecía difícil y que lucía mas que nunca en directos íntimos y sin el showbussiness apretándole las tuercas.
Desgraciadamente, el disco en cuestión rompió con todo y la catapultó directamente a las portadas de todas las revistas, musicales y no musicales, erigiéndose en el centro de atención de todos los medios no por su arte si no por su extravagante personalidad y forma de ser.

Gran culpa de todo la tuvo una canción:  "Rehab", pues el tema que abre el disco superó todas las expectativas imaginables tras ser impuesto como single por la discográfica a pesar de que inicialmente fuera concebido como tema menor por la artista.  Un cruce medio pop medio rythm & blues con su punto naif robado de las Girls Bands que contrastaba con la crudeza de su letra e historia del personaje, con unos "no-no-no" que son parte ya del imaginario popular de nuestros tiempos. De este modo "Rehab" copó las listas de medio mundo, colonizando los EEUU y los Grammy y globalizando la artista que hasta la fecha solo había tenido éxito en su tierra natal y en algunos lares del viejo continente.

                                            

Pero el disco llevaba mucho mas. Desde el omnipresente sampleado hip-hop de la preciosa balada soul-jazz "You Know I' m No Good", trompetas Stax inclusive, a los aromas de los cincuenta y de las cantantes Doo-Bop de "Me & Mr. Jones" o a los recuerdos de Ella Fizzerald o Etta James de "Just Friends" y "Love Is A Losing Game".
Aunque sin duda la joya de la corona era "Back To Black" con una poética letra que se encauzaba en triste y a la vez embriagadora parte musical , con una Amy en estado de gracia interpretativo.
Pero no nos olvidemos de "Tears Dry On Their Own",  medio tiempo de inspiración en la Motown, en la que la solista se pone mas que nunca la piel de las solistas negras de rythm & blues de los sesenta. Ni de "Wake Up Alone" que es soul en estado puro o otras como "Some Unholy War" y "He Can Only Hold Her" que vuelven a mezclar los ritmos del rap con la música de raíz americana.


Desamor juvenil, drogas, sentimientos de culpa, vacío y soledad, sexo y engaños son los temas que cantaba esta privilegiada voz en el clímax de su corta carrera focalizado en este álbum pocos años antes de que su fragilidad no pudiera aguantar ante las presiones de la fama y de la industria musical, paparazzis, drogas, padre interesado, falsas amistades, miedo escénico, y otras adversidades mas impidieron brillar aún mas a esta penúltima gran leyenda del rock que tuvo un camino y un final bastante oscuro.

Por Alejandro Guimerà



BACK TO BLACK:

He left no time to regret
Kept his lips wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
I go back to us

I love you much
It's not enough
You love blow, and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to

Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
I go back to
I go back to

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to black




sábado, 22 de octubre de 2016

Deu poesies del darrer Premi Nobel de Literatura Bob Dylan:





Ja han passat uns dies des de la noticia. Després de pair-ho, llegir als detractors i als seguidors més fidels d' en Bob, no podem fer més que celebrar la noticia que s' hagi premiat al talent descomunal d' un músic capaç de trencar les barreres de l' art, endinsar-se en la lírica més complexe i crear un món que ha transformat la cultura dels darrers 50 anys. Després d' ell la música popular ha quedat dotada de poesia i profunditat en unes lletres que abans passaven sense pena ni glòria i, sobre tot, ha sabut capturar una època i un Món i transformar la visió d' aquest a varies generacions.
Complicat descriure la grandesa del Bob Dylan en la literatura, aka poesia cantada, per això millor que sigui ell qui es defineixi a través de 10 textes clàssics d' aquest Artista com pocs n' hi ha hagut als nostres temps.

1.- Escolta-ho en el vent/Blowin' In The Wind (1963)
(traducció de Gerard Quintana i Jordi Batiste)


Per quants camins l'home haurà de passar
abans que arribi a ser algí
Quants mars haurà de creuar un colom blanc
per dormir a la platja segur
Quants canons més hauran de disparar
abans que per fi es quedin muts.

Això, amic meu, només ho sap el vent,
escolta la resposta dins del vent.

Quantes vegades podrem mirar amunt
abans d'arribar a veure el cel.
Quantes orelles haurem de tenir
per sentir com ploren rarreu
Quantes morts ens caldran amic meu
per saber que ha mort massa gent.

Això, amic meu, només ho sap el vent,
escolta la resposta dins del vent.

Quants anys podrà una muntanya existir
abans que se l'ensorri la mar.
Quant temps la gent haurà de segur
per guanyar-se la llibertat
quantes vegades podrem girar el cap
fingir que no ens hem adonat.

Això, amic meu, només ho sap el vent,
escolta la resposta dins del vent.

Això, amic meu, només ho sap el vent,
escolta la resposta dins del vent.


2.- La noia del País del Nord /Girl from The North Country (1963)
(Traducció Pau Riba)
Si viatges pel bell nord glaçat,
on el vent bat el cel fronterer,
dóna’m records a una noia d’allà;
fa temps jo l’havia estimada…

Si hi ets quan hi ha tempestes de neu,
quan el riu gela i l’estiu se’n va,
mira’m si té un jersei prou calent
que l’abrigui dels crits que fa el vent,
mira’m si els seus cabells són tan llargs,
si fan rius juganers sobre els pits,
mira’m si els seus cabells són tan llargs,
si els duu com sempre els he recordat.
No sé si encara em guarda un record.
Jo per ella he pregat molt sovint,
tant de nit en la meva foscor,
com de dia en la meva claror.

Bé, si viatges pel bell nord glaçat
on el vent bat el cel fronterer,
dóna’m records a una noia d’allà
que fa temps jo l’havia estimada…
                                   
3.- Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)

Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.

Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin'
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it.

Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Though you might hear laughin', spinnin' swingin' madly across the sun
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facin'
And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind
I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're
Seein' that he's chasing.

Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.




4.- Like A Rolling Stone (1965)

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you ?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall."
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street
And now you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
A complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're all drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?


5.- Visions Of Johanna (1966)

Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet ?
We sit here stranded, though we're all doing our best to deny it
And Louise holds a handful of rain, tempting you to defy it
Lights flicker from the opposite loft
In this room the heat pipes just cough
The country music station plays soft
But there's nothing really nothing to turn off
Just Louise and her lover so entwined
And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind.

In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff with the key chain
And the all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the D-train
We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
Ask himself if it's him or them that's really insane
Louise she's all right she's just near
She's delicate and seems like the mirror
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear
That Johanna's not here
The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face
Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place.

Now, little boy lost, he takes himself so seriously
He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously
And when bringing her name up
He speaks of a farewell kiss to me
He's sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all
Muttering small talk at the wall while I'm in the hall
Oh, how can I explain ?
It's so hard to get on
And these visions of Johanna they kept me up past the dawn.

Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles
See the primitive wallflower frieze
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say, "Jeeze
I can't find my knees."
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel.

The peddler now speaks to the countess who's pretending to care for him
Saying, "Name me someone that's not a parasite and I'll go out and say a prayer for him."
But like Louise always says
"Ya can't look at much, can ya man."

As she, herself prepares for him
And Madonna, she still has not showed
We see this empty cage now corrode
Where her cape of the stage once had flowed
The fiddler, he now steps to the road
He writes everything's been returned which was owed
On the back of the fish truck that loads
While my conscience explodes
The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain
And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain.


6.- If Not For You (1970)

If not for you, babe, I couldn't find the door
Couldn't even see the floor
I'd be sad and blue if not for you.

If not for you, baby, I'd lay awake all night
Wait for the morning light
To shine in through
But it will not be new if not for you.

If not for you, my sky would fall, rain would gather too
Without your love I'd be nowhere at all
I'd be lost if not for you
And you know it's true.

If not for you, my sky would fall, rain would gather too
Without your love I'd be nowhere at all
Oh what would I do if not for you ?

If not for you, winter would have no spring
I couldn't hear the robins sing
I just wouldn't have a clue
Anyway it wouldn't ring true if not for you
If not for you, if not for you.




7.- Forever Young (1974)

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

  8.- Tangled Up In Blue (1975)

Early one mornin' the sun was shinin'
I was layin' in bed
Wondrin' if she'd changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like
Mama's homemade dress
Papa's bank book wasn't big enough
And I was standin' on the side of the road
Rain fallin' on my shoes
Heading out for the east coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues
Gettin' through
Tangled up in blue

She was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helped her out of a jam I guess
But I used a little too much force
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out west
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
She turned around to look at me
As I was walkin' away
I heard her say over my shoulder
We'll meet again some day
On the avenue
Tangled up in blue

I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I was looking for to be employed
Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
Right outside of Delacroix
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind
And I just grew
Tangled up in blue

She was workin' in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
And later on as the crowd thinned out
I's just about to do the same
She was standing there in back of my chair
Said to me, Don't I know your name?
I muttered somethin' under my breath
She studied the lines on my face
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she bent down to tie the laces
Of my shoe
Tangled up in blue

She lit a burner on the stove
And offered me a pipe
I thought you'd never say hello, she said
You look like the silent type
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century
And everyone of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin' coal
Pourin' off of every page
Like it was written in my soul
From me to you
Tangled up in blue

I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafes at night
And revolution in the air
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside
And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keepin' on
Like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue

So now I'm goin' back again
I got to get to her somehow
All the people we used to know
They're an illusion to me now
Some are mathematicians
Some are carpenters' wives
Don't know how it all got started
I don't know what they're doin' with their lives
But me, I'm still on the road
Headin' for another joint
We always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point
Of view
Tangled up in blue





9.- Hurricane (1976)

Pistols shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out "My God they killed them all"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Three bodies lying there does Patty see
And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously
"I didn't do it" he says and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbing the register I hope you understand
I saw them leaving" he says and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops"
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing
In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Patterson that's just the way things go
If you're black you might as well not shown up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the corps
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around
He said "I saw two men running out they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates"
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said "Wait a minute boys this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye
Says "Wha'd you bring him in here for ? He ain't the guy !"
Yes here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Four months later the ghettos are in flame
Rubin's in South America fighting for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar ?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law ?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter you saw running that night ?"
"Don't forget that you are white".

Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure"
Cops said "A boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talking to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail be a nice fellow
You'll be doing society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and getting braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim".

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
It's my work he'd say and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus he never had a chance
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
And though they could not produce the gun
The DA said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder 'one' guess who testified
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand ?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell
That's the story of the Hurricane
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.


10.- Sara (1976)

I laid on a dune I looked at the sky
When the children were babies and played on the beach
You came up behind me, I saw you go by
You were always so close and still within reach.

Sara, Sara
Whatever made you want to change your mind
Sara, Sara
So easy to look at, so hard to define.

I can still see them playing with their pails in the sand
They run to the water their buckets to fill
I can still see the shells falling out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill.

Sara, Sara
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life
Sara, Sara
Radiant jewel, mystical wife.

Sleeping in the woods by a fire in the night
Drinking white rum in a Portugal bar
Them playing leapfrog and hearing about Snow White
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar.

Sara, Sara
It's all so clear, I could never forget
Sara, Sara
Loving you is the one thing I'll never regret.

I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through
Staying up for day in the Chelsea Hotel
Writing "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.

Sara, Sara
Wherever we travel we're never apart
Sara, Sara
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart.
How did I meet you ? I don't know
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm.

Sara, Sara
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress
Sara, Sara
You must forgive me my unworthiness.

Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore
You always responded when I needed your help
You gimme a map and a key to your door.

Sara, Sara
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow
Sara, Sara
Don't ever leave me, don't ever go.




martes, 18 de octubre de 2016

CHUCK BERRY CUMPLE 90 AÑOS!!!!!




Desde el día de ayer, el rock' n roll está de fiesta, pues uno de sus grandes supervivientes Chuck Berry cumplió 90 añazos y lo hizo con el grato anuncio de un inminente disco, que será el primero que publique en 38 años. Si bien sus actuaciones van en cuentagotas, como es comprensible por su avanzada edad, hay que valorar que con todo lo que ha vivido siga teniendo fuerzas para estar conectado con la vida pública y con el arte, del que él fue pionero. Sin duda alguna, un monstruo viviente que ha hecho historia del rock.

Nacido en Saint Louis un 18 de octubre de hace 90 años, Charles Edward Anderson Berry alias Chuck Berry es uno de los supervivientes de la primera hornada del rock' n roll. Junto con Little Richard (84 años), Carl Perkins (83 años) y Jerry Lee Lewis ( 80 años) ninguno de los nombres claves de los nuevos sonidos de mediados de los cincuenta se encuentra vivo (Elvis, Ray Charles, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison...). Además el bueno de Chuck fue el ideólogo de unos sonidos que fusionaron el Ryth' n Blues y el Country para catapultar la música popular moderna, a los que juntó unas letras costumbristas que retrataban la sociedad norteamericana y el sentir juvenil.



Pero no solo hablamos de un compositor sensacional sino también de un guitarrista virtuoso y cantante carismático que nunca ha abandonado los escenarios, como el 8 de abril de 2005 en Girona (Sala La Mirona) en la que algunos pudimos comprobar su grandeza y la grandeza de canciones como "Johnny B. Goode", "Roll Over Bethoven", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "Memphis Tenesse", "Maybelline", "Caroline" y tantos y tantos clásicos del género que llevan su puño y letra.

En la retina de los fans ha dejado su paso de pato - tan imitado por el inigualable Angus Young de ACDC - , sus "rapeos" y una actitud rockera que solo los que vienen de tan lejos en el tiempo tienen en su ADN.

                                      

Forjado en la discográfica Chess Records junto a otros grandes de la música negra como Bo Diddley, Muddy Watters, Etta James o Howlin' Wolf, tuvo sus mejores años de 1955 a 1959 año en el que fue arrestado y metido en prisión - y apartado de la vida pública por el stablishment - por llevar en el coche de un estado a otro a una chica de 15 años siendo él mayor de edad.

Sus mejores discos son quizás "One Dozen Berrys"  (1958) y "Chuck Berry Is On Top" (1959) que junto a el resto de su legado le hicieron entrar con letras de oro en el Salón de la Fama del Rock, así como tener su propia estrella en el Paseo de la Fama de Hollywood o ser considerado por la revista Rolling Stone entre los cinco nombres imprescindibles del rock de todos los tiempos. Y es que sin él no hubiera habido los Beatles ni los Stones, los Beach Boys ni Dylan, ni tantas grandes bandas y hombres de rock que se han criado con su legado.
                         

Ahora con toda una intensa y larga vida a sus espaldas, anuncia su vuelta discográfica desde el lejano "Rock It!" (79) en un disco que se llamará simplemente "Chuck" y que saldrá el próximo año que contendrá mayoritariamente material original, grabado y producido por él mismo en su ciudad natal St Louis, dedicado a su mujer Thelmetta, y con sus hijos Charles Berry Jr. e Ingrid Berry, acompañándolo a la guitarra y armónica, respectivamente, en la banda de estudio.

Por todo lo que ha sido, por todo lo que nos deja, no podemos sino mas que celebrar cada año que cumple entre nosotros esperando que cumpla muchos mas toda vez que lo celebramos con sus magníficas canciones.

Publicado en http://notedetengas.es/

viernes, 7 de octubre de 2016

"Blue and Lonesome" lo nuevo de los Stones en clave blues para el próximo 2 de diciembre:



A estos tíos parece que no se les acabe el fuelle. No solo tienen energía para seguir actuando a lo largo de todo el globo terrestre sino que siguen publicando nuevo material. Si bien para la ocasión los Rolling Stones han anunciado nuevo disco, que será el primero con composiciones nuevas desde el ya lejano "A Bigger Band" de 2005. En cualquier caso, a sus setenta y pico años Sus Majestades satánicas aún tienen energía para volverse a reivindicar. Según parece el nuevo disco se centrará en el blues, en una vuelta a sus orígenes - recordar que a principios de los sesenta se fueron a Chicago a conocer a los maestros del género y tiempo mas tarde en plena fiebre stoniana ayudaron a reivindicar a tipos como Willie Dixon o Muddy Waters-. Las canciones, cuyo título ya han anunciado, han sido gravadas en sólo tres días en el londinense estudio British Grove de Chiswick en los que han contado con la participación del mismísimo Eric Clapton (bluesman dónde los haya) en un par de ellas. Señalar que el 25 álbum de los Jagger, Richards y compañía tendrá versiones de otros dos mitos de la Chess Records como son Little Walter y Howlin' Wolf.

Así que a esperar toca al día dos de diciembre y a ver si realizan algún avance para que no se nos haga larga la espera a los fans del rock y de estas leyendas casi-inmortales.




Mas información ver su web oficial: http://www.rollingstones.com/

domingo, 2 de octubre de 2016

DISCOS DE 2016: IAN HUNTER- FINGERS CROSSED:



A estas alturas, con 77 años Ian Hunter no tiene que demostrar nada. ¿ Quien si no ha tenido a teloneros a Aerosmith, Queen o Kansas antes de que estos se hicieran famosos?   ¿ Quién ha tenido como fan de su banda al mismísimo David Bowie implorándoles que no se separaran y regalándoles una de sus mejores composiciones de siempre? ¿ Quién ha grabado algunos de los mejores discos en directo de los setenta junto a otro gran monstruo como Mick Ronson? ¿Quién si no escribió el primer libro de giras de una estrella de rock contando peripecias de sus colegas como Frank Zappa o Keith Moon?
Atrás quedan grandes discos suyos como capitán de los imprescindibles Mott The Hopple - especialmente "All The Young Dudes" (72), "Mott" (73) y "The Hopple"(74) -  o en solitario - monumental su  " You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" de 1979 - o los mencionados directos junto al Spider From Mars - a destacar el "Live At Rockpalast" (80) - , y un carisma monumental encima del escenario tras sus rizos rubios y sus inseparables gafas de sol.


Ahora a las puertas de ser octogenario, la mayoría de las leyendas que le acompañaron en los setenta ya no están (Zappa, Ronson, Mercury, Bowie, Moon,...) y él los sobrevive sin abandonar lo que ha sido su pasión de siempre, rockanrollear. Y es que los diez nuevos cortes que se esconden tras esos "dedos cruzados" son pura llama rock, esa llama que solo se apagará cuando llegue su hora.
Como el blues ochentero  "That' s When The Trouble Starts", el abrasivo medio tiempo "Ghosts",  historietas sobre comprarse una casa en el campo "White House" , irresistible bluegrass de tono dylaniano "Long Time",  crescendos brutales de "Standed In Reality", o históricos relatos sobre la delincuencia del Londres del siglo dieciocho con la pegadiza "Bow Streets Runners", no falto de una entrega vocal encomiable.
Hay tiempo para las baladas, como la que titula el disco, dramática y romántica a la vez, su grito desesperado se entrelaza con un piano delicioso.  O para reflexionar sobre la muerte al piano con "Morpheus" (¿a quién no le recuerda a Bill Fay?).
Pero el momento cumbre del disco lo tenemos con la celebrativa "Dandy", que  es en realidad un precioso homenaje a su recién fallecido amigo David Bowie, el tono "All The Young Dudes" resulta más que evidente, como también lo son las referencias a los hits de aquel en su letra ("Heroes", "Life On Mars", "Pretiest Star"....).


De nuevo virtuoso con las melodías, preciso con los teclados, voraz a las guitarras, genial compositor de letras y visceral intérprete cuando la ocasión lo requiere. A pesar de que su voz no da como antaño, parece mentira cuanto rock le queda aún al bueno de Ian en sus entrañas, y como a pesar de la edad nos ha manufacturado un disco tan magnífico como completo. Protagonista  viviente de una época  irrepetible.


Por Alejandro Guimerà.

Publicada en www.elgiradiscos.es