Rodrigo y Gabriela & C.U.B.A. - Area 52 (Album Review)
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Written by Tim Cox
From busking in Dublin to headlining Glastonbury’s West Holts Stage, two guitars were all Rodrigo y Gabriela needed to wow the crowds. But now in a bold new move the virtuoso acoustic duo have got together with the 13 piece Cuban Orchestra C.U.B.A. for their latest album, Area 52.
Even though there are no new songs on offer - just tracks from their previous two studio outings ‘Rodrigo y Gabriela’ and ‘11:11’ - it is clear that Area 52 is not just a simple cash in. Quite the opposite in fact, Area 52 turns out to be a very expensive and labour intensive exercise in alienating the whole R&G fan base. Because when C.U.B.A. is added into the mix all that you knew and liked about Rodrigo y Gabriela is effectively thrown out the window. Rather than take the safer (and arguably easier) option of sticking faithfully to the original material, all the songs have been completely reworked, leaving only hints of the original melodies remaining. To achieve this crippling effect they have carefully taken each track, stretched it out, sped it up, and shoehorned as many solos and breakdowns in as possible. Some songs have almost doubled in length and all drag on far too long. The elongated ‘11:11’ becomes a template to be noodled over with meaningless, reverb drenched, guitar offal. ‘Ixtapa’ is demoted to being a platform for an extended sitar solo, (whoever heard of a Cuban sitar?) But when you say, ‘why?’ Area 52 says, ‘why not?’ It is this ‘everything and anything all the time’ approach to the composition that makes Area 52 such an unrewarding listen. There are no contrasts, there is no consistency, there is no loud, quiet dynamic, and no tension. There is none of the intimacy or charm that, sans C.U.B.A., Rodrigo y Gabriela had in spades.
Area 52 seems to have been made with the sole purpose of being as loud and fast and in your face as possible. The orchestra seems to run on the assumption that if you keep adding in more instruments, things will keep getting better. Whilst they are super tight and bring bags of energy into the picture, loud and fast all the time does not equal a good record. The songs become overblown, ridiculous and meaningless show pieces. ‘Diablo Rojo’ is marred by excessive unnecessary fanfare at every turn and ‘Juan Loco’ sounds disturbingly like it could be the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ theme. The jury is still out on whether Area 52 is unashamedly cheesy or just unknowingly cheesy, but because of so much brass heavy arrangement throughout the album there is cheese at every turn.
Yet, for the very same reason that this bonkers concoction does not make for a compelling listen through your cheap hi-fi system, I would give my left nut to see Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. play Area 52 live. It is loud and fast and in your face and completely bonkers, this ridiculous spectacle was made to be seen, to be played live, and to flail your limbs to with other bonkers individuals.
At its best Area 52 can be a flamboyant and exhilarating reworking of the pieces. At its worst it is exhausting, erratic, and vacuous. It may be the life and soul of the party, but it’s dead behind the eyes. It shouldn’t work, it doesn’t really work, but they did it anyway. It’s a gigantic, all singing all dancing, lavish, pointless, failure that laughs in the face of austerity and for the sheer audacity of it all, everyone involved should be applauded.
Area 52 is out now!
Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. are touring the UK in February!
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Even though there are no new songs on offer - just tracks from their previous two studio outings ‘Rodrigo y Gabriela’ and ‘11:11’ - it is clear that Area 52 is not just a simple cash in. Quite the opposite in fact, Area 52 turns out to be a very expensive and labour intensive exercise in alienating the whole R&G fan base. Because when C.U.B.A. is added into the mix all that you knew and liked about Rodrigo y Gabriela is effectively thrown out the window. Rather than take the safer (and arguably easier) option of sticking faithfully to the original material, all the songs have been completely reworked, leaving only hints of the original melodies remaining. To achieve this crippling effect they have carefully taken each track, stretched it out, sped it up, and shoehorned as many solos and breakdowns in as possible. Some songs have almost doubled in length and all drag on far too long. The elongated ‘11:11’ becomes a template to be noodled over with meaningless, reverb drenched, guitar offal. ‘Ixtapa’ is demoted to being a platform for an extended sitar solo, (whoever heard of a Cuban sitar?) But when you say, ‘why?’ Area 52 says, ‘why not?’ It is this ‘everything and anything all the time’ approach to the composition that makes Area 52 such an unrewarding listen. There are no contrasts, there is no consistency, there is no loud, quiet dynamic, and no tension. There is none of the intimacy or charm that, sans C.U.B.A., Rodrigo y Gabriela had in spades.
