Kicking off with some superb flamenco rolls and running headlong into high octane jazz/flamenco/rock guitar, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s third and eponymous album picks up from where Live in Manchester and Dublin left off, with a live feel that leads the listener to expect well-deserved applause following each number
The album’s space is inhabited by the two guitarists alone, with a brief visit from gypsy violinist Roby Lakotos, who delivers a singular storming solo on ‘Ixtapa’ and leaves as mysteriously as he arrives.
The virtuosity and character with which the duo play, the furious speeds, energetic, percussive battering of the guitar bodies, and their distinctive but equally passionate playing styles lend themselves most fully to live performance, but producer John Leckie does a sterling job of capturing the spontaneity of their performances.
The velocity and ferocity of the playing and the hardcore of metaller fans are not the only bizzarities which accompany Rodrigo y Gabriela, and one must pose the question of why their unholy allegiance to Metallica? Live in Manchester and Dublin sported two nods to Metallica’s One .
The limited edition album comes with a DVD which really gives vent to the energy of the hyperactive pair with live tracks (watch the fingers fly), interviews, footage of their previous incarnation as Mexican metallers, stories of their arrival in Ireland and footage of their adventures in Mexico when they were supposed to be recording the new album.
Rodrigo y Gabriela is released on 13 March
UK Tour:
Bristol Fleece on 14 March
Manchester Academy 3 on 15 March
Glasgow King Tuts on 16 March
Edinburgh Liquid Rooms 17 March
Birmingham Glee Club 19 March
Brighton Komedia 20 March
London Jazz Caf?© 21 and 22 March.
Link: www.rodgab.com
