Saturday, March 03, 2007

When I posted my top albums of 2006 list recently, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I came to regret some omission. And that time has come. I finally got around to listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela's debut album, which was released in 2006. Had I heard it earlier, and had I realized it was a 2006 album, it definitely would have made the list; in fact, it deserves to be in the top five. Great stuff. I had heard one track, featured on the Tofu Hut music blog (that MP3 is no longer available), which got some play on my iPod at the time, but for some reason I took my sweet time in getting the album (which is available on eMusic, though I didn't realize that until after I bought the physical CD, which comes with a bonus DVD). The presence of an acoustic guitar cover of Metallica's "Orion" could be a selling point for some, or alternately reason to write them off as a novelty. But nothing could be further from the truth: Rodrigo y Gabriela don't take themselves seriously, but the technical mastery on display on this album is breathtaking, and their unique form of acoustic rock seems destined to have a broad appeal. I almost used the word "jazz" to describe what's going on here, but their website warns me that that's almost as off-base as calling this stuff "flamenco," so I'll say just go to their website and read about it there, and maybe watch a video or two. Really wonderful stuff.

Oh, and I also picked up Regina Spektor's latest album, and it's probably safe to say, had I gotten around to hearing it last year, it would have made the list, too. Though further down, in the also-rans, as it were. Definitely worth hearing, though.

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