Area 52 (CD+DVD)

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Area 52 (CD+DVD)
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  1. Audio CD: Release Date 2012-01-24
  2. Publisher: ATO RECORDS / RED
  3. Artist: Rodrigo y Gabriela
  4. Sales Rank in Music: #354

Product Review

ATO Records is excited to announce the release of the new studio album by Rodrigo y Gabriela. Entitled Area 52, the record was produced by the legendary Peter Asher and will come out on January 24, 2012. Area 52 contains nine of Rod and Gab's favorite songs from their own catalogue re-arranged and re-configured for a 13-piece Cuban orchestra comprised of some of Havana's finest young players, collectively known as C.U.B.A. This two-disc set includes a 30-minute 'making-of' documentary on DVD.

Area 52 was mixed by Rafa Sardina, one of the leading studio musicians in the Latin music world, and arranged by London-based pianist, composer and arranger Alex Wilson. Recording took place in the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba, at Abdala Studios, founded by the Cuban folk hero Silvio Rodriguez, as well as at Rod and Gab s studio in Ixtapa, Mexico. Other players on the record include: bassist Carles Benavent (Paco De Lucia, Chick Corea, Miles Davis), drummer John Tempesta (The Cult, Testament, White Zombie), sitarist Anoushka Shankar and drummer Samuel Formell (Los Van Van).

With career sales in excess of 1.2 million albums, blockbuster movie scores, sell out world tours that span London to Los Angeles, Paris to Tokyo and Dublin to Sydney, and not forgetting the love and respect of fellow musicians like Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, Al Di Meola and L Shankar, Rodrigo y Gabriela have worked hard to reach Area 52.
Title Tracks for Area 52 (CD+DVD)

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, January 24, 2012
mattyd - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Area 52 (CD+DVD) (Audio CD)
Just WOW!

For those who are looking at the track listing and thinking, "I already have most of those songs on other discs," NO YOU DON'T! Not like this. C.U.B.A. changes everything. Dramatically.

The addition of the horns and percussion really cranks up the energy level of this duo's music in a big way. It also demonstrates something interesting about their music: the "Latin-ness" of it has always been there, but in way that was less recognizable. Hearing it in the context of a distinctly Latin Rumba Cubana band, it seems obvious that many these songs were always salsa- and rumba-style songs, but performed in a way came across differently. Now, hearing the Latin percussion and the blaring, sassy horns, this stuff actually makes you want to dance!

But, it's not just the energy level of the music that impresses: this album also demonstrates a level of musical maturity that hasn't necessarily been expressed in most of their previous work. There is a...Read more


15 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Insanely creative, insanely good. How can they just keep getting better?, January 24, 2012
Storylover (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   
This review is from: Area 52 (CD+DVD) (Audio CD)
I'm gonna review this record. But before I do, stop reading, buy the disc, would you? Then come back. I'll be here, and you'll get it that much faster.

OK, I'm still here. Did you get it? Good. Because it is exactly what the doctor ordered. Flamenco on fire meets Cuban salsa and son in a blazing hail of strummed and plucked guitar madness, punctuated by sizzling horn breakdowns and mindnumbingly fast beats. This record makes you want to put on a puffy shirt and tight leather pants and do your best Antonio Banderas with a rose in your mouth. This record makes you want to toss back a double shot of tequila, chase it with some rum, and grab the nearest partner and prove to the world that you should have won Dancing With the Stars instead of Donny Osmond. Then, you'll want to mount an insurrection, set Havana aflame, and lead a popular revolution through steaming downtown streets.

This album is a pure shot of seduction soaked adrenaline blazing up your veins...Read more


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars More hit's than miss's, April 16, 2012
Kim A. Mcginnis "Kim McGinnis" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Area 52 (CD+DVD) (Audio CD)
This combination of a Cuban All-star Band and these 2 splendid neuvo flaminco guitar players leads to some splendid redo's of old material, but some of the arrangements are over done and lead to some busy numbers were it's hard to pick out the guitars. There are enough splendid moments with the old material keep one interested, even though new music is mostly missing.

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