MEDINA AZAHARA

Spanish Medina Azahara released their eponymous debut album in 1979, last year this Rock Andaluz legend produced its studio-album # 19, so still going strong after 40 years featuring long time members Manuel Martinez on vocals and Francisco Ventura (aka Paco) on guitar. I own 3 albums: Medina Azahara, Se Abre La Puerta (including many Triana covers) and En Al- Hakim, this review is about the latter.

The very interesting element on En Al-Hakim is the contribution by highly acclaimed flamenco guitar player Vicente Amigo. He was born in Seville (1967) but moved at a very early age to Cordoba, one of the other known Andalusian cities. In an interview Vicente told that he was 3 years old when he saw legendary flamenco player Paco De Lucia on television, this inspired him to study flamenco guitar when he was 8. And at the age of 15 he got lessons from other flamenco guitar legend, Manolo Sanlucar. Soon the virtuosic Vicente got recognition, and he played with John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola and even his hero Paco De Lucia, along his work with legendary flamenco singer Camaron De La Isla. So high expectations on this album with the musical encounter between the very popular Rock Andaluz band Medina Azahara and the very popular flamenco guitar player Vicente Amigo!

Well, Vicente contributes on 3 tracks, and succeeds to generate a lot of excitement, and to add an extra dimension. First on La Guitarra: an exciting flamenco guitar intro and then virtuosic runs, blended with Manuel his emotional vocals, drenched in the flamenco tradition. In the second part harder-edged electric guitar and spectacular synthesizer flights, a captivating contrast with the world of the flamenco in the first part! In El Destino the climate is strongly blues inspired featuring wailing mouth organ and vocals, and expressive flamenco guitar, the Andalusian blues! The contrast between the flamenco guitar and the heavy sounding electric guitar evokes a lot of tension, unique progressive music! And finally Desde Cordoba, now Vicente duels with Paco Ventura his rock guitar, goose bumps, what an emotional and exciting experience.

In the other 5 tracks Medina Aazahar delivers a varied sound.

A typical Morish atmosphere featuring great vocals and Mark Kelly-like synthesizer runs in the first composition Al Hakim ' Otro Lugar.

Again strong and emotional vocals in a slow rhythm with tender piano, a bluesy guitar and moving elecric guitar work in the wonderful ballad Otono.

And simply structured but tastefully coloured up-tempo rock in Velocidad (catchy synthesizer lfights), Dejame Vivir (harder- edged guitar solo) and Tal Como Es (swinging piano solo).

What an unique musical experience, from Andalusia, the cradle of Rock Andaluz.

As a huge fan of 'the art of the flamenco' and progressive rock I was blown away when I heard Triana for the first time, at the home of Dutch 'progrock guru' Peter van der Laan, in the late Seventies. He was known for his huge knowledge about lesser known and unknown foreign prog. When he heard about my passion for flamenco he invited me to listen to a new LP that he had just received from Spain, Sombra Y Luz from Triana. He also showed me a promo package from Triana, with stickers, posters, info, wow. And lots of more WOW while listening to Triana, I was complety blown away: a combination of 'the art of the flamenco' and vintage keyboards, electric guitars, topped with passionate native vocals. I couldn't believe my ears, this was the music I was waiting for since I started to love flamenco and prog, when I was around 15 years old! To make a long story short, I became a huge fan of Triana and the Rock Andaluz, the unique, distinctive and widespread movement that blend flamenco and prog. After Triana the most known and popular band is Medina Azahara, their exciting debut album is from 1979 and they still make Rock Andaluz. During concerts Medina Azahara already played some Triana covers and on this CD compilation you can enjoy Medina Azahara performing seven Triana covers, along one Cai cover and three own compositions.

To me Medina Azahara sounds as a Heavy Prog version of the more symphonic prog of Triana (from the first 3 albums, later they sounded more commercial) featuring a powerful and tight rhythm- section, heavy guitar work and an excellent singer (with the typical passion and wailing undertone from the flamenco singers) The seven Triana covers are played with huge respect and passion, and many strong musical ideas.

Warm flamenco guitar, heavy guitar riffs, bombastic organ and a flashy synthesizer solo in Abre La Puerta.

Tender piano and sensitive electric guitar in Una Noche De Amor.

Great melancholical vocals, wonderful keyboard layers and howling guitar in Hijos Del Agobio.

A very compelling atmosphere in Dialogo.

Paco De Lucia inspired flamenco guitar, lush organ and biting electric guitar in Luminosa Manana.

A jazzy piano intro and powerful Hammond organ waves in Tu Frialdad.

And lots of surprising musical ideas in El Lago: from roaring Hammond organ and 'slap bass' to even rap singing (a new category, Rap Andaluz?).

The version of Cai their composition Amanecer En El Puerto sounds dynamic with beautiful vocals and the three Medina Azahara tracks Hacia Ti (dynamic ballad), Paseando Por La Mezquita (the 'Rock Andaluz anthem', blending perfectly flamenco and hardrock) and El Soldado (swirling Hammond organ solo) showcase their pleasant, melodic and harder-edged Prog Andaluz sound.

If you want to discover the unique and fascinating world of the Rock Andaluz, this CD is an excellent starter!

"Paseando Per La Mezquita" was love at first listen and my favourite off the album. The guitar is raw as bass, drums and keyboards kick in. So good! The guitar starts to solo over top at 1 1/2 minutes. A calm 2 minutes in to a drifting psychedelic vibe as the vocals eventually join in. The guitar replaces them but not for long. The guitar is back as the vocals step aside to the end.

"En La Manana" opens with cymbals as the bass joins in then some raw guitar as drums and a full sound follow quickly, synths too. The vocals are next before a minute. Great sound here. The vocals and guitar trade off then we get some flamenco guitar and percussion before 3 minutes to end it.

"Haciati" has this relaxed guitar and percussion as synths then bass join in. Spacey synths come in over top then drums a minute in. A new sound 1 1/2 minutes in then the vocals return after 2 minutes. Love those passionate vocals. Catchy as well. The guitar starts to solo before 3 1/2 minutes as the vocals step aside. Nice. Vocals return a minute later but the guitar ends it.

"Si Supieres" opens with synths as drums and multi-vocals join in. Guitar and bass as well. This is kind of melancholic. The vocals step aside before 1 1/2 minutes as the tempo picks up briefly. Almost spoken vocals follow and the bass is upfront. The guitar starts to solo as the vocals stop. A calm with synths after 3 minutes as the vocals return. Themes are repeated.

"Busco" opens with the synths swirling as drums and some aggressive guitar join in. Nice bass here as well and the vocals join in before a minute. Some flamenco guitar is added. The guitar solos before 2 minutes as the vocals stop but they return after 2 1/2 minutes as themes are repeated. "Amiga" opens with synths along with drums in this dramatic intro. It does settle some. The tempo picks up 1 1/2 minutes in with the guitar helping out. Nice bass here as the vocals and guitar trade off.

"Se" opens with pulsating keys as outbursts of power come and go before it settles in. The guitar and bass are excellent here. Synths will come and go. Check out the bass solo after 2 1/2 minutes. Oh my! Vocals 3 minutes in with the guitar lighting it up. "Recuerdos Delayer" starts out with relaxed guitar and spacey synths before the guitar and drums kick in around a minute. Vocals after 2 minutes and they will come and go as will the guitar ripping things up. A really good closer.

Highly recommended Spanish Prog right here that rocks hard with killer vocals. My kind of music.

Medina Azahara is a very popular and interesting Spanish rock band that exists for almost 40 years: they were founded in 1979 and this spring 2018 Medina Azahara will give a serie of concerts in Spain (from Cordoba to Madrid). The only founding member in the recent line-up is the tall singer Manuel Marti­nez, who looks like a cross between David Byron and a Viking. But guitarist Francisco 'Paco' Ventura is another Medina Azahara veteran, he plays in the band for almost three decades (since 1989). Back to the late Seventies, singer Manuel Martinez and four other musicians wanted to make rock music, inspired by Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Uriah Heep . The young band embraced the Rock Andaluz movement (from Andalusia in Southern Spain, blending the distinctive ethnic flamenco and rock music), speerheaded by legendary Triana. This was an important influence on their eponymous debut album from 1979. However, from their second album La Esquina Del Viento (1980) Medina Azahara turned into more harder-edged and catchy melodic rock with fiery guitar, functional keyboards and emotional Spanish vocals as their trademark. But due to the passionate Spanish vocals (with flamenco hints) and the colouring with Morish accents by the guitar and keyboards, their music kept nice Rock Andaluz undertones. To emphasize Medina Azahara their prog tendencies, the band also collaborated with: new flamenco guitar hero Vicente Amigo (.. en Al- Hakim, 1989), African musicians (Tanger, 1998), the Cordoba Symphony Orchestra (Aixa, 2003) and the Sevillian band Fondo Flamenco (La Memoria Perdida, 2012).

Of course this comprehensive compilation (although I miss the 'stage favorites' Busca and Otono) contains their most famous track Paseando Por La Mezquita. This has become the 'Rock Andaluz anthem': a known and propulsive flamenco chord is played with a powerful electric guitar, accompanied by catchy synthesizer flights featuring a strong Morish flavour and topped with passionate Spanish vocals, very exciting! Another 'must' is the inclusion of a Triana song (their strongest influence, especially on the first album), here we can enjoy a great rendition of Abre La Puerta: intense flamenco guitar, heavy guitar riffs, sumptuous organ and a sparkling synthesizer solo, what a wonderful tribute. The songs Palabras De Libertad, Necesito Respirar, Tierra De Libertad and Velocidad epitomize Medina Azahara their harder-edged and catchy up-tempo rock. To my delight this compilation also contains two tracks with flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo from the album ... En El-Hakim: Al Hakim... Otro Lugar (a Morish climate, expressive Spanish vocals and Mark Kelly-like synthesizer flights) and the compelling Desde Corrdoba (captivating interplay between flamenco - and electric guitar). Other interesting compositions are Cordoba (with the Cordoba Symphonic Orchestra, along moving electric guitar runs) and Danza Al Viento (Medina Azahara rock mixed with African percussion), both showcase the adventurous side from Medina Azahara.

If you like harder-edged melodic rock with prog tendencies (including the Rock Andaluz sound) and passionate Spanish vocals, this compilation is a way to discover the special Medina Azahara sound.

My rating: 3,5 star.

Medina Azahara has always fused rock, pop, prog rock and folk music into one musical expression. On this album, prog rock aka Genesis has been dropped altogether. What remains is a mix of commercial pop rock and folk music. The type of music that makes the dance floors in the rural areas fill up with more or less sober men and women. Every country has scenes like this and Medina Azahara has made a stab at this scene with this album.

The music here is not particular interesting. The rhythm section is laying down a four by four pattern and never deviates from that. Playing drums and bass on this album is as interesting as watching paint dry. Not that the guitarist have a much better job either. The vocalist is laying down his soul ikn the vocals and I do not think he sings about splitting atoms and the latest innovations in how to predict weather forecasts. My guess is that the vocals is about love in all it's variations. Love hurts, love is complicated, love makes you happy. These subjects which no members of ProgArchives even have the faintest ideas about (sorry guys, but Wikipedia is down today).

The quality of the music is not too shabby. Well, it is by no means good. But this album is not a turkey, although it makes the same kind of noises. It is Spanish pop/rock, no less and no more. A very weak two pointer it is.

2 stars (barely)

The band and music is unmistaken Spanish with Spanish vocals and Spanish folk rock sound. The music is a blend of Genesis aka Foxtrot and RPI bands like Banco and Le Orme. I would label Spanish symph prog as RPI's brother. No wonder in fact. Both countries are in the deep south Europe and in the Mediterranean Ocean area. Both are also bordering to the Arabian Africa spheres.

Medina Azahara is combining their Genesis like keyboards with flamenco and other folk rock from this region. The guitars are mostly heavy. The music is proper rock with some pop influences. The music is much more crossover rock than symphonic prog.

Y Amanece En La Ciudad and the good keyboards here is the best song on an album which ticks over nicely with some good music. Their vintage keyboards driven sound is really good too. This is a good album and a good example on what Spanish symphonic prog anno the 1970s sounds like.

3 stars

Spain is more a confederation of independent nations than a nation itself. I find Spain a very fascinating country seen from afar and I have a lot of time for Spain. This band is from Cordoba in Andalusia, a region and nation in the far south of Spain. Their music is called Andalusian Rock. Exciting stuff, in other words.

And the music here is indeed very special and indeed a subgenre within the symphonic prog genre. Genesis, ELP and Yes copies, this is not. But still well within the symph prog genre. The music is both melodic and rhythmic with a very large slab of flamenco and folk rock. The opening song is much more a hard rocker than the rest of the album so don't think this is a hard rocking album. The music on the rest of the album is very melodic and keyboards driven with Spanish vocals on the top. This interplay between hard rocking guitars, melodic keyboards and superb vocals is something we also find in Rock Progressivo Italiano. Hence, those who likes Rock Progressivo Italiano will also like this album and this band.

The overall quality is very good, bordering to great. Hacia Tí with it's moog is a great song and closest to what I feel is missing on this album; a real killer track. But this is indeed a very good debut album which has made me order some more albums from this band.

3.75 stars