DÓNDE ESTÁ LA LUZ

MEDINA AZAHARA plays song oriented rock with a few symphonic touches, strong Andalusian vocals, and lots of preening lead and rhythm guitars. The tracks range from hard rock to power ballads, not exactly an impressive range. In "..En Al-Hakim", the group threw in some fine Spanish guitar licks, but they are not to be found here. About half the tracks on the original CD re-release are at least mildly interesting, but none stand out : "A Toda Esa Gente", "No Quiero Pensar en ese Amor", "La Tierra Perdida", "Tu Mirada" would be in that category, and also adequately represent the limited stylistic breadth. One of the bonus tracks is an alternate version of the excellent "Otono" which originally appeared on "..en Al-Hakim". The group does appear to be recycling, in dire need of a new creative infusion. At this point almost any new direction would be welcome.