It’s All Pop – RECORD REVIEW
¡Chicas! Spanish Female Singers 1962-1974
The great thing about writing in a free form web blog about all things POP music is that I can pretty much cover any topic I want (pop music is a pretty wide and diverse genre)! And with that in mind, I’d like to try something new this time around and review a real groovy record.
So I present to you “¡Chicas! – Spanish Female Singers 1962-1974”, a compilation of captivating Ye-Ye, Rock n’ Roll, Twist, Beat, Garage, R&B, Soul and Latin sounds released on the oh so hip Vampi Soul label late last year. This record is fun, danceable and a wild ride for the ears, and I’ll tell you all why.. but let me backtrack a bit and explain how I wound up with this awesome two record collection in my hands.
Growing up, I guess I never really thought to much about Spain, of course we were taught in school about Don Quixote, the Bullfighters, and the running of the bulls (And now that I think about it you gotta have a couple marbles loose, or doing the right kind of prescription drugs to want to be in a tiny alley way with a pissed off bull running after you.. it all now makes sense now that I’ve been to Spain!) BUT as a young adolescent, in my mind Spain was a far and distant place.. a mystery of sorts. Spanish was the language that was associated with Mexico.. not its actual origin, you know stuff like that. I wasn’t until I was fortunate to travel to Spain with my old band the Leftovers in 2007 that I realized that this land of mystery was actually a legit rock n’ roll summer camp. My mind was completely blown away by this country, the culture and the people. Walking into a RAMONES themed bar in the middle of Madrid was incredible, and in every town there were multiple clubs devoted to hosting great punk rock, rock n’ roll and power pop bands. The food… the fucking food dude! If I were better about writing about culinary delights this blog entry would take on a entirely different direction.. but let me say, the food is good. I mean, any country that hails the RUBINOOS as gods is a place for me. Shit, I often dream about living there! So, if you haven’t figured it out, I love Spain. In fact, I’ve made it a point to try and go back there every year. The only thing I’ve yet to tackle is the Spanish language itself, so even though while listening to “¡Chicas!”, I had absolutely NO idea what anybody was talking about, this didn’t hinder my decision when I picked up this collection at the record store.
As the title states, don’t expect any new music on here. Label Vampi Soul along with other great re-issue labels like Numero Group pride themselves in putting out high quality music, both in content and sonic sound quality, so you get a wild array of amazing deep cuts that have been sitting in a dusty old basement on permanent siesta until “¡Chicas!” came about, and certainly don’t let the language barrier prohibit you from giving this 24 track compilation the time of day. Looking back in history, the Spanish Civil War – a conflict that shook the country that was absent from World War 2 on a social and economic level, put modern 60’s Spain in need of a serious social and cultural revolution, and in one form it came in Female Ye-Ye rock n’ roll music. And that’s where this compilation begins.
Obviously influenced by the current day pop music that was popular in the UK and America, some of my favorite tracks on this compilation are brilliant and raucous covers of what we now consider oldies standards.
Sonia – Aqui En Me Nube
This track by Sonia, a prominent Ye-ye singer from Catalan, is a cover of the Stones’ “Get Off Of My Cloud.” I was immediately impressed by the huge drums at the intro, and having known the original version so well, Sonia’s Spanish language version is chock full of angst and quite refreshing. Sonia released a dozen or so EP’s and singles for the Belter Label (a label that originally released almost half of the material on this compilation), but after Sonia hit a high point with this track she mysteriously disappeared and the music world never heard from her again.
Los Stop – Extiende Tus Brazos
Another group from the Catalan region of Spain, Los Stop were also part of the Belter label and released a slew of records characterized by the strong lead vocals of front woman known only as Cristina. Here is their take on the classic Motown song “Reach Out I’ll Be There” made famous by the Four Tops. Again, this recording seems to capture the best elements of the original, but takes the energy up to a new level, a constant tambourine shake keeps the rhythm pounding and in a way the Spanish translation of the vocals gives the entire feel almost even more haunting, yet still entirely worthy of any dance party.
As much as it is fun to listen to songs we all know and love sung in Spanish, “¡Chicas!” features some down write amazing original music as well. Some of my favorites include:
Los Tios Queridos – “Por Eso Vuelve, Por Favor”
In my humble opinion “¡Chicas!” hits an all time high on Side C with this wild soul shaker titled “Por Eso Vuelve, Por Favor.” Por Favor means “Please,” and I say “Thanks!” to Vampi Soul for including this number on the compilation. Although the members of Los Tios Queridos were originally from Argentina, they found themselves in Spain in 1971, teaming up with another Argentinian composer to record this track. The guitar break heard a minute and thirty five seconds makes no sense – two totally different guitar solos battling with each other to be heard – but some how in the chaos they magically work together to create one of the catchiest couple of seconds of rock n’ roll I’ve heard in a long time. Along with a pulsating back beat and a flourishing organ, toped with great vocal lines, Los Tios Queridos contribution to this record ranks high. Now if I could only figure out what they were saying…
Los Que Vivimos – “Conrapunto”
Give this one a couple listens, it’s one of those songs. Normally, and though I hate to admit it, but there is so much music out there that sometimes it’s hard for me to sit down and really appreciate a song if my ears don’t immediately perk up with excitement upon first listen. Luckily, listening to music on the vinyl format makes it that much harder for a lazy stoner such as myself to get off the couch and put the needle down on another track. This interesting track by Los Que Vivimos is a gem of a recording. Never have I heard a song build into the most wild of psychedelic sonic trips, and were not talking about muddied amp hiss and sound effect one would associate with vintage psych.. the music is clear and focused, calm and focused from the get go, but by the time the chorus hits with this soaring keyboard, you can’t help but feel some kind of emotion. Great songs like this you don’t come about often, and it’s tracks of this quality that make “¡Chicas!” a real delight.
Of course with any compilation there are bound to be a few clunkers. Alicia Granados’s “Batiendo Palmas” is borderline straight up annoying and could hit you like nails on a chalkboard if you’re not in the right mood, and “Love Love Love” by Los Hippy-Loyas comes off as humorous and a bit to goofy for an anglophiles ears. But that’s “Ye Ye” for you.. brash and upbeat, psychotically melodic and catchy. It’s songs like the ones mentioned above that really made this album a worthwhile purchase in my collection. Whenever I feel the urge to throw this record on the turntable I’m always transported back to one of my favorite countries in the world.. where the beer and wine flow like water, everyone you meet is friendly and there is always a party to attend!
Popularity: unranked
