More Rodrigo
- Glorious Super Hot Stamper sound on both sides
- Quiet ’70s Decca vinyl
- Rich and lush Golden Age sound, so effortless and analog
- Rodrigo’s two most famous works on one LP
This Super Hot (on both sides) Decca pressing has Rodrigo’s two most famous works, the better known of course being the Concierto De Aranjuez.
With a sonic grade of A++, the sound is glorious, with practically all of the qualities that make listening to classical music in analog so involving. The presentation is shockingly three-dimensional, with an exceptionally wide and deep stage. The orchestral sound is rich and sweet, yet the guitar is clear and immediate. Managing to balance — so effortlessly — two dissimilar elements such as these, in 1959 no less, requires an enormous amount of skill and effort. Fifty-odd years later, those of us with good turntables are profoundly thankful for their achievement, in terms of both performance and sound.
If you were only to be allowed one Guitar Concerto recording, this would probably be the one to own. You will recognize the main theme instantly; it’s the one Miles Davis appropriated for the astonishingly innovative Sketches of Spain album he did with Gil Evans. (more…)