Johannes Linstead - Cafe Tropical
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Johannes LinsteadEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2006-04-25
Music Label: Gemini Sun Records
Soundtracks:
- Cien Fuegos
- Cafe Tropical
- The Streets of Old San Jaun
- Spanish Town
- Tides of Eden
- Ole Ole Ola
- Suave
- El Zocolo
- Santeria
- Chica Chica
- Para La Habana
Free Music Notes for Cafe Tropical
Free Music Review: Yet Another Gem! Beautiful job, Johannes. Bravo!
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't know what it is about the music that this man plays, but the Lord God has definitely given him a gift to write and play music that touches the very heart and soul of a listener. I have all six of his CD's and to me this is his best work yet. A real tour de force of passionate power and feel-good energy.
1: Cien Fuegos - Translated as "A hundred fires", this starts off more slowly than one might think given the title. We are started off by what sounds to me like a rattle combined with a 'rolling' cymbal. The beautiful guitar melodies range in pace from mid-tempo to moderately quick. Chimes make a nice appearance in here on occasion. I love the violin work in this too. For some reason, it puts me in mind of looking out at the crashing waves on a beautiful tropical day. Very relaxing, with just enough 'fire' to warm the blood and stir the heart.
2. Cafe Tropical- This the title track, and a pretty fast one at that. It's a memorable tune to be certain, a beautiful dance between catchy quick guitar and invigorating trumpet melodies. Most of the guitar passages in hee appear to actually PRETTY quick, with some rapid fire fluid 'runs'. The trumpet passage in the middle brings a smile. A very danceable tune that makes me want to grab a sangria.
3. The Streets Of Old San Juan- Here we have another 'middle-of-the-road' piece as far as tempo. The percussion and invigorating guitar will draw you in quickly. Despite SOME very fast playing in parts, I love the mellow laid-back feel of the piece as a whole. The piano featured in this cut add a really 'tasty' flaveor that gives the piece a very nice character. The percussion stirs your heart while the guitar carries you along on a journey through the streets of this warm and inviting locale. Ole.
4. Spanish Town- Guitar and chimes begin the piece. It's a 'happy' little ditty that pulls you in fast. Again, the tempo is laid-back a bit, proving that Johannes does not have to always play a hundred miles a second to captivate a listener. The percussion and chimes warm this piece up as the guitar dances along. What I really love is the inclusion of the steel drums in here to give this piece a really exotic feel. It's a favorite.
5. Tides Of Eden - This is just BEAUTIFUL. It's my favorite tune on the disc. I LOVE it when Johannes decides to play it slow. This starts off VERY slowly, but doesn't stay that way. We are started off by very slow and pretty keyboards, chimes and violin, over which the guitar dances for us. The variations in the guitar's pacing paint a picture of incoming tides for us. I prefer the slower passages, but even the quicker runs are just as lovely and stirring to my heart and my blood. I can visualize standing alone or with a special someone upon a beach at sunset, watching the sun go down and seeing the tides come in. The occasional chimes and bells are a nice touch. The best part, or the most intriguing to me, is how the guitar drops away at the end, allowing the piece to finish with a beatiful, almost very softly 'crying' violin passage. This is an exquisite piece of music, and my favorite piece on the entire CD.
6. Ole Ole Ola- To me, this is road music. Put the top down and cruise The pacing is just right for me to picture a leisurely drive along a sun-splashed coastal paradise. As always, the guitar and percussion are fetching. In particular, the percussion to me feels almost primal. The chimes flow softly, almost like gentle waves through the melody on occasion. I just love it.
7. Suave- Here's another laid-back, jaunty, feel good number. Guitar and percussion mate with a SMOOTH undercurrent of piano. When I hear this I feel like a super-cool high-roller strolling in for a night on the town. I love the relaxing pace of this, and the guitar playing just makes me want to chill out and enjoy it all. Chimes are here again, adding a warm touch to it all. The piano puts me in mind of being in a high-class tropical nightclub. Beautiful! Bravo!
8. El Zocolo - Here, we finally get pretty fast. The opening guitar passage is almost 'swirling' its way along. It feels to me like another "cruising" melody, and I love it. For the most part, the percussion sounds a little softer, as if carrying the guitar instead of dancing along beside it, but that's cool with me. I like it very much. I love where the chimes come in, and the faster pace feels like Johannes 'busting loose' a bit. I LOVE pieces that feel like top-down, gun the engine road music.
9. Santeria- This piece, feels to me like another mid-tempo number. Guitar, percussion, and chimes interweave again at the start. The guitar melodies are, as always, terrific and stir the soul to me. The percussion and pace make this a dance number, but a kind of relaxed number that you "groove" to instead of dancing a thousand miles an hour. Great stuff... love it. :)
10. Chica Chica - Another quick one. This feels like a samba or something similar to it. Quick, blood-pumping guitar runs and percussion are the stars of the piece. The guitar heats you up while the percussion's pace keeps you moving.
11. Para La Habana- This is started by lovely slow guitar and the tapping of percussion that sounds like wooden blocks. The sound of the guitars puts me in the mindset of hearing a laid-back but SPICY piece of Cuban jazz music. I LOVE the violin that dances through this piece. At first I found the vocals distracting but they grew on me and gave this closing song a very nice flavor.
In closing I will just say this. If you are a fan of Johannes Linstead's music, you owe it to yourself to get Cafe Tropical. It's Johannes' best work yet in my view. If you are not a fan, one listen to Cafe Tropical may make you a fan forever. Happy listening, and God bless.
Cafe Tropical Poster
Upbeat, refined, and congenial as ever, Café Tropical is the sixth release from Canadian-born guitarist Johannes Linstead; and like the others before it, it's a crisply performed, easy-to-like collection of nouveau flamenco destined to brighten the atmosphere, particularly at summer patio parties. Linstead, principally playing Spanish guitar (plus keyboards and assorted percussion with contributions from 10 other instrumentalists) is a nimble guitarist and tasteful composer who tones down flamenco's most incendiary tendencies just enough to create lively, feel-good melodies with suitable-for-all-audiences intentions. Prime examples: the disc's warm, soulful opener, "Cien Fuegos," and the trumpet-fueled title track, a piece that closely parallels "Mango" from 2001's Guitarra del Fuego. While tame by traditional standards, Linstead intermittently launches note-dense sorties on Café Tropical to showcase his formidable technique, and his inclusion of Cuban jazz pianist Hilario Duran on two tracks adds a welcomed taste of improvisational flair to the otherwise tightly structured proceedings. --Terry WoodNew Age Music CDs
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