Pop: Jorge Drexler - Cara B

Long time readers of La Onda already know that Chapín and I are huge fans of Uruguayan cantautor Jorge Drexler (See this post for more Drexler). Everytime a Latin music festival in Belgium releases its line-up, we're always desperately looking for Drexler's name, only to be disappointed once again. Unless we should happen to be in Spain when he's performing - Drexler has been living mostly in Catalonia for some years now -, we're afraid we'll never see him play his songs live for us... You'll imagine our joy when we found out Drexler was to release a live album, entitled Cara B ("B-Side"), in April! Finally we have it, and when we listen to it we can actually imagine looking right into Jorge's guitar.

This two-disc album is a compilation of the best moments of Drexler's 2007 tour in Spain. Disc one contains the songs that were frequently on Drexler's set-list during his tour, most of them off his latest studio album 12 Segundos de Oscuridad (2006). Disc two, Cara C, is a selection of less known songs and covers. In Spanish (e.g. an introverted version of Kiko Veneno's "Volando Voy"), but also in Italian, Portuguese or English. Between the songs, Drexler is chatting and laughing with the audience, giving a really good impression of the intimacy of his concerts. The acoustic versions on Cara B lack the smart electronic arrangements of Drexler's studio recordings, but on this album, the singer and his gently weeping guitar create a universe on their own. Sometimes there is a singing saw involved, for example in the title track "Cara B"; an ironic, yet very sensitive song about a bad mood. Check the skipping record effect!

The intimate live atmosphere on Cara B suits Drexler's songs really well: every track is a little poem, written and sung by a real artist. Now that we can hear him play live, we definitely want to see him perform one day. ¡Ya vente a Bélgica, Jorge!

Jorge Drexler - Cara B mp3
Album: Cara B (Warner)
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