Sabicas with Joe Beck - Rock Encounter (1970) [Reissue 2006]

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Sabicas with Joe Beck - Rock Encounter (1970) [Reissue 2006]

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An unique and very interesting musical project, probably the first musical encounter between flamenco and rock music! In those days Joe Beck was a respected composer and rock guitarist, he had played in symphonic orchestras and performed with the top names in rock and jazz (from Tim Hardin to Steve Gadd). After making the album Middle Eastern Rock with Oud player John Berberian, Joe's producer Harvey Cowen suggested Joe to do the same with flamenco and rock. He succeeded to recruit flamenco guitar legend Sabicas (1912-1990), thanks to Sabicas' brother Diego because he wanted Sabicas to scout the musical boundaries. Now Joe decided to assemble the best New York musicians: drummer Donald McDonald (in The Satyrs he had jammed with Frank Zappa, Ritchie Havens and Jimi Hendrix), 20 year old bass player Tony Levin (introduced to jazz and rock by Steve Gadd, later he joined Peter Gabriel his band and King Crimson, playing on the distinctive Stick) and keyboardplayer Warren Bernhardt (he has accompanied singers like Donald Fagen, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Ritchie Havens and Liza Minelli), wow, what an awesome line-up!
The circumstances in the recording studio were not easy: it was hard to communicate between the Spanish guitarist and the English musicians and its still very difficult to amplify an acoustic guitar and also quickly overshadowed rock instruments like the drums, bass, guitar and organ. Sabicas was not really satisfied about the result (I did it for my brother) but in my opinion this album contains lots of captivating and exciting musical moments. And especially from the song Flamenco Rock the musicians seem to have reached a kind of chemistry, it sounds like embryonal Prog Andaluz. Highly recommended to all Prog Andaluz aficionados, fans of progressive folk music and adventurous progheads!