Music Review: Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Page 2

Punctuated by the smack of percussive hits on the bodies of their guitars, this is hard, driving music - it feels as if the two were accompanied by drums much of the time, but the entirety of the album is two guitars, save for one song ("Ixtapa," where violinist Roby Lakatos joins the duo.) Elsewhere, the pair show off their taste in covers by taking on Metallica's "Orion" with a rendition that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. And if, you, like me, cringed a little bit seeing Led Zeppelin's overplayed classic "Stairway To Heaven" listed among the songs, have no fear. While the guitar shop in Wayne's World may have had a "No 'Stairway To Heaven'" rule, they would lift it to hear Rodrigo Y Gabriela's take. Where many would simply "Latinize" the original, they use it as a jumping-off point for some creative and fascinating exploration of the sounds of their world. The steps may lead up to heaven, but somehow we wind up deep in the heart of Mexico.

And that's what makes it all work so well - heart. For all their technical prowess, behind it all is a great love of playing all this music and entertaining listeners. Rodrigo Y Gabriela's music is plainly driven by the giddy "what next?" desire that had them jumping out of the metal band they were in and the comfort of their homeland for foreign lands and music they surely weren't certain would take them anywhere. And now, for us listeners, we're left with that same excited desire to know what's next for the two.

Article Author: Tom Johnson

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