If this
was the late 1960’s, I would have loved to catch an Esquivel show in Las
Vegas. There is a good chance that I
would have been so thrilled to hear those arrangements that I would have had, what
my Pop refers to as, “A Big Shit Eatin’
Grin” on my face. Esquivel’s music is so
electric and full of life. It’s loud,
bombastic, and it’s very strange. If you
ever come across one of his LP’s and look at the song titles, you may think, “I’ve
heard all of this before.” This may be true,
but not like this you haven’t.
“The
Breeze and I” is one of those songs that pops up on countless records from the
50’s and 60’s. It’s one of my favorites,
mainly because it has such a memorable melody with a fantastic range. It starts low and soars to well over an
octave, pushed by explosive horns and sheets of piano glissandos. Esquivel’s version also changes rhythm
several times until it finally feels like you have taken flight by the
end.
A buddy
of mine turned me onto Esquivel a few years ago, and I’m so glad he did. It’s rare that you find music where the
personality of the arranger is so embedded in the music. Just look at the picture of this guy on the back
cover with his crazy, space-age, horn-rimmed glasses. The music sounds like this guy looks. His piano playing is also an integral part of
sound. It’s truly sailing. I have never heard triplets and 16th
notes played this perfectly before. It’s
like a color guard waving flags over a rhythm, or throwing a laughing child
into the air. This is fiercely relaxed
concentration. It’s one of a kind.
One of
the defining instruments on most of the Esquivel records I have heard is the
(non pedal) steel guitar. It makes me so
happy that it is on here because I love the sound so much. Whether it is country, Hawaiian, or any other
kind of music, I just love it. The nice
thing about these arrangements is how the steel is used. Sometimes it’s just a sound effect, or a two
bar line, but it adds so much. Check out
the lick about three quarters of the way through “Street of Dreams.” It’s gone before you know it. It’s like you are in the middle of a
wonderful day, and at some point you see a good friend in his car, waving at
you and honking his horn. It wasn’t the
defining quality of the day, but golly it was a nice addition that made you
smile from ear to ear. My son loves a
steel guitar too. He has a ball playing
the one I have laying around here.
Esquivel
records are also major “ping-pong” records.
They bounce around the room like an overly sugared child (not mine of
course.) They are really made with
headphones or a great stereo in mind. On
a strange note, I have a copy of “Strings Aflame” that is a mono pressing. It lacks some of the pizzazz of my other
Esquivel records. I highly
recommend listening to the stereo albums with headphones if you haven’t. I also played this record for my buddy Frank,
and the stereo movement impressed the heck out of him. He had that same “Grin” I mentioned
earlier.
Tones: What a wonderful collection of sounds. The wordless/sound effect vocals (ex. POW!!!, and ZHOO ZHOO ZHOOO) are just good clean fun. The brass is on fire and bright as a flashbulb.
Cover Note: Perhaps not the most exciting Esquivel cover, but still neat. The contrast on the face makes the woman look almost alien. That’s some pretty dark eye makeup too.
Pride paid: I just read on Allmusic.com that this is “Traditionally the most sought after and highest valued Esquivel record.” I got mine for $2.00 at the Florida Fairgrounds Record Show! Now I like it even more. It feels so good to get a good record for cheap.
Bottom Line: This one will impress your friends and is great for a party. Esquivel records are apparently getting harder to find, but this one just fell in my lap, so they are out there. I’ll let you make your own decision on what to pay, but rest assured the music is exceptional and a welcome addition to any collection.
One last thing. I
just reread this and realized I mentioned smiling three times in this write up. Buy this if you wanna smile. J
No comments:
Post a Comment