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Milongas... pa' sacale viruta al piso

This excellent milonga compilation is the best available and the only album from the legendary FM tango label still in print.

If you are looking for a compilation for practicing - don't buy this album! Yes it's stuffed to the gunnels with great music; yes, it covers many different flavours of milonga.

The cover art, as on all the FM tango albums, is one of the caricatures by the wonderful Uruguayan artist Hermengildo Sabat. His book of tango caricatures is long since out-of-print, but the fact that they were used again in the 2001 series RCA Victor 100 Años testifies to their enduring popularity.

Standout tracks - well nearly all of them, although personally I can live without José Basso. But this is a great way to get a lot of decent milongas without buying a lot of cds. For instance, very few will want a whole cd of Mariano Mores, but here you can pick up his classic and ground-breaking Taquito Militar. The band's youthful, joyful exuberance is beautifully captured on this YouTube video.

Grela's classic De vuelta y media is another must have, although in this case we would buy more of this great guitarist if only more were available.

You also get two of Pugliese's milongas, otherwise not easy to pick up. Fresedo from the 1950s is too much for me - except in his milongas. The cd gives you his wonderful La trampera. Finally, Tita Merello's classic Se dice de mi (They say about me) which has more attitude than you can shake a stick at. You can see Tita telling it like it is on Youtube - this video is from the 1954 film Mercado de Abasto.

Track list

1. Taquito militar - Mariano Mores (1957)
2. Zapatitos de raso - Argentino Ledesma (1957)
3. La puñalada - Sexteto Mayor (1974)
4. Un baile a beneficio - Osvaldo Pugliese c. Jorge Vidal (1950)
5. Corralera - Alfredo De Angelis (1956)
6. La fulana - José Basso c. Floreal Ruíz (1957)
7. Milongón - Quinteto Pirincho (1952)
8. La señora del chalet - Edmundo Rivero (1958)
9. Azabache - Carlos Garciá (and orchestra) (1958)
10. Milonga que peina canas - Miguel Caló c. Raúl Berón (1942)
11. El firulete - José Basso (1961)
12. Tortazos - Osvaldo Pugliese c. Roberto Chanel (1944)
13. Picante - Rodolfo Biagi (1941)
14. Se dice de mi - Tita Merello (1954)
15. De vuelta y media - Roberto Grela (with Carlos García's orchestra) (1965)
16. Cien guitarras - Alfredo De Angelis c. Dante - Martel (1947)
17. La trampera - Osvaldo Fresedo (1951)
18. Bien criolla y bien portena - Rubén Juárez (1972)
19. Milonga orillera - Roberto Firpo (1948)
20. Vestido ounzo - Alberto Castillo (1945)

Valses Inolvidables

Don't be out off by the tradmeark ugly cover - this waltz cd has been chosen very intelligently. The programme takes you through seven artists, six of whom get three waltzes each, and the last only two, to make the magic 20 tracks.

The disc kicks off with Alberto Morán, such a star with Pugliese's orchestra in the late 1940s that the men often found themselves without partners. Here he is as a solo artist with recordings of very high fidelity from the 1950s - dare I say it, more enjoyable to dance to than much his catalogue with Pugliese, which stretched the tango song until in broke!

Calo, De Angelis and Demare are all known for their lyrical style. Demare's waltzes are not as successful as the other two, although they do have a very particular style, whilst those of Caló and De Angelis are simply divine.

Biagi's waltzes are just superb, full of rhythmic drive and fun - this is the only place you can hear Amor y vals, one of the most romantic waltzes ever!

Track list

Alberto Morán

• Yo no sé qué me han hecho tus ojos
• Quemá esas cartas
• Acordándome de vos

Miguel Caló

• Pedacito de cielo
• Bajo un cielo de estrellas
• El mismo dolor

Lucio Demare

• No nos veremos más
• Al pasar
• Se fué

Alfredo De Angelis

• Soñar y nada más
• Ilusión azul
• Flores del alma

Rodolfo Biagi

• Tu melodía
• Amor y vals
• Por un beso de amor

Alberto Castillo

• Luna de arrabal
• La vieja serenata

Francisco Canaro

• Amémonos
• Valsecito amigo
• El vals de los abuelos

Beginner's Guide to Tango

This three cd box set on the Nascente label covers an awful lot of ground, from the old guard right up tp tango nuevo. If you have a *lot* of tango music, this is probably not the cd for you, but it makes a fantastic gift and is also a very economical way of getting exposure to a lot of tango artists

Roughly speaking, the first two cds are traditional tango, and the third tango nuevo. There are a few dodgy tracks on the third disc, but with so much music at this price - who cares?

This album is about to be superceded by an inferior new version, so snap it up now!

Track list

cd1

1. Francisco Canaro - La cumparsita
2. A Villoldo - El negro triste
3. Firpo - Organito de suburbio milonga
4. Francisco Lomuto - Fumando espero (1927)
5. Alfredo De Angelis / Carlos Dante - Lunes
6. Troilo/ Rivero - Cafetín de Buenos Aires
7. Ciriaco Ortiz - Mano a Mano
8. Charlo - Nostalgias
9. Manuel Pizarro - Madreselva
10. Pedro Láurenz - Abandono
11. Roberto Biagi / Jorge Ortíz - Indiferencia
12. Nelly Omar / Francisco Canaro - Desde el alma
13. Juan Carlos Cobian - Una droga
14. Carlos Gardel - Volver

disc 2

1. Troilo - Quejas de bandoneón
2. Horacio Salgán - Don Agustín Bardi
3. Osvaldo Pugliese - La yumba
4. Florindo Sassone - Caminito
5. Astor Piazzolla - Piazzolla
6. Eduardo Rovira - A Fuego Lento
7. Rodolfo Mederos - Chau Osvaldo
8. JJ Mosalini - Bandoneón
9. Astor Piazzolla - Los Suenos
10. Mariano Mores - Seleccion
11. Nestor Marconi / Roberto Goyeneche - Como dos extraños
12. Sexteto Mayor - Gallo ciego

Disc 3

1. Carlos Libedinsky - Piano secuencia
2. Tanghetto - Una llamada
3. Campo - En mi/ soledad
4. Alex Kid - Luna
5. S Xela - Jo
6. Adios Onion feat. Lady Gatica - HI Perspective Remix
7. Daniel Claudio Garcia - Tangoloco Remix
8. Sonia Possetti Quinteto - Bailarina
9. La Camorra - Libertango
10. Osunlade - Milonga
11. Adriana Varela - Garganta con arena
12. Nocturno - Candombe para el que hasta ayer sera

Lucio Demare - Sus éxitos con Raúl Berón

If you don't fancy the waltz disc, then why not consider this cd of the super romantic Lucio Demare, here coupled with Raúl Berón

Berón doesn't choose his repertoire quite as intelligently as he had done earlier with Miguel Caló, and perhaps this isn't one of the all time great "binomials". But when they get it right, as for instance in the tangos El pescante and Moneda de cobre and the delightful and little known milonga Luna, the results are outstanding.

This is a good disc from an under-played orchestra - I think you'll like it.

limited stock

Track list

1. Una emoción
2. Y siempre igual
3. Palomita mía
4. Ropa blanca milonga
5. Tal vez sera su voz
6. Dos palabras, por favor
7. Como se hace un tango
8. Al pasar vals
9. Oigo tu voz
10. En un rincón
11. Pena de amor
12. Luna milonga
13. Que solo estoy
14. Moneda de cobre
15. Canta pajarito
16. No nos veremos más
17. El pescante
18. Soy del '90
19. La cosa fue un boliche
20. Chatero de aquel entonces