🎵 AotW AOTW: Eduardo del Barrio - FREE PLAY (CD-5355)

[Captain Bacardi]

Eduardo del Barrio
FREE PLAY
A&M CD-5355

Released 1991
Peaked at #19 on the Top Contemporary Jazz chart (1991)

Format: CD/Cassette

Produced by Herb Alpert and Eduardo del Barrio

Songs and Musicians:

• Three Freedom Movements
  1. Images Of Life - 9:07
  2. Mystic Rhymes - 8:30
  3. Celebration - 10:48[list:394f614219]Charlie Haden - Bass
  Peter Erskine - Drums
  Eduardo del Barrio - Piano and Synthesizers

4. Cubana - 6:06

• Hubert Laws - Flute
  Abe Laboriel - Bass
  Pino Marrone - Guitar
  Eduardo del Barrio - Piano

5. Chaca-Raca - 7:12

• Pino Marrone - Guitar
  Alex Acuña - Bombo
  Abe Laboriel - Bass
  Luis Conte - Percussion
  Eduardo del Barrio - Piano

6. Lament For A Lonely Child - 6:30

• Dianne Reeves - Vocals
  Pino Marrone - Guitar
  Alex Acuña - Bombo Leguero
  Luis Conte - Percussion
  Eduardo del Barrio - Piano

7. Improvisation No. 1 - 2:44

• Eduardo del Barrio - Piano

8. Improvisation No. 2 - 3:27

• Eduardo del Barrio - Piano

All songs by Eduardo del Barrio[/list:u:394f614219]

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at A&M Studios
Engineered by Ed Goodreau
Mixed by Mike Morongell and Ed Goodreau
Assisted by John Aguto & Rob Jaczko
Digitally Mastered by Dave Collins
Custom sound design by Eric Pershing
Minister of midi: Gary Myerberg

Art Direction: Chuck Beeson
Design S o S: Susan Silton
Photography: Beth Herzhaft
Liner Notes by Shorty Rogers



Capt. Bacardi

 

[toeknee4bz]

I will never forget the excitement, the anticipation, the drive home... the final push of the play button... only to ask the question, "What the hell is this?" I still don't know, after all these years, what Eddie & Herb were thinking when they put out this exercise in meandering. Herb's own albums featuring Eduardo "Eddie" del Barrio were an epiphany in recording. Then try listening to FREE PLAY, and you wonder...

No melody. No structure. Aptly titled, FREE PLAY. This is all that I care to remember about this disastrous effort. I did, in fact, sit through this mess of an album... one time and one time only. I would never put it back in the CD player again.

Tony

 

[Captain Bacardi]

This is an interesting album. According to Shorty Rogers' liner notes all of these songs, with the exception of "Cubana" and "Lament For A Lonely Child", were totally improvised, which makes this a challenging listen. But for the most part I liked this album. "Images Of Life" has a lot of spark to it, although "Mystic Rhymes" seems to meander a bit, but "Celebration" picks things back up, thanks to Peter Erskine's drumming and a solid bass solo by Charlie Haden. In a way this sounds a bit like chick Corea's 70's offerings. This is more evident on "Chaca-Rara", which sounds as if it could've fit with Corea's My Spanish Heart album. The one song that just didn't do it for me was "Lament For A Lonely Child", which features Dianne Reeves' vocals. This just seemed a bit pompous for my ears. But other than that I thought this was a pretty decent recording. 3 & 1/2 stars.



Capt. Bacardi