An Honorary Spanish Diva, I am

Thursday, February 23, 2006

All About ROCÍO DÚRCAL..




It's not like me to write a whole post about this woman, whom is indeed talented but hardly the best singer ever. There's plenty of other people out there who have more grace, stage presence and technique than her. It just so happens that the USA and Mexico citizens seem to fixate on her more than any other singer from her time. I find that admirable, because at least some menopausal woman still has a career in a field where once you hit a certain age, you're gone. Kudos to Rocío.

That being said, Rocío is not one of my favorites on my list of "Spanish Divas". She's more on my "B-list"....someone whom I like to a certain point but do not "love".. Her material is rather "safe", meaning that once she found her success with Juan Gabriel in 1975, she never recorded anything other than her safe "Ranchera meets pop" material. To this day, her material is STILL in this vein. Unlike many of her contemporaries such as my girl Massiel, Paloma San Basilio, Rocío Jurado or even Isabel Pantoja, Rocio Durcal has never steered away from her musical route and never indulged herself in experimenting with other styles. That is why Rocio Durcal is not on my list of favorites, for she never took chances as a real artist but only played it safe. BORING.

There was however, an exception. in 1981 she recorded a magnificent record with Rafael Perez-Botija, the man behind Dulce and many others of her kind, and eventually producing Lucero and Enrique Iglesias. The album was called "Confidencias" (also called "La Gata" in Spain and certain Latin American Countries).

It was and is one of her best records I've ever heard. She doesn't sound as repetitive and boxed in as her other records, and here we realize "Wow! She can sing songs other than rancheras!". The record is mostly pop ballads with a touch of Spanish pop. She also released another Perez-Botija album in 1983 called "Entre Tu Y Yo".


These two records though, are hardly known by her "fan base", who only tend to fixate on her Juan Gabriel songs and act as if she never recorded songs NOT by him. Such a shame. I don't even think these two records were ever released on CD (at least in the USA). It's really weird, because these two albums included 3 of her biggest hits..."La Gata Bajo La Lluvia", "No Sirvo Para Estar Sin Ti" and "Jamas Te Dejaré".



But wait! There's hope! Sony BMG has released in the past year, three 2-CD compilations called "Su Musica y Su Historia". Since all her albums are out of print, they condensed her discography onto 6 CD's in this matter. It's rather annoying but her records must have not been selling, and most Latinos seem to buy CD's if they're packaged as "exitos" rather than full albums. The second volume of this series collects her period between 1981-1986...and alas, it has included 15 songs from her Perez-Botija albums!! They're remastered too. So THIS IS THE ONLY ROCIO DURCAL COMPILATION WORTH GETTING.


click on the pic for link with info


It would have been cool if they released a CD, even if it's a "2 in 1", that collected both those albums...but it's still nice to get a nice chunk of those two records. It's really good too, it collected alot of the good songs from those records, including my favorites "Amor no, Gracias", "Marinero" and "Tu Foto En La Pared".

So concluding, if you want to get a glimpse into a Rocio Durcal that's not washed out with Juanga and one who sings lovely ballads that don't reak of Mexicanos, get this collection, it's definitely worth your time. The collection does collect some songs from her last 2 Juanga albums though, particularly her best Juanga collaboration "Siempre" from 1986, including "Quedate Conmigo Esta Noche", "Amandote" "Amor Disculpame" and "La Guirnalda"...so it's not a total celebration without him...Sony BMG felt the need to include some Juanga songs, or else it wouldn't sell!

As I say goodbye, I leave you with this...it's my favorite from the aforementioned "Confidencias" record...enjoy!

"Rocio Durcal - Marinero"

9 Comments:

Hi,

You are quite wrong in your statements about what Mexicans or fans from other countries know about Rocio. They know ALL her work, not only rancheras as you said.

And of course, Confidencias is a great record besides others. But honestly, I think you don't really know her work at most.

Remember not to generalize neither for fans nor for knowledge of other people. You should study profoundly about an artist before making statements.

I like your blog.

Regards,

A Mexican who knows about music, singing and Rocio Durcal.

Maricarmen Varela
maika_ya@yahoo.com

I WISH YOU KNEW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! BUT SADLY YOU DON'T. IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT ROCIO'S IGNORANT FANS ARE HERE TO CORRECT YOU IN YOUR FALSE STATEMENTS!!
FIRST ROCIO DID NOT FIND SUCCESS WITH JUAN GABRIEL IN 1975 IT WAS 1977 THAT SHE FIRST RECORDED A JUAN GABRIEL RECORD. HAVING JUST FINISHED AN AMAZING RECORD WITH BALLADS SUCH AS "SOLA" "EN ALGUN LUGAR" AND MORE IN 1976/77!!
HER FANS KNOW AND LOVE HER VERY SUCCESSFUL ALBUMS RECORDED BY PRODUCERS SUCH AS MARCO ANTONIO SOLIS,ROBERTO LIVI,BEBU SILVETTI,JOAN SEBASTIAN,KIKE SANTANDER AND THE TWO PEREZ BOTIJA ALBUMS YOU MENTION!! WICH BY THE WAY "CONFIDENCIAS" WAS RELEASED IN THE US ON CD!!!
I RECOMMEND THAT YOU LISTEN TO HER DISCOGRAPHY VOL. 1 AND 2 ON BMG. WICH INCLUDES ALL HER ALBUMS ON THAT LABEL.
HER FANS ALSO LOVE HER MUSIC RECORDED FOR HER FILMS IN THE SIXTIES! HAVE YOU HEARD ANY OF IT? I TRULY RECOMMEND IT. MASSIEL,JURADO,SAN BASILIO AND PANTOJA PALE WHEN COMPARED TO DURCAL, SORRY!
MIGUEL A. ORDAZ,CA

Actually, "Confidencias" was only released on CD in Mexico. Check google. But u do realize how hard it is to find? U can't even find it. I'm lucky to own CD-R's of both those CD's (Entre tu y yo & Confidencias). And yeah, u guys know her work because you're hardcore fans. That is why I said "fan base" in quotation marks because I was being sarcastic. Talk to the common Mexican naco who supposedly "likes" her and they don't know anything. I have gone to her concerts, and all the nacos there would either leave or talk amongst themselves when she would sing "Jamas Te Dejare" or "La Gata Bajo La Lluvia". Only me and the locas next to me would sing..lol

Thank u all for your feedback. Keep the love alive. And if u guys are willing to educate me with her work, I'm more than happy to accept songs u send. :).

NOT TO SOUND "TERCO" BUT "CONFIDENCIAS" WAS RELEASED IN THE US. ON THE MIDLINE SERIES. WHEN BMG RELEASED SOME CAMILO SESTO AND JUAN GABRIEL ON THAT LINE. I OWN A COPY OF THE USA CD AND THE MUCH BETTER MEXICAN RELEASE. THE MEXICAN RELEASE HAD THE ORIGINAL BACK COVER AND MUCH BETTER SOUND!!
DID I MENTION THAT AALLLL HER ALBUMS (THE ONES ON ARIOLA/BMG)HAVE JUST BEEN RELEASED IN MEXICO? INCLUDING "ENTRE TU Y YO" AND CONFIDENCIAS" AS PART OF TWO BOXED SETS CALLED "LA DISCOGRAFIA" HER MANY ALBUMS ON PHILIPS HAVE YET TO SEE THE DIGITAL LIGHT!!
ANYWAY,WOULD LOVE TO "EDUCATE" YOU ON ALL THINGS DURCAL! BY THE WAY DID YOU KNOW THAT "LA GATA" THE SPANISH VERSION OF THAT ALBUM HAD A SONG "NOCHE LOCA" THE MARIA CONCHITA ALONSO SONG (YEAH ROCIO RECORDED IT FIRST!)THAT WAS NOT ON "CONFIDENCIAS"?
TAKE CHANCES? PANTOJA??? PLEASE!!
SALUDOS,
MIGUEL A. ORDAZ,CA

Yes I knew that.

I may not "worship" her, but I am educated enough on her work. Nah, but in actuality I follow Juan Carlos Calderon's work, and I discovered that she in fact recorded "Noche De Copas" first.

Rocio's version has NOTHING on Maria Conchita. I think Maria Conchita sings the sound in the lounge-ish way the song is itended to be sung. Rocio sang it with her trademark "vocal gymnastics" and overdid the song.

Thanks for offering to educate me. And for giving me the heads up on the re-releases. Would love to get my hands on "Entre Tu Y Yo" and "Confidencias"

Not sure if you know this Miguel..

One of my favourite singers, Maria Del Sol, recorded a cover of "Tu foto en la pared" back in 1985. Her version was never promoted as a single either so it wasn't a hit for her. But I prefer Rocio's version.

That song always played with my mind. Not sure who wrote the song, but the whole "suicide point of view" I always found unsettling. Especially how Rocio sang it all "love song" style. It's kind of sad now to listen to Rocio talk from the perspective of a dead person.

Hi again,

I would really like that you know more of her work.

Can send u some songs from her movies if u like. Just tell me to which mail should I send them.

And I can really tell you that she was GOOD at rancheras, bolero ranchero and that type of musical theatre and ballad songs she sang in those movies, mean it.

For me is great that u want to know more of her work.

Regards from Mexico City

YONOTEPIDOLALUNA...I ACTUALLY LIKE THE MARIA DEL SOL VERSION. SHE IS A FAVORITE OF MINE TOO. BUT ROCIO'S IS "THE" VERSION TO HAVE. THAT SONG IS A RAFAEL PEREZ BOTIJA SONG. IT IS ALSO A SONG THAT I ALWAYS HAD STUCK ON MI MIND. ON "NOCHE LOCA" OR "NOCHE DE COPAS" I HAVE TO AGREE WITH YOU AND SAY ALONSO'S VERSION IS BETTER... AS FOR LATEST RELEASE OF THE PEREZ BOTIJA CD'S YOU CAN ONLY GET THEM AS PART OF THE TWO VOLUME (13 CD EACH PLUS 2 DVDS) SETS!!
SO IF YOU WANT THEM YOU'LL BE FORCED TO REVISIT THE REST! JEJEJEJE
MIGUEL A. ORDAZ,CA

Well, firstly I could say de gustibus, of course. And yes I agree that people are stuck to Mrs Durcal but it is their business in the end, I prefer to be open-minded and listen to a great variety of singers. From Latin America, Yma Sumac is superior vocally to Durcal, but her style is not accesible so she does not sell like her nor do people are mad about her. I personally find her fascinating. What to say about others?

Though, I do not agree putting in the same sentence Mrs Jurado and Isabel Pantoja, although this last one had some nice songs but nowadays unfortunately her voice trembles like heck.

The "bad luck" of Mrs Jurado was not having a good manager or marketing and I dare she did not have so good composers either. The sir that commented above shows his fanaticism but I doubt that Mrs Jurado pales when compared to Mrs Durcal...maybe in sales because in complexity, originality, authenticity, passion, personality, voice and artistry, never. Paloma san Basilio is fantastic also. Why don't we leave fulish fanaticism and give to Caesar what is of Caesar?...

All the best

Post a Comment

Home >>

Copyright © 2006 Designed by FinalSense