Cesar Maroll - Rhythm Of Fire + Worlds Of Change
CDs
Sound:
B Music: C+
Funny
how ten years can make a difference. On
1993's Rhythm Of Fire, Cesar Maroll
looks like what he probably is: a guitar nerd. It doesn't make a difference that the guy can shred
like a cheese grater; the guy looks a lot like Dean Ween in his publicity
photos. Ten years later, we are
confronted with his next effort, Worlds
Of Change, and a new look: shaved head and sunglasses, looking a sort of
relaxed cool. 1993 and 2004 are like two
completely different worlds where Cesar is concerned.
These
two albums, available at the website www.cesarmusic.com
, are night and day. On Rhythm Of Fire, we get to see Cesar
taking the art of Spanish guitar to the max. It is this talent that has allowed him to
perform with the likes of Frank Sinatra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. On tracks like the unfortunately named My Gypsy Heart, Cesar comes out
swinging, even occasionally at the expense of the song.
However,
on Worlds Of Change, the song gets
as much face time as possible in a modern-day Santana-type album format. Cesar has hired someone else to handle the
vocals for him, and much of the material reflects the burgeoning Latin-pop sound.
Fans of Santana may very well like this.
If not, they'll surely notice that the
first track, "Get Up And Dance"
is a complete rip-off of Enrique Iglesias's "Bailamos".
The
PCM 2.0 Stereo sound on both is pretty good for independently-produced releases. The time gap is noticeable in their fidelity,
but not severe enough to grade them differently for sound quality. Care was definitely taken in the producing
and engineering aspects of both releases.
My
main complaint with these albums is that, on Rhythm Of Fire, the songs are borderline-elevator. While the songs are relatively pleasant, they
don't strike the listener as being necessary or important. Also, while one can credit Cesar for trying
hard on Rhythm Of Fire, Worlds Of Change just comes off as a
contrived pop move, and suffers for it. Be
forewarned, Rhythm Of Fire is a mere
seven tracks and twenty-six minutes. Even
at its' shortened length, it's the more recommended of the two.
- Michael J. Farmer
