Del Castillo - Vida - Smilin Castle Records

06/21/04
Reviewed by - George Bennett


Del Castillo Vida

I know what the next big thing is. I think. Maybe. Latino rock...er, Latino music...er, music informed by the Latino sound in some way. Yeah, there it is! Carlos Santana should probably be most credited for reinvigorating the Latino sound of late, with the discs 'Supernatural' and 'Shaman' (not to mention Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, J-Lo, Xtina...hell, even Linda Ronstadt). By splicing the Latino Zeitgeist with guest vocals from just about every pop music name under the sun and under the age of 40 a few years back, Latino became a popular, viable genre again. Most recently picked up by Los Lonely Boys (see our review in the Archives section) with great success, the Latino sound is, once again, getting hot. Not necessarily Latino rock, mind you, which brings us to Del Castillo.

Judging from Del Castillo's recent press kit (2004) for their 2002 CD 'Vida', they are soon to be bigger than God (or, at least, Los Lonely Boys). Hmmm, recent press kit for a CD released in 2002...Let's see...These guys have been around for a while, and while we wouldn't think of suggesting that they're trying to cash in on Los Lonely Boys' recent success, can you say "bandwagon" (?). Anyway, that would be ridiculous. Comparing Del Castillo to Los Lonely Boys is like comparing the CIA of late to, well...intelligence. Okay, apples to oranges then.  LLB are a rock band who wear their Latino heritage and influences proudly. Del Castillo, while also proud of their Latino heritage and influences, are a fairly traditional acoustic Latino band - not really rock, no electric guitar flash, etc. Solid, grounded, traditional Flamenco/Lambada/Salsa Latino-Mexican-Cuban-Spanish-South-of-the-border music - with a strong backbeat - played well. (Track eight, "Yiddish March", even throws in some, you guessed it, Latino-Yiddish!) The fine harmonies (mostly in Espanol), synchopated handclaps, solid percussion and bass, and two very talented flyin'-fingers classical Spanish guitars (provided by brothers Rick and Mark del Castillo) are pretty smokin'! So, to recap: LLB are rock w Latino influences, while Del Castillo are trad Latino with pseudo-rock influences. They shake it up pretty good sometimes, but rock it ain't. Arriba!

As it turns out, Del Castillo have been getting tremendous support from, it seems, every pulp media outlet in and around Austin , TX since 2001. (Robert Rodriguez, the genius filmmaker/director/editor/dp/musician [Spy Kids trilogy, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico ], is also a huge fan, and filmed their DVD, entitled 'Live'.) Texas , I think, is the key word here. There exists mucho Latino love, pride and influence in Texas , as well as SoCal, New Mexico ...the Mexican border states , which doesn't necessarily translate to the rest of the country. (But, you say, Los Lonely Boys are from Texas ...and you're right. But they are not trying to turn the rest of the world on to trad classic Latino music, much in the vein of The Gypsy Kings, Paco deLucia, or even Carlos Montoya.) Now, while wishing upon a star is a nice, gentle practice, I doubt it will change the collective public's musical mindset.

(Totally unexpected aside here: there is a hidden track at the end of the disc - some FIVE minutes after the last track listed! Gawd I hate that!...and I didn't hear it until my third listen, when the disc kept playing, unbeknownst to me, as I was by then engaged in another project! Said track is some 10 minutes in duration, recorded live, and, apparently, these guys are ALOT more rock oriented when live than is indicated by the whole of the disc proper. In fact, you would not know it is the same band! [Was this appended since the initial release of the disc?] While it is an impressive acoustic blues number that morphs into a chuggin' roadhouse blues, complete with harmonica, then into a high-speed, big band scat, it is a fish-out-of-water and totally impertinent to this review and its ultimate critique.  Even if a dab of chocolate is added to the end of an entirely vanilla disc, one must review the vanilla disc. Quite honestly, these guys would have been a WHOLE lot better off releasing an entire live disc in the vein of the hidden track, as, apparently, the disc, as is, misrepresents the band - or, the band misrepresents this 2002 studio disc. They have done themselves no favor here. This makes absolutely NO sense! Hell, give me a whole disc of their live show! If it's as good as the unlisted track, I'll give them another 1.5 stars!)

(Second aside: this required some more digging from your intrepid TAPman, thought I. As it turns out, those Austin print media accolades mentioned in paragraph 3 are all pertaining to live shows, not this CD - although the CD, sold at live shows, did win Album of the Year at The 2002-03 Austin Music Awards. They also received the Best Latin Contemporary Band Award at the 2004 SXSW, an award for live shows. Also, I got hold of the DVD 'Live' to further see what was going on here. Released in 2003, it solves nothing, well...kinda. Get this. Actually, the "live" DVD proves that the band is MORE like the "studio" CD tracks than the hidden "live" CD track! Woah! How's that for convoluted!?  They play trad Flamenco/Spanish/Latino music on classical Spanish acoustic guitars - with a heavy backbeat, and nothing on the DVD is anywhere near as good as the hidden live track!. My listening notes say "like a very soulful Julio Iglesias-type sound"...okay, maybe...with two lightning-fast acoustic guitarists, bass, drums, percussion and another lead vocalist - not Julio. The very last screen of the DVD says "Peace, Love and Latin Music". That, in the end, is what you get.)

Del Castillo are good at what they do: traditional Latino acoustic music with a heavy backbeat. It's really all about the brothers del Castillo and their superb acoustic guitar playing. There's really nothing else special about these guys - good, but not special. That is, until you hear that hidden track. Then they are great at what they DON'T do at all on this disc (except for the hidden track!) or the DVD! Why in the world would they want to represent themselves as "good" at X when they are a totally different band, and "great" at Y !? And, no, this is not one of those cases where "they're a live band - the studio doesn't do them justice". The studio tracks/band sound NOTHING like the hidden live track/band - not at all! And the live DVD band sounds nothing like the hidden live track on the CD! Apparently that is an aberration and is to be ignored (?).

If you like trad Spanish acoustic music, or you are a world music fan, you will probably enjoy this disc. Judging from the hidden track, a whole bunch more of you would have liked what they can do - but don't do here! (or on the DVD.) These guys had better decide who they are, cause I don't know who to review !! This has been the most frustrating effort that this reviewer has ever taken on! Go figure...cause I can't.

Release Date: March 9, 2004
Tracks: 16 - Time: 55:35 (time does not include live bonus tracks)
Produced by: Rick del Castillo
Format: CD
Website: www.delcastillomusic.com

Track Listing:

Don Nicholas / Vida / Suenos Madrigales / Para Mi Sobrina / Mi Gitana / Los Caballas / Dame un Momento / Yiddish March / Por Que? / Back From the Grave / Dias de Los Angeles (live) / Suenos Madrigales (live) / El Caminos Menos Transitado (live) / Vida (live) / Mi Carino (live) / Para Mi Sobrina (live).

Del Castillo:

Mike Zioli - Drums / Percussion
Rick del Castillo - Guitar / Vocals
Mark del Castillo - Guitars / Vocals
Alex Ruiz - Lead Vocals
Rick Holeman - Percussion
Albert Bestiero - Bass