Amalia Rodrigues had one of the great voices of the 20th Century, and looms large in the history of fado, Portugal's most vital and important musical form. Her voice is as strong and pure as Patsy Cline's, and as dramatic and full of pathos as Maria Callas's. She recorded so many records from 1945 until the late 1990s, providing lots to choose from in creating the second disc in this Queen of Fado series. The songs on the CD are all of great simplicity and power, and she is more than ably accompanied by her long-time guitarist partner Santos Moreira, along with Domingos Camarinha, Raul Nery or Jaime Santos playing guitarra portuguesa. There are also a few songs with orchestral accompaniment, which apparently caused quite a stir when they were first recorded. That fuss reminded me of the controversy when Bob Dylan first went electric. In the end, though, it's all about the music. And the voice.
ARC Music continues to enrich the musical life of the world through their recording and licensing of important music from around the globe. This disc, endorsed by the Foundation Amalia Rodrigues, has my enthusiastic endorsement as well.
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