Gracias a la Vida

Artist: Joan Baez
Label: A&M
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 082839361422
EAN: 0082839361422
ASIN: B000006SNG

Release Date: 1994-03-02

Related Categories:

General

| Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General

| Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk

| Folk | Styles | Music

Spain

General

| Latin Music | Styles | Music

Latin Pop

| Latin Music | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters

| Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters

| Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Listmania:

Rip Your Heart Out Female Vocalists- Music Series
las Latinas
All Sorts of Folk
POP/ROCK STARS SING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Tracks:

Gracias A La Vida
Llego Con Tres Heridas
La Llorona
El Preso Numero Nueve
Guantanamera
Te Recuerdo Amanda
Dida
Cucurrucucu Paloma
Pasa Rio
El Rossinyol
De Colores
Las Madres Cansadas
No Nos Moveran
Esquinazo Del Guerrillero

Similar Items:

Canciones de Mi Padre
Mi Jardin Azul: Las Canciones Favoritas
Gracias a la Vida
Mas Canciones
Frenesi

Customer Reviews:

Joan Baez sings in Spanish!.......2006-03-09

I bought this album in the CD version for my boss who is from Mexico as a welcome gift. I knew she would like it since I really liked the LP version that I bought years ago. She liked it so much, she said she is going to loan it to her father since he's a big Joan Baez fan. If you want to hear an album that is incredibly tuneful, I totally recommend it.

An old beloved favorite I had lost.......2005-10-02

I have always loved this particular collection of songs in Spanish, and I love Joan Baez' way of singing the songs. I had this CD a few years ago and lost it and had been unable to find it in stores. I was thrilled to find it so easily through Amazon.com.

Joan Baez at her superb best!.......2005-08-27

Joan Baez delivers an enchanting performance on her collection, "Gracias A La Vida" (Thanks to Life). I owned it many years ago (in the 1970's) on vinyl. I was so pleased to find it on CD through Amazon.com. Her Spanish is impecable, and her delivery of such traditional Spanish folk ballads such as "La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman), "Guantanamera", "Cucurrucucu Paloma", "De Colores", "Las Madres Cansadas", and "No No, Nos Moveran" is no less than entrancing. Her crystal clear, bell like tones only add to the ethereal experience of this homage to latin culture. Baez lovers will cherish it. Even those unfamiliar with her work will find it hard to resist. Largo vive Joan Beaz!
- Lily Marlowe - Denver, Colorado

A beautiful, authentic collection of folk songs.......2005-03-03

As a music seller, naturally, I've heard *of* Joan Baez, but had never heard her music. A few days ago I came across a review for "Gracias A La Vida." One reviewer mentioned the similarities to Linda Ronstadt's excellent "Canciones de mi padre," which has been one of my favourite Spanish-language CDs for years. Strangely enough, at work the next day, I was going through boxes of old audio cassette tapes from the last twenty years, when to my surprise...a copy of "Gracias A La Vida" appeared. I put it into the tape player, not knowing what to expect from an album more than thirty years old.

The fourteen songs feature Veracruz harp, Latin guitar and percussion, and the warm, clear voice of Joan. The beautiful Spanish lyrics are profound in their simplicity and grace. "Gracias a la vida" (Here's To Life), by Violeta Parra, begins as a solo, but turns into a magical duet towards the final chorus. "Llegý con tres heridas" (I Come With Three Wounds) is a very short, moving song that contains only four simple lines: "I come with three wounds: those of life, death and love." Again, the haunting harmony and simple strumming of a guitar are the sole embellishments.

Her version of the Mexican ballad/folktale "La Llorona" (The Wailing Woman) is stunning. There is a melancholy that seeps into your soul upon hearing this ballad, with its castanets, strummed guitars, violin, and pain-drenched lyrics ("They say that I do not feel pain, Llorona, because they don't see me cry"). Other outstanding versions of "La Llorona" include recordings by the legendary Chavela Vargas (recently seen in Julie Taymor's biopic of Frida Kahlo; Chavela was one of Frida's real-life lovers) and Mexican songstress Lila Downs (both found on the Frida soundtrack by Elliot Goldenthal).

The Huapango "El Preso Numero Nueve" (Prisoner Number Nine) is the first song on the CD that sounds exactly like the gorgeous ranchera/mariachi CDs by Linda Ronstadt recorded some twenty years after "Gracias A La Vida" was released. Bright mariachi brass and violins slide into strummed guitars in this haunting tale of a prisoner executed for a crime of passion. Next, the sinuous Cuban anthem "Guantanamera," penned by national poet-hero Josý Martý, followed by the poignant "Te Recuerdo, Amanda," by Chileýo Victor Jara, who was assassinated by the Pinochet regime. Mariachi returns on "Cucurrucucu Paloma," trailed by the haunting a capella interlude "Paso Rio," which brought to mind the power of Gregorian chant.

Next, a beautiful song in Catalýn, "El Rossniyol" (The Nightingale), with the soothing simplicity of a lullaby. The tone swings back to Mexican traditional on the lilting "De Colores." "Las Madres Cansadas" (The Weary Mothers) and "No Nos Moverýn" are powerful testaments to the human spirit to overcome. Finally, the album closes on a bright note with "Esquinazo del Guerrillero" (Guerilla's Serenade).

Although many of the songs are short, there is much beauty and vibrant Hispanic culture to be enjoyed, including huapangos, songs of protest, and ballads, all tied together by Joan's lovely voice and perfect Spanish (her father was Mexican). If you enjoy "Gracias A La Vida," be sure to check out Linda Ronstadt's excellent "Canciones De Mi Padre" and "Mýs Canciones de Mi Padre," performed with the legendary Mariachi Vargas. Happy listening!

surprise.......2004-02-05

Wow I didnt expect to like this album, but I do. She sings beautifully and I am a sucker for latin beats and this is what the album is all about. I have to admit that her voice cracks her and there a little too often.

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