Latin Music Album: Concha Buika’s “La Noche Mas Larga” Review

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Concha Buika’s new Latin music album is as original as the contradiction of it’s title vs. it’s release date.

What I mean is that the Spaniard singer coincidentally released her newest album titled “La Noche Mas Larga” on the shortest night of the year, on the summer solstice (June 21).

To me, Buika, as she is known professionally, is what a true artist is all about. Owner of a raspy almost hoarse voice, she approaches every song with a sense of its history. She reaches into her flamenco singing background to bring flavor and passion, adding the improvisation of a jazz singer. This combination is brutally original, providing Latin music fans with song versions of classic covers that are so unique as the moment in which Buika is performing them.

Buika's "La Noche Mas Larga" is Concha's 6th Latin music album.
Buika’s “La Noche Mas Larga” is Concha’s 6th Latin music album.

Whether you like Buika’s voice or not is debatable. But it’s common wisdom that the free-spirited Latin Grammy nominated singer of Equatorial Guinea ancestry can sing well. Concha’s (for Maria Concepción) vocal tones reach both high and low octaves, and the use of her voice as an instrument is remarkable. In “La Noche Mas Larga”, Buika tackles songs mostly in her native Spanish, but also sings a couple in English and one in French!

“La Noche Mas Larga” is Buika’s 6th solo album since her self-titled “Buika” was released in 2006. Buika teamed with renown Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes in her 2009 release “El Ultimo Trago” which focused on the music popularized by Mexican singer Chavela Vargas. “La Noche Mas Larga” is similar to “El Ultimo Trago” in that the piano is the highlighted instrument throughout the album. It differs in that the songs are a mix of originals and standards from several countries.

“La Noche Mas Larga was released on June 2013 under the WM Spain label.

“What I Liked About “La Noche Mas Larga”

  • Concha Buika’s Performance – Buika’s original interpretations are amazing. As an example take her version of “La Nave del Olvido” a classic of the Latin American songbook that Buika seems to make it sound as a fresh new song. Her combination of flamenco elements with jazz improvisations, her raspy voice, and her all-out passionate performances make “La Noche Mas Larga” a unique experience to listen.
  • Great Song Selection – as I mentioned in the introduction, “La Noche Mas Larga” includes songs from various countries through Latin America, Europe, and the United States. The highlights are “Siboney”, and “La Nave del Olvido”. Buika’s performance in French of “Ne Me Quitte Pas” is nothing short of amazing (I didn’t understand a word, but her performance is fantastic!).
  • Beautiful and Simple Music – the songs in “La Noche Mas Larga” have beautiful and simplistic arrangements, led by the magnificent piano of Ivan “Melon” Lewis. Other equally excellent musicians include John Benitez (bass), Dafnis Prieto (drums), and Pedrito Martinez (percussion – great work on the song “Los Solos” with the batá drums in a smooth jazz song). A flamenco guitar and a trumpet complete the simplistic lineup for this album, which had Pat Metheny as special guest in “No lo sé”.
  • My Favorite Songs – I already mentioned one of them, “La Nave del Olvido”. I’ve heard this songs many times, but never like this. The passion with which Buika performs this song, and her unique style, make this song seem like a new song. This song really represents well what this album is all about. BTW…”Sueño Con Ella” is my other favorite song, which she sings just like that, and not like “sueño con el”.

Here is the song “La Nave del Olvido” in Youtube video format for your enjoyment!

What I Didn’t Like About “La Noche Mas Larga”

  • Two songs – One thing I didn’t mention above (in the “I Liked” section) is that “La Noche Mas Larga” has a lot of music; 13 songs in total. With that much music, it’s bound that I may not like all of them. There are 2 songs I didn’t care too much about: “Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Corazon” and “My Family”. I found these songs to lack energy and purpose.
Concha Buika collaborates with American guitarist Pat Metheny in "La Noche Mas Larga"
Concha Buika collaborates with American guitarist Pat Metheny in “La Noche Mas Larga”

My Recommendation of “La Noche Mas Larga”

I consider this is a great album by a great artist. I love the originality of her style and how she approaches each song. Her passion for the music is so great that it leaves an impression on you. If you enjoy jazz vocalists, you will likely enjoy this album! The music and the singing are both fantastic!

That’s my review of Concha Buika’s “La Noche Mas Larga”. If you enjoyed the review, please don’t forget to “Like” it or G+ it, and share it. If you didn’t like it, send me an email and tell me it sucked! 🙂

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