Y Las Clasicas De José Alfredo Jiménez

There have been dozens of ranchera singers and hundreds of mariachi songs, but few CDs come close to achieving the transcendent balance of influential material and awesome talent produced here. Vicente Fernandez, arguably the world's greatest ranchera singer, interprets some of the finest songs Jos© Alfredo Jimenez ever committed to paper. Included here are uplifting tunes of pride and power (the pulse-quickening "Yo" and "Alma de Acero") and compelling tales of finding a good love that doesn't last ("Un Mundo Raro" and "Tu Recuerdo y Yo"). All are driven by wondrous melodic rhythms and sing-along choruses that have one rejoicing and reflecting on life's many twists and turns. "Camino de Guanajuato" rings with its bittersweet views on the road home, while the romantic "Viejos Amigos" connects with its mature lyrics of everlasting love. --Ramiro Burr