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This post is a departure from most of our other reviews on this site. Pretty much all of the others are for a rock/metal band or hip hop act. Rodrigo y Gabriela are a Mexican acoustic guitar duo with a background in metal. They just released a new album, 11:11, last week, although I haven’t had the chance to purchase it yet (but definitely will soon enough). I really like the concept of this new album; according to their official page, it consists of eleven original compositions, each of which was inspired by one of their major musical influences. These artists include Carlos Santana, Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia, and Pink Floyd, among others. To me this is a better way to show respect for one’s influences rather than just performing a cover of one of their songs.

But I digress… this post is not about their new album, contrary to what I may have led you to believe thus far. This post is about their two prior studio albums: re-Foc (2003) and Rodrigo y Gabriela (2006). Like I said in the intro, both Rodrigo and Gabriela have backgrounds in metal. And it really comes through quite often in their music, even though they exclusively play acoustic guitars. It’s easy to tell that Gabriela (rhythm guitar) really enjoys crunching down on those strings, and it’s not hard to imagine Rodrigo (lead guitar) shredding a solo on an electric guitar. Another aspect that comes through clearly in their songs is their heritage. Much of their music has a decidedly Latin/Hispanic feel to it, whether it’s from their Mexican homeland or something farther away like Spain’s flamenco music.

re-Foc is in fact just a re-release of their 2001 debut, Foc, hence the strange title. Unlike their follow-up, this one features intermittent violin and percussion instruments, and even vocals on one song (although no lyrics). A notable track from this album is Take 5, which, not surprisingly, starts off as a reinterpretation of Dave Brubeck’s famous jazz tune of the same name. The unsuspected turn, however, hits almost four minutes in when the song shifts to  Metallica’s One. After about a minute of that it switches back to Take 5. Frankly I’m still not completely sure how I feel about this. On the one hand it’s kinda cool, plain and simple. But on the other, it’s difficult to deny that it sounds a little segmented and forced.

Their self-titled album is actually very aptly named. No vocals or percussion instruments this time, and the violin only graces part of one song. And these elements really aren’t missed. A big reason for this is that they place an emphasis on using their guitars as percussive instruments by way of knocks, slaps, etc. Overall this album is more energetic and better recorded than their previous one. There’s also a couple covers on this release - Metallica’s Orion and Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven. I personally believe there should be a 10-year moratorium on all studio and live covers of Stairway to Heaven (and Skynyrd’s Free Bird too). That said, this version is a solid one, and it really brings a different perspective since it’s performed by an acoustic duo.

[9-23-09 Edit] Having listened to Rod y Gab’s newest album only a few times, I can already say it’s my favorite so far. Without getting into a whole new review just trust me - if you like their older stuff then you’ll definitely like 11:11, and if you haven’t heard any of them yet then this one is a good place to start.