On the Rock continues along the lines of the more recent
Andres Calamaro releases, such as
El Palacio de las Flores and
La Lengua Popular. These albums are nothing more and nothing less than collections of typical
Calamaro songs --and by his own standards, they're fairly restrained at that. As such, they stand equally apart from his genre tributes (the tango album
Tinta Roja) or his more daring excesses (the five-CD set
El Salmon). In the 12 tracks of
On the Rock,
Calamaro once again displays his effortless knack for writing pop songs in a variety of styles, indiscriminately picking -- and often intertwining -- from the musical traditions of Argentina, Mexico, Spain, and the United States, to name the most recurrent ones. Backed by his trusted road band of
Candy Caramelo (who also co-produces),
Jose "Nino" Bruno, and
Diego Garcia, a lot of
On the Rock sounds like
Calamaro on cruise control, as he revisits or repeats topics, arrangements, and melodies that will seem immediately familiar to
Calamaro's fans. Novelty comes only from the surprisingly substantial number of collaborations, as one-third of the tracks feature guest vocalists. Furthermore, three of these are rather high profile: the exceptional flamenco cantor
"El Cigala," and his guitarist
Josuele on the opener
"El Barco" (arguably the album's finest moment), reggaeton rapper
Calle 13 adding venom to the bolero
"Insoportablente Cruel," and Spanish rock legend
Enrique Bunbury on
"Te Solte la Rienda," a cover of master of ranchera
Jose Alfredo Jimenez. The rest of the album includes a pretty good but still not great trademark
Calamaro single
"Los Divinos," a moving late-night ballad
"Todos se Van," and a few accelerated numbers that may sound incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with Argentina's culture, politics, and/or linguistic idiosyncracies. Ultimately, while
On the Rock provides another good example of
Calamaro's famous songwriting facility and engaging voice, it lacks the aesthetic focus of his greatest solo achievements such as
Alta Suciedad or
Nadie Sale Vivo de Aqui.
On the Rock was released in several different formats, including vinyl and a bonus-cd edition with alternate versions. As is often the case with
Calamaro, however, sometimes less is more. But for a beautiful rendition of
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs' "Vasos Vacios" (previously released in the
Cadillacs' tribute album
Vos Sabes) the extra tracks are largely inessential, if not counterproductive. ~ Mariano Prunes
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