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"Feliciano"
by Jose Feliciano
By Webjockey Nalp99
Check out Webjockey Nalp99's Rifflist:
Feliciano! (1968)
Most of the under-30 crowd knows Jose Feliciano, if they know him at all, as the singer of that perennial Christmas chestnut "Feliz Navidad," a frantic, overplayed English/Spanish ditty imploring us to have a Merry Christmas, ad nauseum. It comes as a happy surprise, then, to discover the guitarist's American breakthrough album, 1968's "Feliciano!" The disc offers a seductive brew of melancholy string arrangements, mellow acoustic plucking, and Feliciano's engaging, soulful vocals, transforming other peoples' songs into his own acoustic-soul nuggets.
This transformative approach is evident on "California Dreamin'," the opening cut. Feliciano does away with the song's folk-pop origins, replacing the layered harmony vocals with mournful strings and his own crisply played guitar, while singing in a plaintive, soothing style.
This track is followed by a completely revamped version of the Doors' "Light My Fire," which was Feliciano's big US hit. The pacing is slowed down, the organ lead is replaced by light string arrangements, and once again, Feliciano's crisp guitar and soulful vocals are front and center. "Light My Fire" as played by Feliciano is all minor keys, woodwind accents, and a relaxing, almost hypnotic groove.
The album's instrumentals include the Beatles' "And I Love Her," which has a lounge-style, Spanish inflection; Feliciano employs a neo-flamenco/classical guitar feel on his lead work, which set the pace for contemporary artists like Rodrigo Y Gabriella.
The album's other selections, like "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and "Sunny," are undeniably lightweight pop songs, but they make sense in the context of the rest of the album. They feature strong melodies, offer plenty of room to improvise and adjust the arrangements, and are ripe for less-cheesy interpretations.
The fact that Feliciano takes light-pop songs and infuses them with a hip, soulful sound is evident all over the disc, and it's one of the reasons why "Feliciano!" is such a cool lost gem.
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