Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name , bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has been called the "quintessential Latin American romantic song of the twentieth century".
104-456: Cómplices ( transl. Accomplices ) is the 18th studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel , released on 2 May 2008 by Warner Music Latina . The record is a collaboration with Spanish musician Manuel Alejandro , who wrote and arranged the songs, and co-produced the album with Luis Miguel. Musically, it is a pop album of mostly ballads and a few uptempo tracks with lyrics emphasizing romance. Two singles were released to promote
208-587: A concert venue , at home, in the field, or a mix of places. The time frame for completely recording an album varies between a few hours to several years. This process usually requires several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or " mixed " together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation , to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", have reverberation, which creates
312-420: A "live" sound. Recordings, including live, may contain editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology , artists can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones ; with each part recorded as a separate track . Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of
416-490: A "romantic voice whose caramel-coated tones oozed perfectly through the grandest of strings and the slightest of Latin rhythms." A reviewer for Vista magazine called it the "Hottest CD of the Season" and declared that fans of the singer will not "stop playing it." In a mixed review of the album, El Nuevo Herald writer Sandra Palacios denoted the production as a result of Luis Miguel's experiences, and called it "retro, just like
520-659: A Mares" peak at number one in Chile. "Disfraces" was released in 2009 as a promo single for the special edition of Cómplices . To promote Cómplices , Luis Miguel embarked on a worldwide tour commencing in the United States . The North American leg of the tour cumulated 40 concerts, including a show in Toronto , Canada . Luis Miguel also toured in the Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico and Chile . In Argentina , his four shows in
624-458: A bound book resembling a photo album ; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm . The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era . Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape
728-458: A brown heavy paper sleeve with a large hole in the center so the record's label could be seen. The fragile records were stored on their sides. By the mid-1920s, photo album publishers sold collections of empty sleeves of heavier paper in bound volumes with stiff covers slightly larger than the 10" popular records. (Classical records measured 12".) On the paper cover in small type were the words "Record Album". Now records could be stored vertically with
832-412: A collection of pieces or songs on a single record was called an "album"; the word was extended to other recording media such as compact disc, MiniDisc , compact audio cassette, 8-track tape and digital albums as they were introduced. An album (Latin albus , white), in ancient Rome, was a board chalked or painted white, on which decrees, edicts, and other public notices were inscribed in black. It
936-403: A compilation of songs created by any average listener of music. The songs on a mixtape generally relate to one another in some way, whether it be a conceptual theme or an overall sound. After the introduction of Compact discs, the term "Mixtape" began to apply to any personal compilation of songs on any given format. The sales of Compact Cassettes eventually began to decline in the 1990s, after
1040-741: A couple of medleys. The stage was made up of LED screens displaying abstract images in each song, 3 big screens, one in the middle and one on each side of the stage, also included crystal clear steps and a gleaming floor, surrounded by a display of powerful lights and sound. Regarding Luis Miguel's performance in Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times editor Laura Emerick commented that the concert "displayed Luismi in his many musical phases: Latin pop crooner, bolero specialist, pop-rock swinger and mariachi master". She noted that Miguel "was all smiles, all upbeat attitude and genuinely happy to be there", and complimented
1144-424: A current or former member of a musical group which is released under that artist's name only, even though some or all other band members may be involved. The solo album appeared as early as the late 1940s. A 1947 Billboard magazine article heralded " Margaret Whiting huddling with Capitol execs over her first solo album on which she will be backed by Frank De Vol ". There is no formal definition setting forth
SECTION 10
#17328693113861248-557: A customer buys a whole album rather than just one or two songs from the artist. The song is not necessarily free nor is it available as a stand-alone download, adding also to the incentive to buy the complete album. In contrast to hidden tracks , bonus tracks are included on track listings and usually do not have a gap of silence between other album tracks. Bonus tracks on CD or vinyl albums are common in Japan for releases by European and North American artists; since importing international copies of
1352-405: A female choir, and a "seductive rhythm." Luis Miguel likened the songs on the disc to movies, stating: "Sometimes you are the bad guy, other times the good guy, and some even, the third in discord." The opening track, "Te Desean," is an "envy-drenched" song in which Luis Miguel sings to his beloved that "other men court her and desire her as he did before she was his." It is followed by "Dicen", about
1456-451: A love that is "on the verge of falling apart." In "Ay, Cariño", the artist asks "What are you made of?" and is excited about the cradle and a home. Luis Miguel dedicated the track to his son, who was born before the album's release. On "De Nuevo el Paraíso", his love "fears commitment" while he celebrates the liberty of being alone again. "Si Tú Te Atreves", a half ballad and half bolero song, speaks of "an intense and impossible love" in which
1560-528: A positive review of the album, also praising the collaboration between Luis Miguel and Alejandro. She found "Si Tú Te Atreves" to be the record's best track and concluded that "more than one summer love will be born from this album." A.D. Amorosi of The Philadelphia Inquirer , rating it three of four stars, named Luis Miguel "a Mexican Sinatra of sorts," comparing Alejandro's production as the Spanish version of Nelson Riddle . Amorosi praised Luis Miguel's vocals as
1664-521: A result, most of these numbers are now lost, but two dozen or so survive because friends and students wrote them down. He was the model and teacher for the great trovadores who followed. The bolero first spread from the east of Cuba to the Dominican Republic in the year 1895, thanks to trovador Sindo Garay , who had previously brought the criolla "La Dorila" to Cuba, giving rise to a lasting interchange of lyrical styles between both islands. In
1768-478: A single artist, genre or period, a single artist covering the songs of various artists or a single artist, genre or period, or any variation of an album of cover songs which is marketed as a "tribute". Bolero Unlike the simpler, thematically diverse canción , bolero did not stem directly from the European lyrical tradition, which included Italian opera and canzone , popular in urban centers like Havana at
1872-522: A single case, or a triple album containing three LPs or compact discs. Recording artists who have an extensive back catalogue may re-release several CDs in one single box with a unified design, often containing one or more albums (in this scenario, these releases can sometimes be referred to as a "two (or three)-fer"), or a compilation of previously unreleased recordings. These are known as box sets . Some musical artists have also released more than three compact discs or LP records of new recordings at once, in
1976-433: A solo album for several reasons. A solo performer working with other members will typically have full creative control of the band, be able to hire and fire accompanists, and get the majority of the proceeds. The performer may be able to produce songs that differ widely from the sound of the band with which the performer has been associated, or that the group as a whole chose not to include in its own albums. Graham Nash of
2080-679: A special award, a Silver Dahlia for his 180 concerts at the National Auditorium since 1991, gathering 1.5 million spectators in total. In addiction, the tour received a nomination at the 2009 Latin Billboard Music Awards for the Latin Tour of the Year. On its release, Cómplices was met with mixed reactions from music critics. AllMusic editor Andree Farias rated the album 3.5 of 5 stars, calling it his most "hopelessly romantic disc" of
2184-414: A studio. However, the common understanding of a "live album" is one that was recorded at a concert with a public audience, even when the recording is overdubbed or multi-tracked. Concert or stage performances are recorded using remote recording techniques. Albums may be recorded at a single concert , or combine recordings made at multiple concerts. They may include applause, laughter and other noise from
SECTION 20
#17328693113862288-406: A theme such as the "greatest hits" from one artist, B-sides and rarities by one artist, or selections from a record label , a musical genre , a certain time period, or a regional music scene. Promotional sampler albums are compilations. A tribute or cover album is a compilation of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may involve various artists covering the songs of
2392-534: A thousand times love indeed; Better a thousand times, than undone love"). The final cut on the album, "Se Amaban", is about a love who "steals partners" and chronicles a couple "who adored each other, in whose relationship a stranger intervened, awakening black passions in her heart and sowing weeds in his." The bonus track, "Disfraces", is dedicated to his then-partner Aracely Arámbula . Manuel Alejandro wrote this song while living with Luis Miguel in Acapulco . Cómplices
2496-509: A trend of shifting sales in the music industry , some observers feel that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album . An album may contain any number of tracks. In the United States, The Recording Academy 's rules for Grammy Awards state that an album must comprise a minimum total playing time of 15 minutes with at least five distinct tracks or a minimum total playing time of 30 minutes with no minimum track requirement. In
2600-404: A variety of forms. This flexibility has enabled boleros to feature in the repertoire of Cuban son and rumba ensembles, as well as Spanish copla and flamenco singers, since the early 20th century. Occasionally, boleros have been merged with other forms to yield new subgenres, such as the bolero-son, popular in the 1930s and 1940s, and the bolero-cha, popular in the 1950s. In the United States,
2704-430: A way of promoting the album. Albums have been issued that are compilations of older tracks not originally released together, such as singles not originally found on albums, b-sides of singles, or unfinished " demo " recordings. Double albums during the seventies were sometimes sequenced for record changers . In the case of a two-record set, for example, sides 1 and 4 would be stamped on one record, and sides 2 and 3 on
2808-415: Is a "filmic analogy of the couple who feigns love and passion" and "fakes kisses." The proceeding track "Tu Imaginación", a disco tune, has the artist enjoying listening to his lover's "diversity, fantasy and ambiguity." The title track deals with "eroticism without measure that surpasses reason." Luis Miguel cites on "Amor de Hecho": "Mejor mil veces amor de hecho; mejor mil veces, que amor deshecho ("Better
2912-580: Is any vocal content. A track that has the same name as the album is called the title track. A bonus track (also known as a bonus cut or bonus) is a piece of music which has been included as an extra. This may be done as a marketing promotion, or for other reasons. It is not uncommon to include singles, B-sides , live recordings , and demo recordings as bonus tracks on re-issues of old albums, where those tracks were not originally included. Online music stores allow buyers to create their own albums by selecting songs themselves; bonus tracks may be included if
3016-552: Is not necessarily just in MP3 file format, in which higher quality formats such as FLAC and WAV can be used on storage media that MP3 albums reside on, such as CD-R-ROMs , hard drives , flash memory (e.g. thumbdrives , MP3 players , SD cards ), etc. The contents of the album are usually recorded in a studio or live in concert, though may be recorded in other locations, such as at home (as with JJ Cale's Okie , Beck's Odelay , David Gray's White Ladder , and others), in
3120-402: Is recorded on both the "A" and "B" side of the tape, with cassette being "turned" to play the other side of the album. Compact Cassettes were also a popular way for musicians to record " Demos " or "Demo Tapes" of their music to distribute to various record labels, in the hopes of acquiring a recording contract . Compact cassettes also saw the creation of mixtapes , which are tapes containing
3224-525: The Cómplices liner notes: Musicians Violin Cello Chorus Studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music ) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette ), or digital . Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records (78s) collected in
Cómplices - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-562: The Fall of Saigon in 1975 and remains popular with Vietnamese. In Cuba , the bolero was perhaps the first great Cuban musical and vocal synthesis to win universal recognition. In 4 time, this dance music spread to other countries, leaving behind what Ed Morales has called the "most popular lyric tradition in Latin America." The Cuban bolero tradition originated in Santiago de Cuba in
3432-681: The Fall of Saigon , many Vietnamese migrated to the United States, taking their music with them. The ban was lightened in 1986, when love songs could be written again, but by then the music industry was killed. The government of Vietnam also prohibited the sale of overseas Vietnamese music, including variety shows like Asia and Paris by Night . In recent years however, bolero had grown popular again, as more overseas singers performed in Vietnam. Additionally, singing competition television series like Boléro Idol have grown popular, with singers performing songs, including songs formerly banned. A version of
3536-762: The Trío Matamoros and, later, Trío Los Panchos , bolero achieved widespread popularity in Latin America, the United States and Spain. At the same time, Havana had become a fertile ground where bolero composers met to create compositions and improvise new tunes; it was the so-called filin movement, which derived its name from the English word " feeling ". Many of the genre's most enduring pieces were written then and popularized in radio and cabaret performances by singers such as Olga Guillot and Elena Burke , backed by orchestras and big bands. Boleros are generally in 4/4 time and, musically, compositions and arrangements might take
3640-638: The Vélez Sarsfield Stadium in Buenos Aires sold 200,000 tickets, an additional 100,000 tickets were purchased throughout the country. The first leg of the tour ended 5 December 2008 in Punta del Este , Uruguay , completing 53 concerts in 94 days. The second leg of the tour began in Mexico City 's Nacional Auditorium on 20 January 2009. He tried to break his previous record in this venue with 30 concerts in
3744-517: The iPod , US album sales dropped 54.6% from 2001 to 2009. The CD is a digital data storage device which permits digital recording technology to be used to record and play-back the recorded music. Most recently, the MP3 audio format has matured, revolutionizing the concept of digital storage. Early MP3 albums were essentially CD-rips created by early CD- ripping software, and sometimes real-time rips from cassettes and vinyl. The so-called "MP3 album"
3848-526: The rhumba ballroom dance emerged as an adaptation of the bolero-son in the 1930s. Boleros can also be found in the African rumba repertoire of many artists from Kinshasa to Dakar , due to the many bolero records that were distributed to radios there as part of the G.V. Series . The popularity of the genre has also been felt as far as Vietnam, where it became a fashionable song style in South Vietnam before
3952-582: The 14th best selling album of the year. Cómplices was certified platinum by PROMUSICAE for shipping over 80,000 copies. In South America, the disc reached number one in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Additionally, it was certified multi-platinum in Argentina and Chile and platinum in Venezuela. As of November 2015, Cómplices had sold over 1.2 million units worldwide. All tracks are written by Manuel Alejandro , except where noted Adapted from
4056-414: The 1930s, the nation grew fond of modern music, which combined Western elements with traditional music. Vietnamese bolero is generally slower tempo compared to Hispanic bolero, and is similar in style to Japanese enka and Korean trot . Such music was romantic, expressing concepts of feelings, love, and life in a poetic language; this predisposition was hated by Viet Minh , who strived towards shaping
4160-514: The 1970s. Appraising the concept in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said most "are profit-taking recaps marred by sound and format inappropriate to phonographic reproduction (you can't put sights, smells, or fellowship on audio tape). But for Joe Cocker and Bette Midler and Bob-Dylan -in-the-arena, the form makes a compelling kind of sense." Among
4264-443: The 25-minute mark. The album Dopesmoker by Sleep contains only a single track, but the composition is over 63 minutes long. There are no formal rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as "albums". If an album becomes too long to fit onto a single vinyl record or CD, it may be released as a double album where two vinyl LPs or compact discs are packaged together in
Cómplices - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-529: The 70's." Palacios noted that songs such as "Si Tú Te Atreves" were similar to his previous songs such as " Por Debajo de la Mesa " and " O Tú o Ninguna " and wondered when the singer would release new material that is "fresh and renovative." A reviewer for Montreal Gazette was not impressed with the record. While admiring Luis Miguel's vocals, the writer criticized Cómplices as a "collection of cookie-cutter boring tracks" which would "put one to sleep." Similarly, writing for Vida en el Valle , Olivia Ruiz found
4472-605: The Cuban bolero is danced throughout the Latin dance world (supervised by the World Dance Council ) under the misnomer " rumba ", often spelled "rhumba". This came about in the early 1930s when a simple overall term was needed to market Cuban music to audiences unfamiliar with the various Cuban musical terms. The famous " Peanut Vendor ", actually a son-pregón, was so labelled, and the label stuck for other types of Cuban music. In Cuba,
4576-491: The Hollies described his experience in developing a solo album as follows: "The thing that I go through that results in a solo album is an interesting process of collecting songs that can't be done, for whatever reason, by a lot of people". A solo album may also represent the departure of the performer from the group. A compilation album is a collection of material from various recording projects or various artists, assembled with
4680-588: The Mexican operatic tenors: Juan Arvizu and Nestor Mesta Chayres . Their collaborations in New York City with such musicians as Alfredo Antonini , Terig Tucci , Elsa Miranda and John Serry Sr. on the CBS radio show Viva América also introduced the bolero to millions of listeners throughout the United States. Also noteworthy during the 1940s and 1950s were the performances of Trio Los Panchos , which featured
4784-573: The United Kingdom, the criteria for the UK Albums Chart is that a recording counts as an "album" if it either has more than four tracks or lasts more than 25 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs . Albums such as Tubular Bells , Amarok , and Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield , and Yes's Close to the Edge , include fewer than four tracks, but still surpass
4888-436: The United States. By November 2015, the record had sold over 1.2 million copies. In 2006, Luis Miguel released Navidades , a Christmas album of Christmas standards sung in Spanish. On 17 July the following year, Billboard reported that Luis Miguel was set to release an album of original material on September. Spanish singer and songwriter Rosana mentioned that she wrote songs for Luis Miguel's next project—as they shared
4992-413: The album can be cheaper than buying a domestically released version, Japanese releases often feature bonus tracks to incentivize domestic purchase. Commercial sheet music is published in conjunction with the release of a new album (studio, compilation, soundtrack, etc.). A matching folio songbook is a compilation of the music notation of all the songs included in that particular album. It typically has
5096-516: The album's artwork on its cover and, in addition to sheet music, it includes photos of the artist. Most pop and rock releases come in standard Piano/Vocal/Guitar notation format (and occasionally Easy Piano / E-Z Play Today). Rock-oriented releases may also come in Guitar Recorded Versions edition, which are note-for-note transcriptions written directly from artist recordings. Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one-half of
5200-739: The album's lead single on 7 April 2008, and it reached number 11 and four on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts in the US, respectively. It reached the top of the Chilean music charts according to the Associated Press . The music video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles, California, directed by Rebecca Blake, and released on 27 April 2008. The second single, "Te Desean",
5304-401: The album, Cómplices: Edición Especial was issued on 28 April 2009. It includes a DVD featuring the music videos for "Si Tú Te Atreves" and "Te Desean" as well as a new track "Disfraces", five commemorative postcards , and a digital download for the remix of "Tu Imaginación" by Hex Hector . The special edition was also launched to tie-in with Mother's Day. "Si Tú Te Atreves" was released as
SECTION 50
#17328693113865408-503: The album. If a pop or rock album contained tracks released separately as commercial singles , they were conventionally placed in particular positions on the album. During the sixties, particularly in the UK, singles were generally released separately from albums. Today, many commercial albums of music tracks feature one or more singles, which are released separately to radio, TV or the Internet as
5512-517: The album: " Si Tú Te Atreves " and "Te Desean". To further promote the record, Luis Miguel embarked on the year-long Cómplices Tour from September 2008 to September 2009. He performed in North America and a few countries in South America. Upon its release, Cómplices was met with mixed reactions from music critics . While Luis Miguel's vocals and his decision to work with Alejandro were praised,
5616-474: The amount of participation a band member can solicit from other members of their band, and still have the album referred to as a solo album. One reviewer wrote that Ringo Starr 's third venture, Ringo , "[t]echnically... wasn't a solo album because all four Beatles appeared on it". Three of the four members of the Beatles released solo albums while the group was officially still together. A performer may record
5720-486: The artist with the most number ones on the chart, until his record was broken by Marco Antonio Solís in 2013. It sold over 72,000 units in the country and was eventually awarded a platinum certification in the Latin field by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 100,000 units. In Spain, Cómplices reached number one on its album charts and sold 65,000 copies in 2008, making it
5824-441: The artist's career and "pristinely executed by Latin pop standards. She lauded Luis Miguel's decision to collaborate with Alejandro, questioning why it took long for both artists to work together, and stated that the composer's "eye for detail" is "exquisite." Farias noted that while the record is "poetically" flawless, it "doesn't result in a big sonic departure for the vocalist." Billboard En Español critic Marcela Álvarez wrote
5928-399: The artistry of musicians from Mexico and Puerto Rico including: Chucho Navarro , Alfredo Gil and Hernando Avilés. Boleros saw a resurgence in popularity during the 1990s when Mexican singer Luis Miguel was credited for reviving interest in the bolero genre following the release Romance . José Loyola comments that the frequent fusions of the bolero with other Cuban rhythms is one of
6032-510: The audience, comments by the performers between pieces, improvisation, and so on. They may use multitrack recording direct from the stage sound system (rather than microphones placed among the audience), and can employ additional manipulation and effects during post-production to enhance the quality of the recording. Notable early live albums include the double album of Benny Goodman , The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert , released in 1950. Live double albums later became popular during
6136-406: The best selling live albums are Eric Clapton 's Unplugged (1992), selling over 26 million copies, Garth Brooks ' Double Live (1998), over 21 million copies, and Peter Frampton 's Frampton Comes Alive! (1976), over 11 million copies. In Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , 18 albums were live albums. A solo album , in popular music , is an album recorded by
6240-410: The bolero is usually written in 4 time, elsewhere often 4 . The tempo for dance is about 120 beats per minute. The music has a gentle Cuban rhythm related to a slow son , which is the reason it may be best described as a bolero-son. Like some other Cuban dances, there are three steps to four beats, with the first step of a figure on the second beat, not the first. The slow (over
6344-446: The case of the prolific Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández and the Mexican composers: Agustín Lara and María Grever . Some Cuban composers of the bolero are primarily considered trovadores. Several lyric tenors also contributed to the popularization of the bolero throughout North and South America during the 1930s and the 1940s through live concerts and performances on international radio networks. Included in this group were
SECTION 60
#17328693113866448-486: The early 20th century the bolero reached Puerto Rico and Mexico, where it was popularized by the first radio stations around 1915. In Mexico, the genre became an essential component of the thriving trova yucateca movement in Yucatán alongside other Cuban forms such as the clave. It leading exponent was Guty Cárdenas . By the 1930s, when Trío Matamoros made famous their mix of bolero and son cubano known as bolero-son ,
6552-612: The field – as with early blues recordings, in prison, or with a mobile recording unit such as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio . Most albums are studio albums —that is, they are recorded in a recording studio with equipment meant to give those overseeing the recording as much control as possible over the sound of the album. They minimize external noises and reverberations and have highly sensitive microphones and sound mixing equipment. Band members may record their parts in separate rooms or at separate times, listening to
6656-475: The five-minute overture and video-clip reel that " Elvis might have admired". Also commented that "Luismi appeared to be at his peak on his ranchera section — where his rich baritone sounds most at home, he even can hold his own with greats of the past". According to Pollstar , the tour grossed 36.1 million and was attended by 450,000 spectators in 73 shows reported. During his concerts in Mexico City he received
6760-494: The form of a prototype. Compact Cassettes became especially popular during the 1980s after the advent of the Sony Walkman , which allowed the person to control what they listened to. The Walkman was convenient because of its size, the device could fit in most pockets and often came equipped with a clip for belts or pants. The compact cassette used double-sided magnetic tape to distribute music for commercial sale. The music
6864-480: The form of boxed sets, although in that case the work is still usually considered to be an album. Material (music or sounds) is stored on an album in sections termed tracks. A music track (often simply referred to as a track) is an individual song or instrumental recording. The term is particularly associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks; the term is also used for other formats such as EPs and singles . When vinyl records were
6968-452: The genre was a staple of the musical repertoire of most Latin American countries. In Spain, Cuban bolero was incorporated into the copla repertoire with added elements from Andalusian music , giving rise to the so-called bolero moruno , made famous by composers such as Carmelo Larrea and Quintero, León y Quiroga. Some of the bolero's leading composers have come from nearby countries, as in
7072-531: The last quarter of the 19th century; it does not owe its origin to the Spanish music and song of the same name. In the 19th century there grew up in Santiago de Cuba a group of itinerant musicians who moved around earning their living by singing and playing the guitar. Pepe Sanchez is known as the father of the trova style and the creator of the Cuban bolero. Untrained, but with remarkable natural talent, he composed numbers in his head and never wrote them down. As
7176-582: The later '30s, record companies began releasing albums of previously released recordings of popular music in albums organized by performer, singers or bands, or by type of music, boogie-woogie , for example. When Columbia introduced the Long Playing record format in 1948, it was natural the term album would continue. Columbia expected that the record size distinction in 78s would continue, with classical music on 12" records and popular music on 10" records, and singles on 78s. Columbia's first popular 10" LP in fact
7280-488: The longer 12-inch 78s, playing around 4–5 minutes per side. For example, in 1924, George Gershwin recorded a drastically shortened version of his new seventeen-minute composition Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The recording was issued on both sides of a single record, Victor 55225 and ran for 8m 59s. By 1910, though some European record companies had issued albums of complete operas and other works,
7384-483: The mid-1930s, record companies had adopted the album format for classical music selections that were longer than the roughly eight minutes that fit on both sides of a classical 12" 78 rpm record. Initially the covers were plain, with the name of the selection and performer in small type. In 1938, Columbia Records hired the first graphic designer in the business to design covers, others soon followed and colorful album covers cover became an important selling feature. By
7488-479: The mid-1960s to the late 1970s when the Compact Cassette format took over. The format is regarded as an obsolete technology, and was relatively unknown outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation , along with Ampex , Ford Motor Company , General Motors , Motorola , and RCA Victor Records . It
7592-443: The other parts of the track with headphones to keep the timing right. In the 2000s, with the advent of digital recording , it became possible for musicians to record their part of a song in another studio in another part of the world, and send their contribution over digital channels to be included in the final product. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing or multi-tracking are termed "live", even when done in
7696-414: The other. The user would stack the two records onto the spindle of an automatic record changer, with side 1 on the bottom and side 2 (on the other record) on top. Side 1 would automatically drop onto the turntable and be played. When finished, the tone arm's position would trigger a mechanism which moved the arm out of the way, dropped the record with side 2, and played it. When both records had been played,
7800-464: The practice of issuing albums was not widely taken up by American record companies until the 1920s. By about 1910, bound collections of empty sleeves with a paperboard or leather cover, similar to a photograph album, were sold as record albums that customers could use to store their records (the term "record album" was printed on some covers). These albums came in both 10-inch and 12-inch sizes. The covers of these bound books were wider and taller than
7904-406: The primary medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves and many album covers or sleeves included numbers for the tracks on each side. On a compact disc the track number is indexed so that a player can jump straight to the start of any track. On digital music stores such as iTunes the term song is often used interchangeably with track regardless of whether there
8008-539: The project. Alejandro, a respected composer in the Latin pop field, formerly worked with other artists such as Julio Iglesias , Plácido Domingo , Raphael , and José José . According to Luis Miguel, it took eight or nine years to prepare the disc. The ballads on Cómplices are accompanied by an orchestra that included a piano, violins, and cellos. All but three of the songs are ballads with "De Nuevo el Paraíso", "Estrenando Amor", and "Tu Imaginación" being uptempo numbers which incorporate " funky " wind instruments ,
8112-404: The reasons it has been so fertile for such a long period of time: This adaptability was largely achieved by dispensing with limitations in format or instrumentation, and by an increase in syncopation (so producing a more afrocuban sound). Examples would be: The lyrics of the bolero can be found throughout popular music, especially Latin dance music. Bolero music has also spread to Vietnam . In
8216-404: The record industry as a standard format for the "album". Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, it has remained the standard format for vinyl albums. The term "album" was extended to other recording media such as 8-track tape , cassette tape , compact disc , MiniDisc , and digital albums, as they were introduced. As part of
8320-617: The record not touching the shelf, and the term was applied to the collection. In the early nineteenth century, "album" was occasionally used in the titles of some classical music sets, such as Robert Schumann 's Album for the Young Opus 68, a set of 43 short pieces. With the advent of 78 rpm records in the early 1900s, the typical 10-inch disc could only hold about three minutes of sound per side, so almost all popular recordings were limited to around three minutes in length. Classical-music and spoken-word items generally were released on
8424-545: The record was criticized for sounding too similar to his previous albums. Cómplices was nominated as Best Latin Pop Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards (2009) as well as Latin Pop Album of the Year by a Solo Artist at the 2009 Latin Billboard Music Awards . Commercially, Cómplices reached number one in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in
8528-451: The recording, and lyrics or librettos . Historically, the term "album" was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage, the word was used for collections of short pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78s were bundled in book-like albums (one side of a 78 rpm record could hold only about 3.5 minutes of sound). When LP records were introduced,
8632-497: The records inside, allowing the record album to be placed on a shelf upright, like a book, suspending the fragile records above the shelf and protecting them. In the 1930s, record companies began issuing collections of 78s by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled albums, typically with artwork on the front cover and liner notes on the back or inside cover. Most albums included three or four records, with two sides each, making six or eight compositions per album. By
8736-452: The release and distribution Compact Discs . The 2010s saw a revival of Compact Cassettes by independent record labels and DIY musicians who preferred the format because of its difficulty to share over the internet . The compact disc format replaced both the vinyl record and the cassette as the standard for the commercial mass-market distribution of physical music albums. After the introduction of music downloading and MP3 players such as
8840-414: The same record label—and she hoped he would accept them. On 14 March 2008, Luis Miguel announced that he planned to release an album on May of that year featuring original tracks composed by Spanish musician Manuel Alejandro and co-produced by both. The record's title, Cómplices , was announced on 1 April 2008 and was his first pop album of new material since 33 (2003). Alejandro previously composed
8944-513: The same tour, achieved with México En La Piel Tour . However, he only completed 25 shows. Luis Miguel continued his Mexican tour with four concerts in the Telmex Auditorium of Guadalajara , and another four concerts in Monterrey 's Arena . He completed the last 10 concerts of 25 scheduled in Mexico City between 24 February to 8 March. From 12 to 15 September he played the last four concerts of
9048-823: The singer proposes a "passionate encounter with a person as tied up or committed as he is." "Amor a Mares" is a Peruvian waltz and the lyrics include: "Te quiero cerca para mi noche fría" / "Te quiero cerca para mi ser vacío" / "Para morir contigo de muerte lenta" / "De darte tanta vida" / "Y amor divino" ("I want you near for my cold night" / I want you near to be my emptiness"/ "To die slowly with you" / "To give you so much life"/ "And divine love"). On "Estrenando Amor," he chants: "Hoy otra vez de nuevo estoy / Estrenando amor / Sueños y caricias / Nuevos besos, nueva vida / Estrenando amor / Amasando amor / Construyendo amor / Divino amor" ("Now I'm new again" / Dreams and caresses" / New kisses, new life" / "Premiering love" / "Kneading love" / "Constructing love"/ "Divine love"). "Bravo Amor, Bravo"
9152-407: The singer's highest ranking album on the chart, which was previously held by Romances (1997) at number 14. The set bowed at No. 10 with 32,000 copies on its opening week. Leila Cobo noted, however, that it was not the singer's best sales week ever. In addition, the record debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, where it spent two weeks on this spot. This made Luis Miguel
9256-507: The songs to be "monotonous" and felt none of them stood out. She regarded tracks like "De Nuevo al Paraíso" and "Tu Imaginación" giving "little variety to the sounds of the ballads" and surmised the disc is "perfect for a romantic evening." In a negative review of Cómplices , José María Álvarez of Reforma criticized Luis Miguel for being unimaginative and felt the tracks were identical to each other. He unfavorably regarded "Ay, Cariño" as an overtone of fellow Mexican singer Emannuel and found
9360-529: The strings on the record to be "bland." At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in 2009, Cómplices received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album , which went to La Vida... Es Un Ratico (2007) by Juanes . At the 2009 Latin Billboard Music Awards, it was nominated for Latin Pop Album of the Year by a Solo Artist, but lost to 95/08 Éxitos (2008) by Enrique Iglesias . Within 24 hours of it release, Cómplices sold over 320,000 copies and received four platinum certifications . In Mexico, it debuted at
9464-464: The time. Instead, it was born as a form of romantic folk poetry cultivated by a new breed of troubadour from Santiago de Cuba , the trovadores . Pepe Sánchez is considered the father of this movement and the author of the first bolero, "Tristezas", written in 1883. Originally, boleros were sung by individual trovadores while playing guitar . Over time, it became common for trovadores to play in groups as dúos , tríos , cuartetos , etc. Thanks to
9568-512: The top of the Top 100 Mexico chart and spent six weeks on this spot. Cómplices was certified diamond by AMPROFON in just three weeks after its launch for sales of 400,000 copies and was the second best-selling album of 2008 in the country after Para Siempre (2007) by Vicente Fernández . In the US, Cómplices debuted and peaked at number 10 in the Billboard 200 on the week of 24 May 2008, making it
9672-595: The tour in The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas . The entire tour consisted of 91 concerts in 42 cities and 8 countries. Miguel was accompanied by a 12-piece band during his tour which included horns, keyboards, guitars, two female backup singers, and a 11-piece mariachi band. His hour and forty-five minute concert consisted mainly of pop songs and ballads from Cómplices and his earlier career, as well as medleys of boleros and mariachi songs from his past catalog in
9776-531: The tracks "Al Que Me Siga" and "Si Te Perdiera", for Luis Miguel's albums Mis Romances (2001) and Grandes Éxitos (2005), respectively. The album was mainly recorded at the Record Plant studio in Los Angeles, California, with additional recordings done at Ocean Way Recording and Westlake Recording Studios ; the mixing was completed at Record Plant studio as well. Cómplices is the first disc where Luis Miguel allowed someone else to have complete control of
9880-456: The two beats four and one) is executed with a hip movement over the standing foot, with no foot-flick. The dance known as bolero is one of the competition dances in American Rhythm ballroom dance category. The first step is typically taken on the first beat, held during the second beat with two more steps falling on beats three and four (cued as "slow-quick-quick"). In competitive dance
9984-461: The user would pick up the stack, turn it over, and put them back on the spindle—sides 3 and 4 would then play in sequence. Record changers were used for many years of the LP era, but eventually fell out of use. 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8: commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology popular in the United States from
10088-505: The working class at the time. This genre became colloquially known as yellow music , in opposition to the nhạc đỏ ( red music ) endorsed by the Communist government of Hanoi during the era of the Vietnam War . As a result of North Vietnam winning the war, the music was banned in 1975. Those caught listening to yellow music would be punished, and their music confiscated. After
10192-592: Was Frank Sinatra's first album, the four-record eight-song The Voice of Frank Sinatra , originally issued in 1946. RCA's introduction of the smaller 45 rpm format later in 1948 disrupted Columbia's expectations. By the mid-1950s, 45s dominated the singles market and 12" LPs dominated the album market and both 78s and 10" LPs were discontinued. In the 1950s albums of popular music were also issued on 45s, sold in small heavy paper-covered "gate-fold" albums with multiple discs in sleeves or in sleeves in small boxes. This format disappeared around 1960. Sinatra's "The Voice"
10296-540: Was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge created by Earl "Madman" Muntz . A later quadraphonic version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8. The Compact Cassette was a popular medium for distributing pre-recorded music from the early 1970s to the early 2000s. The first "Compact Cassette" was introduced by Philips in August 1963 in
10400-414: Was from this that in medieval and modern times, album came to denote a book of blank pages in which verses, autographs, sketches, photographs and the like are collected. This in turn led to the modern meaning of an album as a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item. The first audio albums were actually published by the publishers of photograph albums. Single 78 rpm records were sold in
10504-399: Was issued in 1952 on two extended play 45s, with two songs on each side, in both packagings. The 10-inch and 12-inch LP record (long play), or 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. A single LP record often had the same or similar number of tunes as a typical album of 78s, and it was adopted by
10608-614: Was released in Spain on 2 May 2008 and worldwide four days later to coincide with Mother's Day . On 6 May Luis Miguel held a press conference at the Casino Español in Mexico City to celebrate the launch of the album. Three days later he held another press conference in Madrid , Spain to present the album. A two-disc holiday edition of the record was released in Spain on 2 December 2008 and contains both Cómplices and Navidades . A special edition of
10712-612: Was released on 30 June 2008, and also reached number one in Chile and number five in Uruguay. The accompanying music video, also directed by Blake, was filmed in Malibu and released on 14 July 2008. In addition to the singles, the title track and "Ay, Cariño" peaked at number two and three in Uruguay, respectively, and in Nicaragua at number two. "Amor de Hecho" also received radio airplay in Panama. "Amor
10816-446: Was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983, being gradually supplanted by the cassette tape throughout the 1970s and early 1980s; the popularity of the cassette reached its peak during the late 1980s before sharply declining during the 1990s. The cassette had largely disappeared by the first decade of the 2000s. Most albums are recorded in a studio , although they may also be recorded in
#385614