Encuentro con el Rock

by Paul Collins An instrumental album of pretty good flamenco guitar overlaid with run-of-the-mill blues-rock. Though it might have made a splash in the late '60s, when "Beck's Bolero" and "Days of Future Passed" were blazing new trails in classical-rock fusion, by 1972 progressive rockers like Steve Howe were incorporating flamenco into rock at a much higher level of sophistication than anything found here. Beck and Sabicas don't really merge -- flamenco pieces segue into rock-band instrumentals, with Sabicas only occasionally peeking through when Beck isn't flooring an effects pedal. As such, it falls into the same category as Deep Purple's similarly striated "Concerto for Group and Orchestra." Still, opener "Inca Song" kicks out a satisfying jam and features a pleasingly wobbly bassline by Tony Levin . Only "Flamenco Rock" shows a truly successful marriage of the two styles, with Beck wailing effectively over a fluttering guitar part by Sabicas .