Alive Alive-O! With JOSÉ FELICIANO

Original released on Double LP RCA Victor LSP 6021(2)

(US, November 1969)

Released at the apex of Feliciano's career, the album reached number 29 on the Billboard album charts and was one of the few double albums of that time to get "Gold" certification in the United States. The album reached # 19 in Canada, # 1 in the Netherlands, # 4 in Spain and was a hit in other countries as well. It was recorded live in London at the London Palladium Theatre, on April 21, 1969. Jose Feliciano (12-string & 6-string guitars, percussion effects and vocals), was joined by Paulinho Magalhães (drums), Brian Brocklehurst (bass) and Peter Ahern (percussion). Finally this wonderful recording is available after more than 30 years. Brian May with Queen used to write "no synthesizers" on his LP's way back, he's also a wonderful guitar player, but, at least he was using an electric guitar to produce all the effects. Jose Feliciano does all kinds of sounds on his acoustic guitar including a bombing (a la Rick Wakeman) and using his dog (at the time). Mr. Feliciano is a true virtuoso playing guitar who plays all genres of music (huge range), has a good voice and is much, much more than the "Feliz Navidad" guy that everybody knows him by. If you buy this album, you will not be disapointed. I bought the vinyl double album when it was edited for the first time, and for many years I have waiting for the CD to come out. The old scratched vinyl can now be disposed of, as I can listen to all these great songs properly again. His guitar work is unbelievable, and to think the recording is 50 years old, and the playing is as fresh as ever. Some of his jokes are not so fresh, but his playing is fantastic.

FELICIANO!

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 3957

(US 1968, November 2)

Released at the apex of his popularity, this was Feliciano's most successful album. It reached number two, largely on the strength of his only big hit single, "Light My Fire" (which is featured here). Soulful easy listening is an oxymoron, but this is about as close as that fusion gets to reality, with passionate vocals and virtuosic flamenco guitar. Besides "Light My Fire," it's dominated by interpretations of '60s hits like "Sunny" and "California Dreamin'," as well as three Lennon-McCartney tunes. Noted jazz bassist Ray Brown is one of the supporting musicians. The cover artwork is by George Bartell, an artist best known for an artist who so instinctively puts movement and speed into his work was inspired. Feliciano's live perfomances were remarkably active, considering that he sat on a stool to perform; his head and fingers were never still, and the dynamism of his playing astounding. Bartell gets that across here marvelously. I first heard the album in the early 70s, and it stuck me at that time [as a callow smart-alecky teen] as overwrought, pretentious, maudlin, histrionic, and syrupy, like overproduced lounge music. Little did I know what my teenaged mind would not grok for another 4+ decades, but I listened to it again recently and was bowled over, I finally dug what he was saying in that album and I finally saw its beauty, and it made me weep. it is about as romantic an expression as one could imagine. George Tipton's arrangements hit just the right spot, luxuriant yet spare when it needed to be. A masterpiece.

JOSE FELICIANO '67

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 10.313

(GERMANY, 1967)

Original released on LP RCA Victor FSP 183

(US, 1967)

The Voice And Guitar Of JOSE FELICIANO

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 3358

(US, June 1965)

JOSE FELICIANO: "10 To 23"

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 4185

(US 1969, June 16)

Absolutely one of the best albums of Jose Feliciano in his whole career, produced again by Rick Jarrard. Jose is at the apex of his artistry in that period; This album was recorded after the great hit of "Feliciano!" in North America and England, and it became a hit also all over Europe and in other countries of the world. It contains not only a true Feliciano recording made at age 10 but also an incredible number of masterpieces: like "First Of May" and "Windmills of Your Mind", R&B and Rock tracks like "Little Red Rooster" and "She's A Woman", pop songs like "I Gotta Get a Message to You" and his beautiful "Rain"; a song defined as «having a hypnotyzing charm». But, above all, this album contains his version of "Hey Jude": eight minutes of spanish, english and an amazing guitar. Probably no other artist in this world can make an album like this! Strongly recommended to all Jose' Feliciano fans and to all music lovers. (in RateYourMusic)

JOSE FELICIANO: "Souled"

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 4045

(US, January 1969)

Feliciano is first and foremost an overwhelmingly great and ORIGINAL interpreter of other people's material. He NEVER conforms to the original arrangement, but treats each song as if it was his own and acts accordingly. He's also got soul like you wouldn't believe and this albums is SO aptly titled. Had it when I was a young boy, sold it as I grew older and snobby and then found it again in a bin a couple of years ago for next to nothing. I picked it up for amusement, but it BLEW me away, it's that good. Three good examples of what he does to famous songs on this LP is the way he takes ALL the cuteness out of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Younger Generation" - remember the cutesy way John Sebastian did it in ...? - and gives it real meaning and significance. It really becomes an anthem. As for Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" he removes the coyness and lightness of the original and makes it a much more desperate and intense plea, that reeks with desire and longing. Finally, The Supremes great, great "My World Is Empty Without You" is suddenly no longer a happy dance-tune, it is about serious, hurtful loss. He's that great. There are seven less well-known, but just as good interpretations on here. Plus he plays a mean flamenco-soul-rock gut-string guitar, sings like a wounded angel, half latin longing, half r&b-grit and to top it all of, the production is as flawless as the big arrangements rings perfectly true. Time for a José Feliciano revival, dudes and dudettes!!! (in RateYourMusic)

JOSE FELICIANO: "Fantastic Feliciano"

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 3581

(US, 1966)

Jose Feliciano continues to refine his folk-jazz aesthetic via "Fantastic Feliciano", a scattershot set of pop standards that pushes the singer in a series of new creative directions, some considerably more successful than others. Feliciano lends his signature stamp to familiar tunes like "Nature Boy," "For Sentimental Reasons," and "The Masquerade Is Over," shifting easily from stark, simple arrangements that spotlight his intricate guitar playing to fuller, R&B-inspired contexts that underline the soulfulness of his vocals. Not all of it works, and the album fails to hang together as a whole, but the pieces of the puzzle are in place, enabling his signature sound to achieve critical mass over the course of subsequent LPs. (Jason Ankeny in AllMusic)

JOSE FELICIANO: "A Bag Full Of Soul"

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 3503

(US, 1965)

"A Bag Full of Soul" captures Jose Feliciano in transitional mode, still feeling his way toward the uniquely Latino-influenced folk-jazz sensibilities on which his fame rests. While he remains a product of the Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit, the material and arrangements here hint at mainstream pop leanings exemplified by a cover of the Beatles' "Help!," an approach that points the way to his breakthrough rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire." But too much of the album plays it safe, settling for straightforward readings of familiar folkie fare like Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" and Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Work Song" - Feliciano's vocals are lovely and impassioned, but not quite strong enough to carry the day alone. (Jason Ankeny in AllMusic)

JOSÉ FELICIANO: "DESTINY"

One of the most prominent Latin-born performers of the pop era, singer/guitarist Jose Feliciano was born September 10, 1945, in Lares, Puerto Rico; the victim of congenital glaucoma, he was left permanently blind at birth. Five years later, he and his family moved to New York City's Spanish Harlem area; there Feliciano began learning the accordion, later taking up the guitar and making his first public appearance at the Bronx's El Teatro Puerto Rico at the age of nine. While in high school he became a fixture of the Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit, eventually quitting school in 1962 in order to accept a permanent gig in Detroit; a contract with RCA followed a performance at New York's Gerde's Folk City, and within two years he appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival. After bowing with the 1964 novelty single "Everybody Do the Click," he issued his flamenco-flavored debut LP "The Voice and Guitar of Jose Feliciano", trailed early the next year by "The Fantastic Feliciano". Unhappy with the direction of his music following the release of 1966's "A Bag Full of Soul", Feliciano returned to his roots, releasing three consecutive Spanish-language LPs - "Sombras...Una Voz", "Una Guitarra, Mas Exitos de Jose Feliciano" and "El Sentimiento, La Voz y La Guitarra de Jose Feliciano" - on RCA International, scoring on the Latin pop charts with the singles "La Copa Rota" and "Amor Gitana." 

With 1968's "Feliciano!", he scored a breakthrough hit with a soulful reading of the Doors' "Light My Fire" that launched him into the mainstream pop stratosphere; a smash cover of Tommy Tucker's R&B chestnut "Hi Heel Sneakers" solidified his success, and soon Feliciano found himself performing the national anthem during the 1968 World Series. His idiosyncratic Latin-jazz performance of the song proved highly controversial, and despite the outcry of traditionalists and nationalists, his status as an emerging counterculture hero was secured, with a single of his rendition also becoming a hit. In 1969 Feliciano recorded three LPs - "Souled, Alive Alive-O", and "Feliciano 10 to 23" - and won a Grammy for Best New Artist; however, he never again equalled the success of "Light My Fire", and only the theme song to the sitcom Chico and the Man subsequently achieved hit status, edging into the Top 100 singles chart in 1974. Throughout the 1970s Feliciano remained an active performer, however, touring annually and issuing a number of LPs in both English and Spanish, including 1973's Steve Cropper-produced "Compartments"; he also appeared on the Joni Mitchell hit "Free Man in Paris," and guested on a number of television series including Kung Fu and McMillan and Wife. In 1980 Feliciano was the first performer signed to the new Latin division of Motown, making his label debut with an eponymous effort the following year; his recorded output tapered off during the course of the decade, although he occasionally resurfaced with LPs including 1987's "Tu Immenso Amor" and 1989's "I'm Never Gonna Change". A school in East Harlem was renamed the Jose Feliciano Performing Arts School in his honor; in 1996, he also appeared briefly in the hit film "Fargo". (in All Music)

"Che Sarà" By JOSE FELICIANO