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The Barbary Coast Guitar Duo
(Florante Aguilar & Michael Walsh)

Heart-stopping guitar duo arrangements of classic rock songs in the style of JS Bach, Scarlatti, Bartok, Spanish dances and flamenco and other classical forms!

From the Liner Notes:

"In their previous lives, Sir Paul was Domenico Scarlatti, Lennon was J.S. Bach, Sting was Schubert and Hendrix was Bartok. So we postulate.

What we attribute to as cleverness of today's rock & roll composers is not due to some substance-induced state but rather the result of reincarnation of the greatest composers in the history of music. It was their inner Stravinsky pounding away.

The Liverpool lads' strict observance of 17th century counterpoint? Uncanny. Their effective application of voice leading and text painting? Masterful. Stings gift for naturally flowing melodies are straight out of a Schubert lieder. And what to make of Hendrix's liberal use of ancient scales like pentatonic and mixolydian? You can't convince us that was arrived at independently by a man from the late 20th century.

Call us overly-educated conservatory grads but after intense musicological research, we conclude that these composers are one and the same. Still don't believe us? We dare you to listen and prove us wrong!"

Play All Samples »
THE BEATLES SUITE
1. Eleanor Rigby (a la Baroque)* listen
2. With a Little Help From My Friends*
(a la Scarlatti)
listen
3. She's Leaving Home (Waltz)* listen
4. I Want You (She's So Heavy) *
(a la JS Bach)
listen
5. If I Fell (Danza Espanola)* listen
6. Doctor Robert (Flamenco)* listen
THE LED ZEPPELIN SUITE    
7. Achilles Last Stand (Nuovo Flamenco)* listen listen
8. The Battle of Evermore (Ostinato)☨ listen listen
9. Nobody's Fault But Mine (Toccata)* listen listen
THE POLICE SUITE    
10. Roxanne (Tango)☨ listen listen
11. Tea in the Sahara (Barcarolle)* listen listen
12. King of Pain (Bagatelle)* listen listen
THE JIMI HENDRIX SUITE    
13. Purple Haze (a la Bartok)☨ listen listen
14. Little Wing (Orientale)☨ listen listen
15. Crosstown Traffic (Funk)☨ listen listen

* Arr. by Florante Aguilar
☨ Arr. by Michael Walsh
   
Barbary Coast Guitar Duo
CD $9.99   Add to Cart

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Read Buyer Reviews
Barbary Coast Guitar Duo CD Reviews from CD Baby

Excellent concept, well played
author: John O'Connor

It is amazing how some rock music can be easily performed classically. The Beatles have had many albums of orchestras performing their music, as has Pink Floyd. So, it was just a logical extension to perform some of this popular music on two classical guitars. Frankly, when I heard this CD, I immediately felt bad that they thought of this before I did. I will admit that they have probably done it better than my duo would have. Both of these fellows are excellent and very technically proficient guitarists. I still think the Beatles Suite would have worked well with my ukulele and my partner's classical guitar, though. This is a good CD. If you like good music, buy it.



Refreshing!
author: Fred Tempas

This is a lovely album. I've listened to it several times and there is always something new to discover. It's hard to classify - definitely more classical than rock, but anyone who loves the originals should listen to this reinterpretation!



Excellent CD
author: Nathalie

Un excellent CD avec de bons guitaristes et d'excellents arrangements. Bravo! Mon coup de coeur est la piece Roxane arrangee en tango.



Bravo!!!
author: Geremy Schulick (threefifty duo)

What an unbelievably creative concept for an album. As a fellow rocker turned classical guitarist (and duettist as well!), the statement made by this album is one that I've always believed myself, and you guys proved it so eloquently and thoroughly. Your skills as arrangers (and composers, really!) are truly top-notch and you seem totally at home with the many styles of playing represented here. The choice of song to go with each style is really dead on, too -- being a Scarlatti fan my personal favorite is "With a Little Help from my Friends" -- what an incredible match! And doing "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" as a fugue subject -- genius!

 




 

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