Little Wing

1	Agua Fria (Cold Water) / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 4:02
2	Little Wing / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 4:48
3	The Girl from Ipanema / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 6:30
4	Interlude, No. 1: Longing / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 1:09
5	Like Water 4 the Desert (Rain Montuno) / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 4:17
6	Paint It Black / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 5:05
7	Untitled (La Noche) / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 4:30
8	Interlude, No. 2: Driving / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 1:22
9	Kashmir / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 7:31
10	Angel: Omnia Bona Bonis (4 Kelly) / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 5:39
11	The Pearl / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 5:01
12	Interlude, No. 3: Leaving / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 1:05
13	Daylight Melody / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 6:47
14	Yarrow: Snaky Desert Guitar / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 4:52
15	Spirit Cafe (4 My Mother) / Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra 5:01

Barnes & Noble

The world's most popular nouveau flamenco artist reaches into his considerable bag of tricks once again to produce an album the guitarist himself feels is a career summation. As its title intimates, Liebert pays homage to some of the music that influenced him early on, including Hendrix ("Little Wing"), Zeppelin ("Kashmir"), the Rolling Stones ("Paint It Black"), and Tom Jobim ("The Girl from Impanema"). But don't expect the architect of smooth-flowing flamenco fusion to rock out (though he does pick up an electric on this album) -- Liebert inventively reworks the songs: "Kashmir" is understated and brushed with a Turkish saz, "Paint It Black"'s Middle Eastern mystery is given a cosmopolitan touch of sax, and Jobim's classic approaches a bossa-flamenco hybrid. Likewise, Liebert revisits his own past as well, with originals that delve into the late-night rumbas minted on 1989's classic Flamenco Nouveau, which ripple with acoustic picking, as well as the more dramatic, synth-orchestrated music of his 1996 hit Opium. In the liner notes, Liebert pledges to divide his time between the Luna Negra band captured here, a new project called Ottmar Liebert's Euphoria (to concentrate on dance and world beat fusions), and his own solo work in an intimate acoustic setting. For fans of this flamenco visionary, Little Wing very well may be the last to time to get all their favorite Ottmars in one place. They won't want to miss the opportunity. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Since his last album of new material, 1999's Innamorare, Ottmar Liebert has been represented in the record racks by two repackagings of his earlier material, one a reissue of his best-selling debut, Nouveau Flamenco, in which he had a hand, and the other a compilation of his early recordings for Higher Octave Records. Little Wing has the feel of another reissue, even though it is newly recorded. Having reconsidered his first work and, as he makes clear in the liner notes, begun to consider future projects (including solo guitar and synthesizer albums), he seems to have decided to make an album in the style of his popular initial recordings. This approach is clear in the album's original compositions, which again investigate flamenco from a relaxed, Southwestern perspective, and in the four cover songs, all of which present familiar tunes in the guitarist's familiar style. Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" has long been a favorite of rock guitarists (notably Derek and the Dominos-era Eric Clapton), who tend to use it as a change-of-pace ballad. Liebert's interpretation is livelier than most, bringing out the buoyancy as well as the beauty of the melody. His version of "The Girl From Ipanema" relaxes the song's usual bossa nova feel but remains appealing. Not surprisingly, his "Paint It Black" is not as urgent or threatening as the Rolling Stones' original, instead emphasizing the song's exotic flavor, complete with the use of a Turkish saz; Brian Jones would approve. Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" has proven surprisingly versatile over the years, even serving as the basis for a Puff Daddy rap, but Liebert's interpretation brings out aspects not touched on before. Little Wing is likely to appeal to the million-plus fans who bought Nouveau Flamenco, though those who have followed Liebert's stylistic explorations since may feel he's repeating himself. William Ruhlmann