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Various artists
The Story of Flamenco (Hemisphere) (star) (star) (star)
Very much a primer, “The Story of Flamenco” can’t touch other recent collections, such as Ellipsis Arts’ “Duende,” in sheer volume or breadth. Like its sister Hemisphere collection, “The Story of Tango,” this assortment of classic flamenco tunes is missing context, as well as some of the big names (no Camaron, no Paco de Luca), but it makes up with a terrific selection nonetheless. The album is heavy on the bluesy stuff, the songs complement each other stylistically and offer up a nice enough buffet. And unlike other collections, this one has an ample sampling of female voices.