TS 1.13 - Pugliese & Maciel 1954-56
Tags: Osvaldo Pugliese, SingerCategory: CompilationSamples
The great Alberto Morán decided to leave Pugliese in 1954 and pursue a solo career. Later interviews and accounts suggest that this was far from a happy parting; rather, it was marked by bitterness and resentment.
Morán’s successor was Jorge Maciel, “the Caruso of tango,” who had already spent seven years singing with Alfredo Gobbi, growing from an inexperienced young vocalist into a mature artist. The vigorous, lion-like Jorge Maciel may have seemed a more natural match for Alfredo Gobbi’s dark and introspective character. Yet when Maciel was paired with the equally fearless Pugliese, the result was explosive.
Their first recording together, Canzoneta, was made in October 1954. Only four months earlier in June Maciel had recorded the same song with Gobbi, making the contrast between the two versions fascinating. The seven recordings that followed are all enduring classics, including Esta Noche De Luna, Cascabelito, Remembranza, and others. Particularly noteworthy is No Juegues A La Guerra, a work Pugliese composed while imprisoned during his six-month detention in 1955.
TS 1.13 brings together all of Maciel’s recordings with Pugliese from 1954 to 1956, together with two duets with Miguel Montero, one of which, Silueta Porteña, is a milonga with a memorable arrangement.
Beyond the complexity of choosing among different surviving sources, one of the greatest challenges in restoring these recordings was Maciel’s voice. His immense, brilliant vocal projection pushed the microphones of the period close to their dynamic limits, often disturbing the tonal balance between singer and orquesta. Considerable effort was therefore required to find a natural and comfortable balance while remaining faithful to the character of the original masters.
Remembranza offers a good example. In the middle and latter sections, Maciel delivers several operatic crescendos and sustained notes of extraordinary power. In the widely circulated RELIQUIAS CD, the high frequencies were heavily reduced in an attempt to control the resonance and distortion caused by the sheer force of Maciel’s voice torturing the microphone. The result is that this great recording loses much of its brilliance like a bull stripped of its strength. Same problems can be heard in several of the other recordings.
With TS 1.13, we have tried, through careful restoration, to release the full power and charisma of the Tango Caruso (as well as Camerano’s solos). We hope these restorations will allow even more listeners to appreciate the artistry of both Maciel and Pugliese.
Frank Jin
| Date | Track | Genre | Singer | Label | Matrix No. | Pitch | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-10-29 | Canzoneta | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 19787 | 440 | 3:28 |
| 1954-12-13 | Si Yo Pudiera Olvidarla | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 19857 | 440 | 3:32 |
| 1955-09-02 | Mi Serenata | Tango | Montero y Maciel | Odeón | 20441 | 440 | 3:32 |
| 1955-09-02 | Esta Noche De Luna | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 20442 | 440 | 3:45 |
| 1955-09-22 | Cascabelito | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 20471 | 440 | 2:40 |
| 1956-01-31 | No Juegues A La Guerra | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 20771 | 440 | 3:53 |
| 1956-06-21 | Y Todavía Te Quiero | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 21093 | 440 | 2:48 |
| 1956-07-04 | Remembranza | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 21123 | 440 | 3:41 |
| 1956-08-02 | Silueta Porteña | Milonga | Montero y Maciel | Odeón | 21180 | 440 | 3:00 |
| 1956-10-26 | Muchacha | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 21472 | 440 | 3:22 |
