album rating:★★★★☆
Genre
Canción ranchera and mariachi. The album presents ten original Jiménez compositions in the classic ranchera format - his unpolished, emotionally direct baritone set against the full mariachi sound of the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán - addressing with characteristic frankness themes of love, loss, pride, betrayal, and the solace of drink.
Release
Released in 1971 by RCA Victor México. All ten tracks were written by Jiménez himself, including "El Rey" — one of the most celebrated rancheras of the twentieth century — alongside "Te Solté la Rienda," "La Estrella de Jalisco," "Ella Volvió," and "El Arrepentido." It was among his final studio albums, recorded just two years before his death in November 1973.
Production
Produced by Heriberto Aceves, who oversaw numerous recordings in RCA Victor México's catalogue during this period. The album features the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Mexico's most celebrated mariachi ensemble, as the accompanying band throughout.
Reception
Jiménez was consistently one of the best-selling Mexican artists of his era. The track "El Rey" become the most widely known Mexican ranchera internationally, covered by hundreds of artists and adopted as an unofficial anthem of Mexican popular culture. The track "El Cantinero" is among the most beloved of Jiménez's late-career compositions.
José Alfredo Jiménez
José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval (January 19, 1926, Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato - November 23, 1973, Mexico City) was a Mexican singer-songwriter, the most important and prolific composer of canción ranchera in the twentieth century. The son of a pharmacist who died when Jiménez was ten, he moved to Mexico City as a child and worked shining shoes and selling footwear before discovering music without any formal training or knowledge of musical notation. He was discovered performing at the restaurant La Sirena, where Andrés Huesca heard him sing "Cuando el Destino" and "Yo" and immediately recorded them, launching his career. He signed with Columbia Records in 1949, then with RCA Victor in 1960. Over his career he composed over 1,000 songs — of which more than 300 were published — covering rancheras, huapangos, corridos, and boleros. His songs were interpreted by Pedro Infante, Lola Beltrán, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Vicente Fernández, Chavela Vargas, and Luis Miguel, among countless others. He died of liver cirrhosis at the age of 47, having performed his farewell song "Gracias" on Mexican television just days before his death.
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