I would like to issue a general request that people stop playing the worn out "Trashmen" version of this song and strive to develop something better and more fitting the original composition.

While acknowledging that simplification is an integral part of the process of doing surf versions of other songs, I assert that in the case of Malaguena, the standard everyone seems to live by is lacking and very played out now.

Recently I was working on this task myself and I listened to probably 15 versions by surf bands and every single one is a straight copy of the Trashmen version. I'm so sick of it! It fails to capture the majesty of Lecuona's simple yet effective song and the most egregious aspect of the offense is the solo(s).

Oh those solos. People, first of all, this isn't a Chuck Berry song. Again, I realize that this type of solo is everywhere in surf but in the case of Malaguena, it simply isn't appropriate. The final dagger to the heart is that stupid 1/2 step modulation up in the middle of it. For the love of Cuba, just don't do it. Doesn't anyone hear how jarring and awful it is?

The solo should really be played in E Phrygian but if you must blues it up, then just stick to E minor pentatonic throughout and stay on that through the chord change. All those notes are present in the proper E Phrygian scale; it will sound better. The movement of the chords under the melody is kind of the whole point of the song. Modulating the key of the song up 1/2 step is utterly lame.

Here is Lecuona playing his compostion himself. Notice that even the signature opening riff from the typical surf version is not present in the song:

Last edited: Jan 25, 2024 17:13:16

Yes! I kinda forgot about the Pilgrims' recent version, which definitely does the song the most justice. However, they did retain the bluesy soloing with the key change that, to my ears at least, totally throws the song out of tonal whack.

Again, the beauty of the song lies in the chord change underneath the melody. Modulating the melody up with the chord change just changes the key of the song briefly and ruins the effect.

Respectfully disagree, when I learned the Trashmen's Malaguena solo I loved those atonal sharp notes that fell outside of the pentatonic scale. It's rock and roll, and sometimes you hit the wrong note and it sounds awesome.

Pulled up my transcription, this was the lick I was thinking of, which to your credit is when the guitarist plays over an F. I always interpreted it as them bending a note outside the usual pentatonic box.

I will agree listening to 15 note-for-note covers of the same standard sounds grueling. I too get tired of listening to the same standards over and over, and purposely avoid covers of Miserlou, Baja, etc. I just don't think it's fair to call the Trashmen's version hamfisted when they were just a bunch of teenagers in the early 60s listening to Chuck Berry, Freddy King, and Jerry Lee Lewis. I agree the original Malaguena is badass and that opening piano riff is pretty heavy - I'm glad both exist in the world. If you write a surf song with some authentic cuban montunos in a 3-2 clave with a tres cubano, I'll be the first to listen to it. Thanks for reminding me to listen to some Arsenio Rodriguez.

Last edited: Jan 26, 2024 00:22:41

pavlovsdog wrote:

Respectfully disagree, when I learned the Trashmen's Malaguena solo I loved those atonal sharp notes that fell outside of the pentatonic scale. It's rock and roll, and sometimes you hit the wrong note and it sounds awesome.

^^^This^^^

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Redfeather, you are in no way wrong and I am in no way challenging your statements here.

I do have a thought or two about Malaguena, though.

I see the Trashmen's version as the loosest of nods to the original. The solo aside, I just love the tone/vibe/feel of it. It is really the Spanish/Eastern European/Middle Eastern phrases that got me into surf in the first place. "Hot Rod" music often has the same instrumentation as surf but lacks those electric flamenco bits, and that is why I'm not so much a fan. Same with a lot of tiki, and also why modern "surf rock" doesn't do it for me either - it may have the sound, but not the vibe.

I'm not a masterful guitarist by any stretch, but Trashmen-style Malaguena is one of the tunes I play where I really feel myself fading away and the music just flowing. It feels like the melody and rhythm are ancient memories being yanked out of my DNA. Like hearing a song for the first time and you somehow already know the words. It could just be from watching Bugs Bunny bullfighting cartoons as a kid, who knows.

But, it is really powerful, essentially intoxicating - although I am quite ready to admit that I am just lowbrow; musically and otherwise.

I can also amuse myself turning the Andalusian Cadence into a 15 minute jam that I am sure nobody else would want to hear, but I'm conjuring castles, courtyards, don quixote's windmills, and spice merchants bringing in their treasures, and los pescadores coming with a crash on the crest of a roar.

Even just ye olde E-F-G "dun-dundundun-dun DUN DUN DUN" riff gives me shivers.

The beginning of Intruder gets me too... if you have any more overdone clumsy ripoffs of Spanish high art to suggest, please let me know! I'm a fiend for it.