Near Denton, Texas, where the polka-based Brave Combo thrive, there's a little pastry town off the interstate that's a mini-Czechoslovakia. At the next turn-off, there's a sleepy cowboy town, and the next one, a little Mexican village. In each, there are pockets where all the communities seem to have merged -- and it is in such like-minded pockets that the musical hybrid called "conjunto" took off. This very American by-product is best exemplified by Paulino and his brother, bajo sexto extraordinaire Eloy Bernal. Eloy's 12-string bajo sexto provides a moving skeletal dance structure for Paulino's wildly inventive playing of the old-world accordion, their gifts mixed with Ruben Perez's standard trimmings of drums and bass. In the sixties, they would take these songs from bar to bar and town to town, in the modest but very essential hope of earning enough money to feed their families.
Mi Humilde Corazon compiles the best of the sides the group cut for Ideal records during the sixties, and establishes them as precursors to everything from Joe Ely's Letter to Laredo and Los Lobos' La Pistola y el Corazon to that weird in-between land of Brave Combo and Flaco Jiminez. It's fascinating, to say the least, with dramatic twists on the bolero and ranchero styles that make all of roots music appear to emanate from their work. Of course, this overstates their true influence, but Conjunto Bernal's best offerings, like "Mujer Santa" and "Tu Que Nabes", reside among the gems that hold enduring power over any artist who wants his own music to reflect America's still-bubbling melting pot.
This compilation's particular strength is the inclusion of tracks on which Tejano veterans Carmen y Laura handle lead vocals. There are only two such tunes, but they always manage to crop up just as the group's vocal harmonies are beginning to sound a bit samey. This unexpected but essential variation makes the album enjoyable from start to finish -- no skipped tracks here! -- and spotlights the unique approach the Bernal brothers took to their vocal arrangements. Whereas Carmen y Laura, a sister group, take a pretty but flat Everly Brothers approach in "Cuando Bebo", countering against the intricate music, Eloy and Paulino often sing in as many ranges as their musical backdrop. They do it consistently enough that it stops sounding unique, but deserves to be recognized for what it is: yet another personal touch that these talented brothers brought to an already-intriguing art form.
Sadly, there will be no chance for a Conjunto Bernal reunion. Not only did the brothers convert to singing gospels and worship songs in the late sixties, but Eloy passed away in 1998, when his tour bus overturned. His brother sang at his funeral. A fitting tribute to the Conjunto Bernal legacy, Mi Humilde Corazon will not only make you miss Eloy -- it will make you miss the group's music whenever it's not playing.
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