YouTube version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehLCvd_I3As
I can’t imagine you don’t know Jose Feliciano. Most famous
(perhaps) for “Rain” (listen to the
falling rain…) or maybe to you, for “Light My Fire” (c’mon baby light my fire),
he hails from Puerto Rico, sings in Spanish, and (for better or worse), is
known for being blind, in addition to his guitar chops.
As for this week’s topic, I would be hard-pressed to come up
with another musician with credentials that pushed further beyond the subject
of masks: who better to perceive beyond the masks we wear everyday than someone
who cannot see those masks anyway?
To get to the point of this week’s postings, “Behind the
Mask” is a Feliciano work very much in the Santana style to accompany the (short-lived)
2000 TV production of “Queen of Swords”. One YouTube commentator notes, in response
to his affability in acting for the video: he is so easy to work with that he even
willingly rides a horse – blind!
As for the mask song, there are both English and Spanish
versions available online at YouTube. Regardless of the language, what shines
through in each is the unique Feliciano vocal skills: 30 years down the line, this
is clearly the same vocal powerhouse that belted out the original versions of “Rain”
and “Light My Fire”
And in the lyrics, he sings:
Every one of
us hides in his own way
Our ways may
not be seen …
Behind the
mask … there’s a secret life ….