Rolling Stone hails Rosalía's 'El Mal Querer' among greatest concept albums of all time

The internationally renowned music magazine, Rolling Stone, considers Catalan singer Rosalía's 'El Mal Querer' one of the greatest concept albums of all time.

Conceived as Rosalía's thesis at Barcelona's Catalonia College of Music, the "sophomore album is a hypnotic retelling of Flamenca, a 13th-century, 8,095-line novel written in Occitan," the magazine wrote about the album's concept.

The execution of 'El Mal Querer' "captures the intensity and high drama of the toxic relationship at the center of the story with a brilliant palette of sounds," Rolling Stone magazine writes about the album.

Rosalía's second album mixes strains of R&B and hip-hop with the Spanish traditional music of flamenco. "Each song represents a different chapter that turns the plot," the magazine says.

The story sung by the Catalan singer in her album "ends with the beatific closer, 'A Ningún Hombre,' an ode to female independence and liberation," Julyssa Lopez, one of the reporters who worked on the list wrote about 'El Mal Querer'.

'El Mal Querer' ranked tenth on a list featuring 50 different concept albums from different times and legendary artists.

According to the magazine, the greatest concept album is Kendrick Lamar's 'Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'. 

Some of the mentioned works include 'In The Wee Small Hours', by Frank Sinatra (9); 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', by The Beatles (11); 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars', by David Bowie (13), 'Kid A', by Radiohead (14); 'Lemonade', by Beyoncé (15); 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son', by Iron Maiden (34), and 'Electra Heart', by Marina and the Diamonds (46).

Awarded album

Rolling Stone hailing 'El Mal Querer' album is not the only award the Catalan artist picked up for her work.

In 2020, the singer won the Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album at the 2020 Grammy awards for ‘El Mal Querer.’

The flamenco pop star redefining R&B was celebrated for her acclaimed album that features the singles ‘Malamente’, ‘Pienso en tu mirá,’ and ‘Bagdad’ in a ceremony at Los Angeles' Staples Center.

“It's such an honor to receive this award,” the singer said upon picking up the award back in January 2020. 

The Sant Esteve Sesrovires native beat out competition from Bad Dunny, J Balvin & Bad Bunny, Flor De Toloache, and more to pick up the honor.