Buena Vista Social Club
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Free Music Notes for Buena Vista Social Club
Free Music Review: An Excellent Offering
Hit: 5 Stars
Let's get one thing straight from the outset--this is not JUST Cuban music. Granted, it's Cuban singers singing Cuban songs, but the music on this album is itself influenced by all that has happened in the musical world since these songs were first written and introduced. This may turn off some traiditional Cuban music enthusiasts, but for the casual listener, I think there ought to be little negative effect.It's a fact that Ry Cooder likes his slide guitar, and he uses it in several of the songs contained on this collection, but this does nothing to diminish the value or appeal of the collection as a whole to any but the most set-in devotee of traditional Cuban music. Indeed, many of the songs possess an even more haunting quality than they might have possessed without the modernizing influence that some of the crew involved brought to the performances. Songs like Chan Chan and El Carratero are packed with emotion and atmosphere, and throughout, Buena Vista Social Club is infused with the remarkable vocal talents of such superluminaries as Ibrahim Ferrer (who is himself no alien to modern music, collaborating with Gorrilaz on their recent release). For and appreciator of music, this album should hold appeal, and I highly recommend it for any listener.
Free Music Review: This CD changed my whole life!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm completely revising my review of this CD in order to warn others of how it has changed my life forever. I fell in love with this CD immediately, and soon bought the video. Watching the video, I fell in love with the musicians. Soon I was collecting the spinoff CD's, of which I now have more than 20. Then I bought the DVD for the extra tracks!
Was that enough? No.
I found myself beating on my desk so hard to keep rhythm that I was concerned for the safety of my computer's hard drive. So I made a few more purchases: bongos, congas, claves, maracas, a guíro, timbales and a cowbell. Now I'm buying books and videos to teach me how to PLAY them all. And I plan to drive to Ohio in November to see Juan de Marcos González and his Afro Cuban All Stars.
To be honest, the CD does have one flaw -- Ry Cooder's annoyingly inappropriate slide guitar. And even WITH that, it's BEYOND excellent. These musicians are amazing enough to overcome even that handicap gracefully.
Okay, now you have been warned.
Still, I HIGHLY recommend that you buy it. Why? Because, were you to die never having heard it, it would be difficult to say for certain that you had ever really lived!!!
Free Music Review: musicmaster
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember watching the movie PERFORMANCE in Cambridge Mass back in '69 or '70 and being enthralled with the sountrack. I, of course, went to the flick to see Mick Jagger in his first movie role. But I came out wondering how I missed what a great slide guitat player Keith Richards was, but quietly knowing that it was not he wearing the Sherry glass. Ever the researcher, I found Ry Cooder: been a fan ever since. I'm sorry but fan is just not the word. I've been stalking Ryland long before there was a word for it. Met him in the crowd at the Jazz Fest during the Ali Fakre Toure sessions, my wife catching us in the mirrors, and was actually able to talk with him - ask a couple ??? about the new band with Keltner, Lowe and Hiatt and I felt like I was in the Cat-Bird Seat. Always wondered what he was working t'wards with all those LP's all the world music stuff and then Fate handed him his due: The Buena Vista Social Club. The musical equivalent of AA: be patient and help another drunk, or in this case another musician. He got to help and be helped. Tremendous album, music that should not be missed at any cost. Well thanks for letting me put this down. chuckFree Music Review: The Best of the Best!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a great album. It offers some of the best Cuban music to date. I've enjoyed it over and over again. It contains many of the classic Afro-Cuban songs, and Cuban folk music I grew up with in Havana (I lived there from birth to age fifteen). It is amazing how Ibrahim Ferrer's voice renders this timeless music even more unforgettable. If you enjoy this album, please be sure to check out other old time Cuban artists like Beny More. He was nicknamed "El Barbaro del Ritmo," literal translation, 'The greatest of the rythym.' Some good choices include CDs like "Serie Platino: 20 Exitos," and "The Very Best of Beny More & His All Star Afro Cuban Big Band, Vol. 1." In fact, a couple of the songs in Buena Vista Social Club are originals of Beny More. You may also want to check out a group called 'Trio Matamoros.' Ditto for their music. A couple of the Buena Vista songs are originals of this group, one that comes to mind is "Lagrimas Negras." I hope you enjoy the Buena Vista Social Club CD as much as I do. Don't forget to check out the other artists I mentioned. Amazon.com has a great way to let you sample music from these artist CDs before you buy.Free Music Review: An antidote for the blues
Hit: 5 Stars
On a cold, blustery day driving through the small country town where I live in Pennsylvania, I couldn't care less about the -10 below zero weather, because I'm listening to Buena Vista Social Club.The music is so romantic, yet so subtle and so vibrant all at the same time. When Ibrahim Ferrer sings "Dos Gardenias," you just yearn to be the recipient of those two gardenias, to be the one told by him, as in the song, that he loves and adores you. I felt so swayed by the mellowness of the sound and the elegance of how he sings it.
I was swept up by one one song after another in this highly artisitic CD, in which each of the artists adds something to the total rendition, and, at the same time, takes energy and inspiration from all the other artists. It's really amazing how the music all comes together in song after song.
I remember growing up in NYC in the 1950's how we were all caught up in Latin rhythms, especially from Cuba. Then Came Castro and the subsequent blackout from there.
How wonderful to welcome these great artists and their marvelous music back in this wonderful CD after such a long time away.