What people search:
 | Title : Buena Vista Social Club
Author : Buena Vista Social Club
Release Date : 19970916
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $18.98
Amazon.com Price : $13.49
(29
%)
VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE |
Editorial Reviews :
Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism, Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they're putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn't mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres's laoud solo on 'El Cuarto de Tula' is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a quote from 'Stormy Weather' and some very distinct parallels to Hawaiian styles remind us of why it's called 'world music.'
Buyer Reviews :
Imagine this. It is an idle, hazy summer afternoon. The immense heat shifts the air and it shimmers slightly. Noisy children run about the street bare-footed, un carretero alegre (cart-driver) slowly clods down the narrow streets while the shoddy buildings which rise on both sides of the streets are filled with bustle. Admist all of this, from a small bar a gentle guitar emnates from the doorway accompanied by exotic bongos and haunting trumpet sounds. Who would have thought? Nutured and nestled on a stretch of island known as Cuba, south of Florida, a creative energy and cultural phenomenon brewed while largely ignored. Shut off from the rest of the world, for over 150 years, Cuban music has had time to grow and take new exciting forms. Thanks to worldly traveled producer Ry Cooder, Cuban music has been brought into the light again. Buena Vista Social Club refers to an old members-only social club located in East Havana. So the idea was born, Ry Cooder travelled to Cuba gathering aged overlooked Cuban musicians, masters of their art, to create a record proving that true roots still remain a compelling artistic force. With artists like Ricky Martin or Marc Antony offering up latin music in an easy-to-swallow digestible pop music for the public, Buena Vista Social Club serves it up raw and original. Seeped in tales of local folklore or bits of ambient wisdom scattered throughout, Buena Vista Social Club represents a collective tale of an entire culture.
Buena Vista Social Club kicks in with 'Chan Chan', a slow, swaggering, guitar melody. Hypnotic and almost trance-like, it tells the tale from Cuban folklore. 'Como sacudia el 'jibe/A Chan Chan le daba pena!' Even if you can't understand the Spanish, the music is enough to convey the message, but even so the Spanish language has an untouchable grace, and you find yourself trying to form the words to sing along. The toe-tapping 'De Camino a La Vereda' showcases such instruments as the dumbek, the mbira, or the laoud. One of the highlights throughout the entire album is singer Ibrahim Ferrer. Ferrer's frayed soft voice is powerful when channeled through the music. Other highlights inlcude 77 year old pianist Ruben Gonzalez and guitarist Compay Segundo. 'Pueblo Nuevo' features Gonzalez's funky, folky piano solo. 'Candela', with its sexual innuendeo, has the catchy harmonious chant chorus. 'Ay candela, candela, candela, me quemo ae'. While it won't find a place on a dance floor or a club, all the songs in Buena Vista Social Club are irresistably danceable. You will either find yourself snapping fingers, tapping your feet, or swaying your head back and forth. Complex, mezmerizing, sophisticated and rhythmic, Buena Vista Social Club is a wonderful work of art, combining the efforts of musicians who truly love the music they do. They play with a passion as if this were the last day they would ever play. Their efforts showed and was well-received all over the world and was a Grammy-winner. It spawned a Oscar-nominated feature documentary and solo-efforts by Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo. Buena Vista Social Club, like the history of its name suggested, is like a members-only social Club. Except this time...welcome, you've been invited to the party.
(by Eric)
back
What people search:
|
|
