Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Buena Vista Social Club
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.
Rating: - In my humble opinion
For the record, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and Nick Gold recorded the Afro-Cuban All-Stars debut album-"A Toda Cuba le Gusta"-prior to the recording sessions which later became "The Buena Vista Social Club". Both albums are amazing-excellent examples of REAL cuban music-not this timba trash that Los Van Van and Bamboleo are playing. Ry Cooder deserves a lot of credit for what he did on this album-production, post-production, playing-but not for "discovering" these musicians. That goes to Juan de Marcos, or as Ibrahim Ferrer called him, "El segundo descubridor de las Americas". And for those of you who are complaining about Ry's playing-get a life! Don't you know where cuban music comes from? Spain, the Middle East, and Africa-and Ry's playing only highlights some of these influences.
Rating: - This is a magical CD!
I first heard of Buena Vista Social Club through a colleague of mine. He would play this CD in his office and I found the melodies quite rhythmic and haunting.Once I purchased my copy of this wonderful CD, I was really hooked. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. The love and emotion for the artists' craft comes through and leaves an indelible mark on each listener's heart. These once forgotten musicians through the help of Ry Cooder have been able to share their traditional melodies with the western world. I was amazed to see how successful this album's sale have been for a world music title. But a few listens later, it didn't surprise me at all. I guess people just know great music when they hear it even when it crosses ethnic and language boundaries. By the way, I'm an audiophile and the sound quality on this album is exceptional. The sound has a lot of depth and ambiance. Try this CD in a high end audio system and you'll experience a certain intimacy you don't find in most traditional studio albums.
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