..."(Ry Cooder, 1999) I had heard of Buena Vista Social Club for many years but only recently I dug out this treasure and started to appreciate it. Sometime ago I saw the documentary film about Buena Vista Social Club on FilmFour; I was so captured by the music in the film that I ordered the CD ... Read review
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Buena Vista Social Club
Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban
... more
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 o...
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 o...
Buena Vista Social Club
Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban
... more
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." --Rickey Wright
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." --Rickey Wright
with the forgotten greats of Cuban music, many of them in their 60s and 70s, some of them long since retired. The resulting album, Buena Vista Social Club, became a Grammy-winning international bestseller. When Cooder returned to Havana in 1998 to record a solo album by 72-year-old vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer, filmmaker Wim Wenders was on hand to document the occasion. Wenders splits the film between portraits of the performers, who tell their stories directly to the camera as they wander the streets and neighbourhoods of Havana, and a celebration of the music heard in performance scenes in the studio, in their first concert in Amsterdam, and in their second and final concert at Carnegie Hall. The songs are too often cut short in this fashion, but Buena Vista Social Club is not a concert film. Wenders weaves the artist biographies with a glimpse of modern Cuba remembering its past, capturing a lost culture in music that is suddenly, unexpectedly revived for audiences in Havana and around the world. Wenders makes his presence practically invisible, as if his directorial flourishes or off-screen narration might deflect attention from the artists, who do a fine job of telling their own stories through interviews and music. It's a loving portrait of a master class in Cuban music, with a vital cast of ageing performers whose energy and passion belie their years. --Sean Axmaker
phenomenons of the 1990s. A record of one astounding revival, it has in turn perpetuated that revival, providing a whole new lease of life--and a lucrative international platform--for a music that was lost to many people. Wenders gives credit where it's due--to world music guru Ry Cooder who travelled to Cuba in 1996 to seek out the soneros, performers hugely popular in the 1930s, 40s and 50s; made an album with them, the Buena Vista Social Club (Buena Vista being an area of Havana); and launched them on stage in Amsterdam and New York. But he also asked Wenders if he wanted to come along for the ride, and in March and April 1998, Wenders, on the spur of the moment with only a minimal crew ("concepts are for sissies"), travelled to Cuba and Amsterdam, and followed the newly popular stars: among them Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo and Ruben Gonzalez. The result was a remarkable international film sensation. They call this "the book of the film", and that's what it is. Of the 141 photographs, Wim Wenders provides the colour images and Donata Wenders some atmospheric black-and-white shots. The background to the whole enterprise is fleshed out with illuminating comments from Wenders and the performers (oddly laid out on the page as verse) an interview with Ry Cooder, song lyrics in Spanish and English, and mini-biographies of all involved. Fans of the film will no doubt want this to add to their Buena Vista collection--but first-time patrons of the Social Club would be well advised to invest in the one element of the film this beautiful-looking book can't provide: the CDs that contain the insistent music that is, after all, its raison d'etre--music that is, as soneros addict Wenders writes, "infectious and lively as it is wise and soothing".--Alan Stewart
phenomenons of the 1990s. A record of one astounding revival, it has in turn perpetuated that revival, providing a whole new lease of life--and a lucrative international platform--for a music that was lost to many people. Wenders gives credit where it's due--to world music guru Ry Cooder who travelled to Cuba in 1996 to seek out the soneros, performers hugely popular in the 1930s, 40s and 50s; made an album with them, the Buena Vista Social Club (Buena Vista being an area of Havana); and launched them on stage in Amsterdam and New York. But he also asked Wenders if he wanted to come along for the ride, and in March and April 1998, Wenders, on the spur of the moment with only a minimal crew ("concepts are for sissies"), travelled to Cuba and Amsterdam, and followed the newly popular stars: among them Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo and Ruben Gonzalez. The result was a remarkable international film sensation. They call this "the book of the film", and that's what it is. Of the 141 photographs, Wim Wenders provides the colour images and Donata Wenders some atmospheric black-and-white shots. The background to the whole enterprise is fleshed out with illuminating comments from Wenders and the performers (oddly laid out on the page as verse) an interview with Ry Cooder, song lyrics in Spanish and English, and mini-biographies of all involved. Fans of the film will no doubt want this to add to their Buena Vista collection--but first-time patrons of the Social Club would be well advised to invest in the one element of the film this beautiful-looking book can't provide: the CDs that contain the insistent music that is, after all, its raison d'etre--music that is, as soneros addict Wenders writes, "infectious and lively as it is wise and soothing".--Alan Stewart
...1999) I had heard of Buena Vista Social Club for many years but only recently I dug out this treasure and started to appreciate it. Sometime ago I saw the documentary film about Buena Vista Social Club on FilmFour; I was so captured by the music in the film that I ordered the CD album straight away from Internet.
Ry Cooder, the producer of the CD, said in the introduction, "In Cuba the music flows like a river. It takes care of you and rebuilds ... ...umm umm...
13) Buena Vista Social Club * * * * *
Believe me, this jazzy piano piece really flows like river. I loved it!
14) La Bayamesa * * *
A patriotic song about a woman who burnt down her house to prevent the enemy taking over.
♪ But she can hear her homeland crying out…
♪ She has left everything, she has burnt everything…
The CD is sold with a 48-page booklet describing the background of the tracks, plus the lyrics ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency...
Value for Money
very helpful
15.04.2005
Join the club Review ofBuena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Clubby
rsmith
Advantages: Romantic, makes you think of summer holidays Disadvantages: None
This album was first Cuban music album I bought - and it has totally turned me on to the 'World music' genre.
Ry Cooder produced, the album resurrected several greats of the Cuban music scene, musicians whose heyday had been in the 50s and 60s, even the 40s in some cases. Importantly, Cooder definitely does not take over, and the artists are allowed to perform songs that are important to them, in the way they know best. There is some wonderful guitar ... ...songs.
There are many excellent musicians in the band, but best are pianist Ruben Gonzalez (as demonstrated on the songs "Pueblo Nuevo" and "Murmillo"), and Oriando 'Cachaito' Lopez on bass. The whole band (over a dozen musicians on some songs) gel together extremely well, but those two musicians play particularly well together.
Featured vocalists are Company Segundo, (89 years old), Omara Portuondo (the only female vocalist on the album), and ...
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Advantages: an honour to be in the presence of such talent Disadvantages: none
I'm only writing this to brag. I saw them live a few days ago, at Manchester, the final gig of the 2000 tour, and quite possibly the last time they will play together, and they were fanstatic!
I picked up the cd ages ago - when it first came out, because it had a nice photo on the cover and I was going through one of my experimental phases, and instantly fell in love with it. Since then I've been encouraging all of my freinds to give it a spin, ... ...freinds who have succumbed rang me one day a couple of weeks ago and said 'they're playing' but I thought it was all sold out for months (as it was), but my freinds managed to call on the day that the 3 best tickets in the house were returned, so there were we, at Hola Cubana, watching one of the finest performances I have ever seen. The last time I was at that venue was to see Nina Simone, who got a 5 minute standing ovation as she walked onto the ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: variety - there are tracks to dance to and ones to chill to Disadvantages: ry cooder's slide guitar;
Buena Vista social club has broken through the boundaries of genres and become as popular as some rock and pop albums. It is a tribute to the musicianship of the hugely experienced individuals who feature on this album that every song has so much emotion and depth. As for Ry Cooder, contribution to the songs is ambivalent. The slide guitar on "Chan Chan", "El Cuarto De Tula" and "Dos Gardenias" is in my opinion subtle and atmospheric; however on ... ...Social Club" and "Ay Candela". This intrusion is even more evident in the film where during the new york concert at the end of the film the havanan musicians give Ry more than one "Shut up" glare.
Still, this album is an essential addition to any well-rounded record collection - if you only have one album of cuban music it has to be this one. The album also comes with an excellent inlay which not only provides reasonably accurate translations but ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: It is a must have, must listen to Disadvantages: None
...Cuban music, and the influence Buena Vista had in terms of attracting more people to the Cuban music cannot be described. Beautifully shot, never boring, always moving, always real to the point of being a documentary, always lyric to the point of moving me to tears of commotion. The musicians depicted in the movie are living legends, are unique. The album is superb, and, once you have seen the movie, is the best way of calling up the images of the ...
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Label / Distributor: World Circuit / New Note/Pinnacle
Engineer: Jerry Boys
Producer: Ry Cooder
Pieces in Set: 1
Studio / Live: Studio
Stereo: Stereo
Format: Performer
EAN: 769233005021
Additional notes
Album Notes: Buena Vista Social Club: Compay Segundo (vocals, guitar, congas); Eliades Ochoa (vocals, guitar); Ibrahim Ferrer (vocals, bongos, clave); Ry Cooder (acoustic & electric slide guitars, guitar, oud, bolon, mbira, percussion); Ruben Gonzalez (piano).
Album Reviews: Spin (9/99, p.156) - Ranked #71 in Spin Magazine's \"90 Greatest Albums of the '90s.\"
Titles on disc 1
1.: Chan Chan
2.: De Camino A La Vereda
3.: El Cuarto De Tula
4.: Pueblo Nuevo
5.: Dos Gardenias
6.: Y Tu Que Has Hecho
7.: Veinte Anos
8.: El Carretero
9.: Candela
10.: Amor De Loca Juventud
11.: Orgullecida
12.: Murmullo
13.: Buena Vista Social Club
14.: La Bayamesa
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Listed on Ciao since : 13/06/2000
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