Buena Vista Social Club

Upon getting this album and doing some research, two things immediately stuck out to me. Firstly, Wikipedia lists this album as belonging to seven genres, six of which I am unfamiliar with by name, so if I miss some of the cultural context here, forgive me. Second, that Buena Vista Social Club has 4.4 million listeners on my streaming service of choice, which makes me wonder what happened here. Frankly, English speaking music communities aren't exactly spending most of their time seeking out traditional Cuban music and 4.4 million is, without qualifier, a healthy following. With this in mind, I started listening and noticed a third thing: that this is really fucking good. This is just pleasant and joyful and nostalgic. This really effortlessly transports me to a time and place that I do not know, and never will, but the sounds and ideas here are so vivid and evocative that they bridge the gap. And while I can't take this apart into its individual components, I can listen to this and tell that it is really effortlessly weaving a tapestry with a bunch of disparate yet related sounds, like I believe those seven genres are doing some heavy lifting. I do agree with a sentiment that I've seen here that this album starts stronger than it ends, but I do think this remains somewhat strong throughout its runtime, and I'd believe that the perceived oscillation in quality can perhaps be chalked up to a matter of taste. I wish I had more to say about this, it is really exciting to listen through, I just don't have enough context to say everything I want to. But, like I said, I do think this is very good, and I could see it growing on me even more.

jako čil, fora

It’s hard to imagine a label making the money available for a project like this today. Sending someone around the world to find talent for an international audience.

The idea for this recording came about by chance when Ry Cooder’s planned Mali-Cuban collaboration LP fell through due to visa issues on the Mali end. It’s a story that you could base a movie on (in fact Wim Wenders did!) A large group of Cuban musicians, some celebrated locally in their time, shot into international stardom thanks to this unexpected mainstream success.

You can split the album into two halves, both of which rely on the incredible musicianship which provides the record’s beating heart. The first half of the record is lively music to be listened to with large groups - there is a jubilant, celebratory vibe. The second half is a more intimate, romantic experience which you could get lost in, forgetting the rest of the world exists.

It started off very island/cruise feeling and ended moving to a traditional jazz feeling. It was almost like two different albums. Loved the part that was more jazz than island feel.

A whole hour I waited and my burrito never arrived!

Fun sound. Though not something I’d put on outside of wanting to be in a Latin mood

A very lovely album that I got lost in. The last few songs started to drag on a bit, would have been an easy 5 had they not

4 ⭐️

doesnt feel memorable, like it never gets out of its groove. once you listened to the first song you got the vibe of the whole album.

Have heard it before and listened again - can really feel the passion here from these musicians getting a second chance at recording. That being said I think it gets a bit overrated because of the background of it, it has several highlights but nothing that massively sticks and it is functionally a compilation so it doesn't really have a great throughline as a record.

Obviously this is a feature of this challenge as you only get a day with each album and some records just need longer to present themselves to you, so I foresee a lot of 3 stars for a record I like on first listen but I haven't had time to sit with yet - but I have heard this one before and it is definitely a 3 star project.

буенос диаз, пидрилаз

Difficult to fairly grade music from a genre I have so little knowledge of, but I will say I really enjoyed this. I remember hearing a lot about this maybe 10 years ago, I'm not sure if there was a rerelease of the doc or they performed in Boston or what, but it was on my radar and I enjoyed it then too. Do not mean this in a disrespectful way, but its perfect cooking/hanging background music. Great vibes. Sounds great. Without having a single complaint I feel guilty putting it at 3, but that's where it's going. I just can't say how this stacks up against other all time greats, can't comment on the lyrics etc etc. Maybe its a 4 or a 5.

I saw a band claiming to be these guys in Havana. One of the worst shows I've ever been to. Pretty sure it was a big ol fake but that experience has still tarnished this album for me. Jajajaja.

The doco is decent and I'm sure this was cool as heck in '97.

Eind jaren '90. Stampende beats, raggende gitaren, rauwe rap. Maar ook de jaren van de muziek die je te relaxt maakt om te poepen. Manu Chao en deze sociale club voorop. Wellicht misschien ook wel juist nodig als tegenhanger van het muzikale geweld. Het verbaast me wat dat ik nu nog prima kan hebben.

This type of music is tailored made to get a 3 from me. Not because I'm not into it or because it's just not great, but moreso it tends to be experience music (dancing, soundtracks, restaurant/bars music) and not listening music for me. Like 99% of the time I can't imagine myself listening to it in the car or something.

And this album kinds still is that, but this is special. There's layers and little stuff in it that makes it stand above most other music of similar styles I've heard. Songs like Chan Chan, El Cuarto de Tula, Das Gadenias, and Buena Vista Social Club just have a vibe I love. Very dark speakeasy type music.

Some of the more upbeat tracks I'm not so hot on, but they're still solid.

If I had a real complaint, it'd mostly be that some of the songs (especially early on) tend to be repetitive and overly long, but there's enough riffing and soloing that it doesn't bother me a lot.

It feels like the pulse of Cuba. This album was produced by Ry Cooder. I had one of his albums where he played with Ali Farka Toure and I loved it (Talking Timbuktu).

Favorite songs: El Cuarto De Tula, De Camino a La Vereda, Candela, Amor De Loca Juventud, Chan Chan, El Carretero, Orgullecida

Least favorite songs: Murmullo

4/5

Exzellente kubanische Klänge, eingefangen in einem Wim Wenders Film. Speziell aber gut.

The first few songs I thought were amazing. I’ve heard these songs covered by bands when I visit Cuba, so it was awesome to hear the original. As the album went on, I found that it grew more… stale? More boring? I don’t know how to describe it but basically I didn’t like the back half.

I’d put it on again so I can listen to the first few songs again.

Fun background music

Hey I love this album! You can't listen to De Camino a La Vereda and not have a smile on. Make that this whole album makes me smile.

Some nice latin music for the background. Nothing felt particularly special or catching to me.