Buena Vista Social Club

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

This album has a very interesting backstory which I appreciate. Musically I won't pretend to be knowledgeable on the style but it's really fun to listen to and you can definitely hear the emotion behind it even without understanding the lyrics.

Alright, this album is one of those enriching experiences of a culture different from my own. In this case, the Buena Vista Social Club was a Cuban musician ensemble organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, with their sole album produced by guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by bandleader Juan de Marcos González. Together, they recruited a dozen veteran musicians to record a collection of songs in the style of Son cubano, a popular dance genre with a call-and-response structure and a clave rhythm.

In that regard, this music was well-executed as the Spanish guitars act as a superb driving force with the percussion following suit, while these gents sang fondly of romantic passions with vivid imagery. Also in the mix are two instrumentals "Pueblo Nuevo" and the title track which are dedicated to popular locations in Havana, adding to the experience.

I wouldn't say this album lit my world on fire, as it feels like I'm seated in a Cuban restaurant while a band plays off in the distance. But the fact that they captured that essence is astounding. Buena Vista Social Club knew what they wanted to accomplish by bringing awareness of their culture to the larger world, and they did just that. I absolutely would recommend giving this a listen with an open mind and feel free to follow along to translated lyrics if you wish.

The story behind the creation of this album is fascinating, and it unsurprisingly resulted in fascinating music. I was truly bummed out when the album ended. An easy 5 stars.

wow this one is unique. certainly not like anything id normally listen to

Impeccable vibes. This transported me to a warm place with a cold drink. I understand this is not a great representation of Cuban music, but it sure is fun. Favorite songs were Chan Chan, El Cuarto De Tula, Candela, and La Bayamesa.

I’m sure it’s very culturally significant but it just didn’t really grab my attention for much of the fairly long runtime. The first song was great though.

Worthy inclusion. It's a very pleasant album to listen to, just not one I pick often. A great starting point for discovering more Latin and Cuban music. However, the genres they touch on here have more fleshed out albums to delve into. It's a good compilation but I'd rather listen to other albums in these genres.

Cool!

The Good: something different for a change.
The Bad: tunes tend to last a little too long for my taste.
The Ugly: I felt like having a drink and a cigar...

I purchased this album when it came out as a birthday gift to my best friend, and she just looked puzzled at me at the time. Due to this I never listened to this album, which I now regret as it is more than lovely.

It is smooth, and raw, and exciting, and boring all at the same time.
Thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and have already listened to it 3 times today.

Solid 4*

Cuban jazz and salsa music. Recorded to spread awareness of this music to people around the world. Pleasant listen, but I suspect (I’m no expert but have spent some time in Cuba) that it is pretty watered down for the masses. Still, very enjoyable and absolutely excellent musicianship.

No words needed to this; just enjoy it!

About time I gave this a listen.

amazing

Not really for me. There’s one idea per song, repeated for a few minutes til it’s over. I’m sure some people love this.

Even though I cannot understand what is being said, the album is pretty cool. It starts off with energetic songs, and then becomes rather soft with many songs featuring piano.

This isn't really the type of music I'd normally listen to but I was able to enjoy it.

The song "Candela" is a little too repetitive for me.

Buena Vista Social Club
The Guardian told me I should buy this back in 1997, so I did, likely thinking it would make me appear cool and eclectic. I did enjoy it, but it didn’t have much longevity in my barely formed 18 year old brain, so I don’t think I listened to it between 1998 and now.

Of all the music outside of the Western Europe/North America bubble, I do find myself drawn more to North and Northwest African desert blues and Indian stuff like Call of the Valley the other day, rather than things like this in the central american/caribbean/latin american genres. Maybe it’s the spanish guitars or the jazz adjacency but it never quite fires my imagination.

However I did enjoy it today, maybe out of nostalgia and maybe because it was a nice sunny day, but also because it is genuinely good. The various lead vocals and lead vocalists are superb, I love that they are a bit older and have that great lived in, slightly frayed around the edges feel. And the harmonies are excellent throughout. The playing is also great, giving the whole thing such a languid, sunny feel, although often there is a detectable air of melancholy. I obviously don’t know what they are singing about, it could be about lost love and family or worker co-operatives and production quotas, but it doesn’t matter, it sounds great.

However, unless you are really into this type of music, an hour is a lot. There’s no doubt it does start to feel quite samey after about ½ an hour, and although it doesn’t really drag, it’s one of those where you could accidentally restart the album at any point and you wouldn’t necessarily notice.

Highlights for me are the first 3 tracks, particularly the first one Chan Chan. Ry Cooder’s slide on this is great, subtly adding to the track and giving it a very pleasant hint of bluesiness. I also really liked El Carretero and Orgullecida. The rest, while very nice and atmospheric, didn’t particularly register.

Overall I’d say it’s right in the 3s. Very listenable and enjoyable, and I would listen again, but doesn’t quite resonate enough with me over the course of an hour to push it into the 4s, despite the obvious quality of musicianship
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Playlist submission: Between Chan Chan and Orgullecida, I’ll go Chan Chan

116/1001

I’ve listened to this before. As always, it’s fine.

I liked this album when it came out. I liked this album as it became widely known and reached a point of oversaturation. I liked this album ever since and I still like it now.