May 28, 1998
Ry Cooder built a name for himself as a side man for Captain Beefheart and the Rolling Stones, but is since best known as a man who can play virtually any stringed instrument as easily as taking a breath. After mastering everything from Hawaiian slack-key guitar to deep blues to bluegrass 30 years ago, he has recently taken his formidable skills on the road to play with some of the finest musicians worldwide. His deep love and relentless promotion of indigenous styles of music is admirable, but can yield questionable results - as on the slick, sadly overproduced Talking Timbuktu, in which Cooder played with legendary African guitarist Ali Farka Toure. However, Cooder's trip to Cuba was nothing less than inspired.
Buena Vista Social Club is really nothing more than a showcase for some of the deepest, most soulful Cuban talent to strut their stuff with the backing of a major American label. Cooder wisely takes a backseat to the seasoned local players whose element this is, playing along but letting them handle the vocals. A collection of traditional folk songs played with fire and smoky passion, this album is a treasure.
Honest Cuban "son de Cuba" music, like American Delta blues or traditional New Orleans jazz, leaps out of the speakers as an immediate human presence. This music is funky in the deepest sense - not James Brown syncopation funky, but rich, thick, warm and tactile.
Buena Vista Social Club features some of Cuba's finest musicians, including national hero Ruben Gonzales, a pianist who is Cuba's answer to Thelonious Monk, and both Company Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer, also veterans of Cuban son. This is a heartfelt, joyous session, bursting with fertile musical heritage. Stick a speaker out the window, pour a cold drink, fire up a contraband cigar, kick off your shoes, lie in the sun and be transported to Cuba's dusty streets.
- Jared O'Connor
Fertile Cuban heritage