Grupo Maniel
Tropico De Son
(c) 1999 Kubaney Records
Distributed by: Kubaney
RATING: ****
Before Bellavista Social Club was the staple of true Cuban music, the soundtrack to The Mambo Kings and Linda Ronstant's Frenesí (both featuring great big band arrangements of Ray Santos) were productions that came close to duplicating, what in my mind is, the big band tipico feel. Furthermore, not since the days of Cuco Valoy's saoco/conjunto days has there been a group that offers the audience a tasty and very danceable production. Grupo Maniel's appeal is the crossroad that merges both entities. Grupo Maniel's sound is, very tipico, very traditional, very pure, very Cuban in their sound with far better engineering on most tracks! This CD is one you can actually listen to, dance to, and enjoy without any prejudices. This production is complete with son, guarachas, mambos, chachacha's, and guajira's written by some of Cuba's most legendary songwriters. For example Marcelino Guerra, Ernesto Lecuona, and Miguel Matamoros to name a few. While some tracks are a bit questionable because of their content, plainness, and/or singer's limited ability to carry the song; I can honestly tell you that out of fourteen 4:20 minute tracks, more than 75% of this production is worth your time!
Juan Minaya
Kubaney Presenta Botón De Oro
(c) 1999 Kubaney Records
Distributed by: Kubaney
RATING: ***1/2
All arrangements written by Juan Minaya. As soon as I read that, I knew I was going to like this record. Juan Minaya is the man behind the huge and early success of Fernandito Villalona and many merengue artist that were under the Kubaney record label. I can safely say that Wilfrido Vargas, Juan Minaya and Ramon Orlando are the ones responsible for some of the best merengue ever done and performed. This guys are straight-up instrumentalist that for decades have been decorating the merengues that are considered classics today. Coming back to Juan Minaya & Botón De Oro. This is a salsa production that is filled with catchy hooks and coros. The arrangements are inventive, versatile, and efficient. Juan Minaya cleverly utilizes the dynamics of volume, they add a different, and much less used, simple approach to volume. The vocalist, Francis Oliver, does a fine job in singing and improvising that's almost reminiscent of the singers that would sing with major bands, to never heard off again - Know what I mean. Hopefully Francis will do better than them. While the material done by Juan Minaya's Botón De Oro is flawless, aggressive, and super dancer friendly, the sound is pretty tiny. It reminds me of those early Raulin Rosendo records with Kubaney where the bells sound like aluminum tubes being tapped with a coin, and the horns sound like whistles. However, content of this production is pure and almost raw, capable of satisfying those that are just tired of the S.O.S. (Same Old S@#$!).
Luisito Rey
Y El Punto Es...
(c) 1997 VanLo Records
Distributed by: Ritmo Records
RATING: ***1/2
I saw this band perform in May at The World Trade Center, and the first thing that came to mind was "wow this guys swing!". The band had a certain gritty old-timer-sound, with current material. It was the kind of sound you really "feel" without even realizing it. A driving percussion, an inventive trumpet & trombone arrangement, and a singer (Rafi Caballero from Peru) with a melodious balladeer-type voice with incredible improvisational skills, propelled me to actually meet band leader Luisito Rey. He promised me a copy of his latest CD, and sure enough he delivered. While the sound engineering could've been a bit more balanced in relations to bass and treble, the CD is almost exactly the same thing I heard that day in May, except for the musicians. The CD features Ricky Gonzalez, Victor Venegas, Harry Adorno, Ray Vega, Lucho Cueto and many others. Out of 8 tracks, 6 tracks are really good, and 3 out of those 6 are really awesome! Those are "Eres Todo", "Si Nos Pedimos Perdon" (both of these written & arranged by Van Lester), and "Amor De Colores" (written by Aquilino "junior" Zuñiga, and arranged by John Nieves). To the listener, these songs represent what the essence of salsa is - aggressive playing. To the dancer this entire recording means raw passion for every step. Y ese es el punto!
RATING SYSTEM:
***** EXCELLENT (Must Have!)
**** GREAT (Very Impressive!)
*** GOOD (Safe Investment)
** AVERAGE (Not a Priority)
* POOR (Don't Waste Your Money)
© Nestor A. Louis ALL REVIEWS ARE SOLELY THE OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR.
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