Customer Reviews

3 Decadas De Su Musica

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a case of dishonest packaging. Fans (like me) think we're buying a 30-year compilation by Los Van Van headed by Juan Formell in Cuba. But only the tiny fine print inside the CD package gives a clue that this is not the real thing. It's some unknown group doing covers of the hits. The only tenuous connection to Van Van is lead singer Israel Kantor (originally Sardinas) who sang with Van Van many moons ago before moving to Miami. The deception is outrageous -- and unnecessary. They should have been honest about it and told buyers these are cover versions, because Kantor and his phony Van Van actually improve some of the very early tunes like Chirrin Charran and Seis Semanas, which he originally sang in the bad old days of Cuban recording technology. As for the more recent numbers, they sure fall flat. That's why "La Bomba Soy Yo" sounds like a pale imitation of the real thing, because it is just that. This album needs a consumer warning label: Caution: Contains counterfeit Cuban music.

los Van Van son una orquesta cubana que me encanta, no solo por el hecho de su musica, sino también por el frenesí que me mueve por el hecho de ser un negro colombiano.

Me gustaría que me dieran información sobre los van van, cual de todos es su último cd, y además poder intercambiar musica, es la mejor banda de songo del MUNDO, VIVA VAN VAN.....t

As an avid fan of Los Van Van I highly recommend this CD. I have many of their CDs and this one is arguably the best. While Sandunguera (Por Encima del Nivel) has been included in many others (I have over 4 cuts of this song) the version here is different (probably from an early jam\descarga) and it is outstanding. I challenge anybody to stay still while it plays. The Candela piece is also excellent but frankly the whole CD is great..... and very well recorded - sounds like a live performance. Hard to stop playing it....

but this is not van van,juan formell,who was the musical director of orquesta reve when he and a number of others members broke away to form los van van.van van has remained cuba's most popular group for 32 years and counting.formell was fearlessly experimental and coined the term"songo"to describe the music stemming from his fusions of cuban rhythms whith synthesizers,all type of rock,rap,brazilian music,merengue,and just about anything else that caugth his interest.the other key founding member also from orquesta reve,is pianist cesar"pupy"pedroso who has recently left to form his own group,"los que son son",and been replaced by roberto"cucurucho"carlos.los van van has had two drumers.first was the legendary changuito,who made many important innovations in the songo period and left 4 albums ago to pursue a solo career in latin jazz.changuito fue replaced by formell's son samuel,also one of the most influential percussionists in the history of cuban pop.one of the biggest thrills of seeing van van(sometimes referred to as "el tren")live is watching samuel dominate the drumset.part of los van van's longevity can be explained by periodic addittion of new young singers angel bonne and pedro calvo were two of the most important before leaving to pursue solo careers,but it was the two singers who come after them mayito rivera and roberto"guayacan"hernandez,who played the most critical roles in allowing van van to enter,and conquer,the world of timba.pedro calvo left the band in late 2000 to tour with the afro-cuba all-stars after a brief stint as a guest artist with ng la banda.after several months of rehearsal,los van van is now back whith two new singers abel""lele""rosales,the son of one of the founding members of the group,and the first female member in their history,yeni valdes,who had previously sung with ng la banda for several years.cesar "pupy"pedroso left los van van in the summer of 2001.joining him was violinist gerardo miro.the band is currently playing in havana and touring and has already released it first cd.pupi has written more hits than anyone but formell,has three solo albums to his credit and has also written hits for others bands,including manolito y su trabuco and ng la banda.the new pianist of van van is roberto"cucurucho"carlos.althoug only 24 years old,he's played whith a long list of top timba bands,including charanga habanera,charanga forever,issac delgado,paulito fg,and sol and soul.record company litigation has delayed the release of the next los van van cd,but they're playing many new songs in concert.THIS IS VAN VAN.

This CD is worth 5 stars because it has several outstanding tracks (Deja la Ira, Disco Azúcar, for example) and the ones that are less so provide a glimpse of the evolutions their arrangements go through. For example, La Bomba Soy Yo, in this CD does not compare to the version in the album Llegó....Van Van, which was playing everywhere in Cuba in January, 2001, when I happened to visit, and I assume is a subsequent version. To see an almost mediocre version evolve into an outstanding track is informative and provides a rare glimpse into the creative processes of this magnificent set of musicians.