Customer Reviews

Cafe Tropical

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know what it is about the music that this man plays, but the Lord God has definitely given him a gift to write and play music that touches the very heart and soul of a listener. I have all six of his CD's and to me this is his best work yet. A real tour de force of passionate power and feel-good energy.

1: Cien Fuegos - Translated as "A hundred fires", this starts off more slowly than one might think given the title. We are started off by what sounds to me like a rattle combined with a 'rolling' cymbal. The beautiful guitar melodies range in pace from mid-tempo to moderately quick. Chimes make a nice appearance in here on occasion. I love the violin work in this too. For some reason, it puts me in mind of looking out at the crashing waves on a beautiful tropical day. Very relaxing, with just enough 'fire' to warm the blood and stir the heart.

2. Cafe Tropical- This the title track, and a pretty fast one at that. It's a memorable tune to be certain, a beautiful dance between catchy quick guitar and invigorating trumpet melodies. Most of the guitar passages in hee appear to actually PRETTY quick, with some rapid fire fluid 'runs'. The trumpet passage in the middle brings a smile. A very danceable tune that makes me want to grab a sangria.

3. The Streets Of Old San Juan- Here we have another 'middle-of-the-road' piece as far as tempo. The percussion and invigorating guitar will draw you in quickly. Despite SOME very fast playing in parts, I love the mellow laid-back feel of the piece as a whole. The piano featured in this cut add a really 'tasty' flaveor that gives the piece a very nice character. The percussion stirs your heart while the guitar carries you along on a journey through the streets of this warm and inviting locale. Ole.

4. Spanish Town- Guitar and chimes begin the piece. It's a 'happy' little ditty that pulls you in fast. Again, the tempo is laid-back a bit, proving that Johannes does not have to always play a hundred miles a second to captivate a listener. The percussion and chimes warm this piece up as the guitar dances along. What I really love is the inclusion of the steel drums in here to give this piece a really exotic feel. It's a favorite.

5. Tides Of Eden - This is just BEAUTIFUL. It's my favorite tune on the disc. I LOVE it when Johannes decides to play it slow. This starts off VERY slowly, but doesn't stay that way. We are started off by very slow and pretty keyboards, chimes and violin, over which the guitar dances for us. The variations in the guitar's pacing paint a picture of incoming tides for us. I prefer the slower passages, but even the quicker runs are just as lovely and stirring to my heart and my blood. I can visualize standing alone or with a special someone upon a beach at sunset, watching the sun go down and seeing the tides come in. The occasional chimes and bells are a nice touch. The best part, or the most intriguing to me, is how the guitar drops away at the end, allowing the piece to finish with a beatiful, almost very softly 'crying' violin passage. This is an exquisite piece of music, and my favorite piece on the entire CD.

6. Ole Ole Ola- To me, this is road music. Put the top down and cruise The pacing is just right for me to picture a leisurely drive along a sun-splashed coastal paradise. As always, the guitar and percussion are fetching. In particular, the percussion to me feels almost primal. The chimes flow softly, almost like gentle waves through the melody on occasion. I just love it.

7. Suave- Here's another laid-back, jaunty, feel good number. Guitar and percussion mate with a SMOOTH undercurrent of piano. When I hear this I feel like a super-cool high-roller strolling in for a night on the town. I love the relaxing pace of this, and the guitar playing just makes me want to chill out and enjoy it all. Chimes are here again, adding a warm touch to it all. The piano puts me in mind of being in a high-class tropical nightclub. Beautiful! Bravo!

8. El Zocolo - Here, we finally get pretty fast. The opening guitar passage is almost 'swirling' its way along. It feels to me like another "cruising" melody, and I love it. For the most part, the percussion sounds a little softer, as if carrying the guitar instead of dancing along beside it, but that's cool with me. I like it very much. I love where the chimes come in, and the faster pace feels like Johannes 'busting loose' a bit. I LOVE pieces that feel like top-down, gun the engine road music.

9. Santeria- This piece, feels to me like another mid-tempo number. Guitar, percussion, and chimes interweave again at the start. The guitar melodies are, as always, terrific and stir the soul to me. The percussion and pace make this a dance number, but a kind of relaxed number that you "groove" to instead of dancing a thousand miles an hour. Great stuff... love it. :)

10. Chica Chica - Another quick one. This feels like a samba or something similar to it. Quick, blood-pumping guitar runs and percussion are the stars of the piece. The guitar heats you up while the percussion's pace keeps you moving.

11. Para La Habana- This is started by lovely slow guitar and the tapping of percussion that sounds like wooden blocks. The sound of the guitars puts me in the mindset of hearing a laid-back but SPICY piece of Cuban jazz music. I LOVE the violin that dances through this piece. At first I found the vocals distracting but they grew on me and gave this closing song a very nice flavor.

In closing I will just say this. If you are a fan of Johannes Linstead's music, you owe it to yourself to get Cafe Tropical. It's Johannes' best work yet in my view. If you are not a fan, one listen to Cafe Tropical may make you a fan forever. Happy listening, and God bless.

I have enjoyed Linstead's Latin inspired feel good music for years and own all of his CD's. Cafe Tropical contains some of his best upbeat songs and his guitar playing is, as always, very good. Several of the catchy melodies are hard to get out of your head. However, the sound/recording quality of 6 of the 11 tracks is a bit muddy, thin, and compressed; not anywhere the great quality of the clean/open/highly detailed sound of the cuts on Mediterranea. An audiophile or good mid-fi sound system clearly reveals these recording flaws. Also, the trumpet tracks sound like of a synthesizer and not from a well played trumpet. The only explanation that I can think of, for these shortcomings, is that Linstead may have recorded the songs several years ago using lesser quality equipment. Bottom line: 5 stars for song writing/guitar playing and 3 stars for recording quality. George M -- Phx, AZ

If you're a fan of Latin music and especially Spanish guitar, you will LOVE Cafe Tropical. Every song is different from the next with instrumentation ranging from guitar, to piano, violin, trumpet, and a whole host of spicy percussion instruments. Every time I put this CD on I hear new things, which I find makes for an even more enjoyable listen.

As usual, Johannes Linstead delivers some of the most catchy and memorable melodies in the nouveau flamenco genre, and of course his guitar playing speaks for itself. Highly recommended!

This CD is full of upbeat music that is full of life-affirming energy. It will make you want to celebrate, dance, play guitar...and speak Spanish!

Cafe Tropical delivers what the title suggests: an album full of summer fun, with songs that make you feel like you are in the tropics enjoying an endless vacation.

The album has many sexy Afro-Cuban sounding pieces, like "Suave", 'Streets of Old San Juan", "Para La Habana", and the title track "Cafe Tropical". These songs feature some wonderful Cuban musicians like Hilario Duran on piano, Osvaldo Rodriguez on violin and vocals, and Alexis Baro on trumpet.

Cafe Tropical is perfect for backyard pool parties, cruising around town with the top down and the tunes cranked, and just about anytime you feel like celebrating!

Johannes Linstead has IT. That marvelous IT that so many guitar albums lack. He has a way of breezing us through his songs with a light, airy, toe-tapping smile - then punching in just enough gypsy passion to make you never forget he's a real player. Production levels, technical execution and most importantly - wise choices of drums, keys, guitar and layering, make the entire album approachable, yet really deep. This is one that will stay in my car, stay in my top picks on the iPod and become an old friend over time. Wonderfully warm and full of punch - yet reflective, moody and musically sound. Just love this album when I need a mental vacation on warm sunny beach! Great work!

Can I only give this CD 5 stars? Certainly it deserves more - I love this CD - one of the best I've purchased - Johannes Linstead has a way of taking me places, away from life's daily stresses.
Johannes Linstead is incredibly gifted - his music will live forever!!!

A new album of a guitar virtuoso Johannes Linstead carries us into warm tropical nights that are imbued with inexpressible heady scents and bright summer days which are burned with the scorching sun. This music is full of passion of a heart that is longing for love and a fondness of a romantic who has arrived to the coast of a shoreless ocean attracting with its azure waves. Unimaginable colorful sunsets and magical dawns enriched with singing of mysterious birds, all in this music is merged in one seething caudron. Here is the life where there are no edges and borders. It disregards the conventionalities and ceremonial courtesy. This music contains voices of friends inviting to a night feast and love-groans that are hardly distinguishable in sounds of idly splashing night waves. All the life in its authenticity that does not trouble about a tomorrow's day and does not glance back at a yesterday's one. The life that frighten the mind but overfill the heart with love. And all this is a new, the sixth already album of a brilliant guitarist Johannes Linstead which is called «Cafe Tropical» and released at the Gemini Sun Records.

The musician is assisted by the team of exclusive performers. The sounding of the album is rich and expressive. All this makes the «Cafe Tropical» album very attractive.

But even not all aforesaid attracts me most of all in Johannes Linstead's music. The main thing lies in the fact that the musician does always exist in the present moment. Here he is right now and is playing before you. He does not try to recollect some memorized tunes but celebrates the life in all its multiformity. And this enriches the music only with its inherent, special aroma like a good aged wine. Once and again you want to plunge into waves of sincere feelings which are being splashed out on you by Johannes Linstead's unique guitar.

The «Cafe Tropical» album will be a precious pearl in any music-lover's collection. This is the music which embellishes a day with new colors and you realize afresh that the life is beautiful.

When you are blue and sick at heart
Then celebrate the life
And you will see the vanity of all
Except the life
That's of great value on this Earth.

Serge Kozlovsky
[...]

P.S. Translated by Tatyana L. Permyakova.

Café Tropical and Kiss the Earth are two of Linstead's best, and make my favorites list. I love guitar music, and Lintead's music can really get your blood pumping!

Johannes Linstead is an exceptional musician with this release of Cafe Tropical CD. Each musical selection is inspirational. They make me feel as though I am on a world tour of exotic foreign places. Bravo for a superior musical trip.

James Saito