Customer Reviews

Mambo Sinuendo

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Has any musician, dead or alive, appeared in a wider variety of musical settings than Ry Cooder? None comes to mind. The amazing thing about his cross-culturalism is how effectively he picks up the basic vibe of the music he's exploring while still putting his own stamp on the proceedings, all the while maintaining a deep (yet not slavish) respect as he playfully deconstructs and reassembles it.

His latest, Mambo Sinuendo, a dual project with Cuban guitar legend Manuel Galabán, strikes me as the finest Cooder record to date. I've listened to this remarkable album many times, and each listen has revealed something new: Cooder's tuba-like sound on "Bodas de Oro"; the nimble acoustic bass of Orlando "Cachaíto" Lopez, always establishing the perfect rhythmic underpinning; the deep swing melded to relaxed yet intense interaction that suffuses the whole record; the tricky rhythmic shifts that relocate a piece from Latin America to the American Southwest to Hawaii. It's because Cooder has (seemingly effortlessly) acquired such a broad and deep musical vocabulary that he's able to musically jet, as it were, from country to country with such ease.

Highlights for me include a very tender reading of the chestnut "Secret Love," the Al Caiola-meets-Sonny Chillingworth vibe of "Drume Negrita," "Los Twangueros," with Ry making his recorded debut on vibes (!) and sounding, if I may say so, like an inebriated south of the border denizen in hat and sneakers, the old Pérez Prado number, "Patricia," given an affectionately funky reading and coming across, strangely, at once hoary and impossibly modern, "Caballo Viejo," a cumbia-like piece featuring some very tasty farfisa-organ-sounding guitar and killer drum work by the dual drum team of Jim Keltner and Joachim Cooder. The title cut shines brightest, with some way whacked-out organ, tasty chick background vocals, a guest appearance by Herb Alpert (who sounds surprisingly nimble), and Joachim all over his drum kit. But it's all good.

One small irritation: I don't think all the musicians are listed. For example, I can clearly hear an uncredited piano on "Bolero Sonámbulo." But that's a small matter, certainly not enough to topple this astounding record from the position it holds for as the premier release of the millennium so far.

Being a longtime fan of Ry Cooder, I know that any project that he emerges with will be well worth the wait and result in something special. From the beginning project with 1997's Grammy winning "Buena Vista Social Club" project, the world has come to know the richness of Cuba's almost forgotten music. Each musician has come to record a solo project from these sessions.
This new project, "Mambo Sinuendo" features a small combo sound, a sound that was alive in the late '50's, early '60's. This setting does not showcase the big Buena Vista Social Club brass or vocals. This project is a stripped-down, seductive twangy guitar sound, featuring the guitar work of Manuel Galban up front & center. Manuel Galban is a masterful Cuban guitarist, whose style is like American guitarist Duane Eddy, one of Ry Cooder's influences.
Ry Cooder plays the harmony guitar parts, weaving dreamlike rhythms and occasional hawaiin steel guitar and organ throughout, adding texture. The drums & percussion are shared by Ry's son Joachim and Jim Keltner, one of the world's best drummers. The bass is played by Cuba's "Cachiato" Lopez, and along with a couple songs with congos and background vocals, the set is almost entirely an instrumental affair.
This is a lovely set of peaceful music, that is great to listen to again and again. Ry Cooder has been on vacation in Cuba, making some of the finest music of his career, and he has taken us all along with him. I enjoyed this project, as the guitars sound so dreamy and seductive. Throughout this set of songs I have felt so relaxed and taken in by this great music. When the last notes drift into silence, it's like realising that vacation is over and it's time to go back to the grind.
I have my personal faves on this recording. "Patricia" is a joy. The uptempo beat, duel guitar interplay is great. There are many soothing songs, and a couple of uptempo songs. But of the soothing slower ones, "La Luna En Tu Mirada", is so hypnotic, that I find myself so envolved that I was almost in Cuba with them, resting on the beach at sunset. When the song ends, and I come to my senses, I relise that it was a only a dream.
I highly recommend this cd, as it will not only remind you of how great Cuban combo music was in it's heyday, but will let you escape the grind and stress of your modern day. When it's over, as the last note fades into silence, you long for more. Hopefully there will be.... Rob.

Often when Western musicians pair up with "world music" artists, the results sound like the Western person is almost completely submerged within the musical identity of the "world" person. That happened with Henry Kaiser & David Lindley's Norway & Madagascar albums, and with various things Michael Brook has done. Not here. Ry Cooder's rootsy guitar is just as much a character in this music as Manuel Galaban and the different Cuban musicians he worked with on Mambo Sinuendo. The tunes all have a Latin flavor, but filtered through various American mid-20th Century styles. I was reminded of Esquivel as well as some of the Los Lobos side projects like the Latin Playboys and Los Super Seven. The album is a real pleasure to listen to. I probably would have enjoyed it even more if there were a few more cuts with vocals. The female background vocals on the chorus of the title track are real cool.

Is Ry Cooder still an unknown icon in America? If you have eclectic tastes in music then you could buy everything he has ever recorded and never get bored. Not only is he a talented guitarist and composer, but he is arguably one of the world's greatest archivists, retrieving and bringing to life a wealth of rare and wonderful music that might never have seen the light of day without his TLC. This album is so low key that I was not impressed with the first, second or even third listening. Then something clicked and I have to say I am hooked. There is a wonderful dark discordancy to the music on this CD. A bit like ultra-lounge meets Hawaiian. At times it even gets a little tacky in that 50's chrome and plastic way, but I like that. Typical nice quality playback, a little more forward than a lot of his stuff which often has a recessed quality perhaps due to simple and natural recording techniques.I've never had a recording creep up on me quite this way, which makes it even more endearing. I recommend it, but with the caveat you give it time to seep in.

I first heard "Drume Negrita" on my local NPR station (Oregon Public Broadcasting has a great night time lineup) about a year ago and nearly lost it when I heard all that fabulous twang, reverb and slow tremolo, played with such taste and restraint that I knew it must be a master at work. I was not surprised to find out that Ry Cooder was involved, but the CD is even more rewarding than I expected for there are two great masters at play here.

Ry Cooder has long demonstrated his nearly frightening ability to deeply assimilate remote cultural influences, never betraying the slightest condescension. He finds himself in the presence of Cuban master Manuel Galban whose sense of the obscure and beautiful is a match for his own; indeed, it is often hard to tell who is who, as the strings bend and chime as if with one mind.

If all that weren't enough, the superb accompaniment lifts Ry and Manuel ever higher with flawless and soulful Carribean rhythms. The syncopations - the accents - the perpetual motion - all lend a sense of absolute inevitability to these songs, as if they have always existed.

I can't stop listening to this one. 5 stars, one of Ry's best efforts!

At the risk of sounding like a teenager, this CD has some of the coolest sounds I've heard in a long time! It's already over a year old and I can't believe I missed it when it was first released.
If you like the sounds of the Ventures, Dick Dale's guitar, any classic Mambo, any light Salsa music, or just being transported to a tropical paradise, Ry Cooder's and Manuel Galban's music is for you. Each track, unique in its execution and mood, is part of a familiar yet progressive set of sounds that transport the listener in inspiring ways. One track took me to a bar on a Caribbean beach late at night. Another track took me to a Cuban nightclub in 50's. Another took me to a dance floor in Acapulco after a few shots of tequila. And yet another made we want to take my surfboard out to the Hawaiian surf at dusk.
Cooder and Galban have combined to create a unique yet familiar sound that conjures multiple images and moods all in one, a sound I might call 'tropical jazz.' Sounds for the casual listener, the late-night listener, or even for the dance floor.
To say I recommend it would be an understatement.

If you are a fan of Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club you will also want Mambo Sinuendo. Billed as "Cuban soul and high-performance twang," this album explores the roots of Cuban music and its influence on American pop music, especially in the '50s, '60s. Cooder and Galbán play guitars accompanied by a Cuban rhythm section of two drum kits, congas, and bass, evoking memories of Duane Eddy and Henry Mancini. The two guitar masters are familiar and comfortable with each other and they shift between traditional and experimental music with ease. Mambo Sinuendo moves effortlessly from the graceful "Dru Me Negrita" to the perky "Monte A Dentro" to the complex rhythms of "Echale Salsita." Throughout, the melodies and rhythms are fresh but familiar, reminiscent of so much you have heard in classic American pop music. It's a very accessible album that easily enters you and makes you bounce if not dance.

If this sounds like a lot of fun, it is. It is obvious the musicians are having fun, putting their hearts into the music. While not a truly great album, it is solid, and will add pleasure to your life.

Ever since the release of the Grammy award-winning "Buena Vista Social Club," Ry Cooder has stuck to Cuban music. He has probably become the second most popular living soul connected to the island right behind comandandte Fidel Castro. However, he is not become of those cheesy artists trying to experiment with what they should not be touching in the first place, Cooder obviously does FEEL the essence of traditional Cuban music. With "Mambo Sinuendo" Cooder creates an album of great atmosphere, evoking the sounds of the Cuban coast from the 50's but also adds some modern flourishes that nicely create an evocative hybrid as in "Monte Adentro." The second name billed here is Manuel Galban, he and Cooder both create with their guitars notes of wonderful delicacy and elegance, with real style and flavor. There is also memorable slide guitar work here that truly creates an atmosphere. The reason why we should praise Cooder and not condemn him for his artistic impulses in the Latin American music scene is because he truly does present some great stuff. "Buena Vista Social Club" was an album of great beauty and "Mambo Sinuendo" is a wonderfully beautiful extension with Cooder finally really taking the spotlight to show he is indeed capable of playing with the big boys of this genre. Just look at the really good rendition here of the classic "Caballo Viejo" which almost has a rock n' roll vibe going through it. There are also the two most romantic pieces here, "Bodas De Oro" and "La Luna En Tu Mirada" which vibrate with a beauty and elegance Ricky Martin wishes he could paint his superficial pop with. What "Mambo Sinuendo" eventually feels like is just a group of wonderful musicians jamming late at night by the oceanside.

After many, many listens I have warmed up to the point of trying to review this CD without bashing it completely. I say this because at first I hated it. I thought it was a ... of the "BVSC Aura." It has grown on me to the point where I like it but will never love it and inevitably the disc will be doomed to collecting dust. To my Afro-Cuban sensitive ears this disc sounds like some type of experiment that escaped from the tiki- lounge. Sometimes it reminds me of my travels and walking into a cantina and hearing the local talent. It sounds outright cheesy at times and for those of you old enough to remember it reminds me of background music for an old Ernie Kovacks schtick. I suppose it is innovative in sound and texture but twangy garage-style, almost Hawaiian-hula like Latin rhythmns are not for everyone. Yes , the guitars do have a mesmerizing effect, a palm tree in the breeze dreamy quality in Tranquility Bay but the tones emanating are best suited for those that like music not necessarily associated with Cuban music. Ry Cooder as an innovator, a world music transglobal experimentor has reached too far this time and come up a little short. The rich guitars themselves sound good but the blend is just too odd and doesn't excite; it is almost musical wallpaper. This mostly instrumental hybrid could have been better with more emphasis on the polyrhythmns and a little more sabor(flavor). I think you hsve to be a fan of Ry Cooder to really get into this disc; myself I preferred his collaboration work with David Lindley and El Rayo X. If you are looking for something different, a little removed from true Cuban music but with just enough hints of it to slightly tap your feet than go for it and get this disc. Fans of Ry Cooder will probably not be dissapointed; fans of Cuban music and the BVSC will be.

The big '59 Cadillac tailfin on the cover of MAMBO SINUENDO should have been a hint: though mostly recorded in Havana Cuba, this is not another Buena Vista Social Club-type recording, though a few tunes hint at that.

 What MAMBO SINUENDO is, actually, is something of a throwback to the 'exotica' records of the 1950s and 60s.

 Some Latin percussion and rhythms are coupled to Hawaiian sounds: throw in surf guitar and you have a great 'lounge' recording to contribute to the mood.