Customer Reviews

South America Take It Away: 24 Latin Hits

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This compilation of Cugat recordings from 1935-1946 is one of the "sexiest" CD'S my collection. If you're a fan of many Hollywood films of that period these arrangements will send chills up your spine. Close your eyes and you're sitting at the Waldorf Bar in white tie with Bogie or George Raft; or you're an OSS agent sitting in a South American cabaret with Andrea King keeping one eye on Conrad Veidt and the other on Akim Tamiroff. The tunes are familiar and haunting. You may not remember the titles but you'll recognize the music of that genre.Several vocals by Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore add to your listening delight. The slow samba "BAIA" is an elixir with greater power than Viagra. The other rumbas, congas and tangos are superb; Cugat's distinctive rhythmic arrangements cast a hypnotic spell on the listener. Buy this album!

Just got this today and it's exactly what I hoped for! The other reviewers were on the mark! The earlier Cugat orchestration and arrangements are so lovely and evocative. I'm a sucker for the sound of old recordings--these are from the 30's--they just had a warmth that is lost as recording equipment improved. But I still must get something with Besame Mucho . . .

Great selections, great sound; hard to believe these weren't original stereo recordings.

Buy!

One of my very first record albums was a set of four Xavier Cugat COLUMBIA label 10" 78s. On the cover's flamingo pink background was a self-inked smiling characterization of the bandleader holding twin maracas and wearing a puffy-sleeved blouse.

Included in this well-loved collection was "South America, Take It Away," with vocal by Buddy Clark (not Bing Crosby, whom Clark sounded a bit like). This tune was actually the flip side of a BIG Cugie hit: "The Chiquita Banana Song," also with vocalist Clark. Why that essential 'A' track doesn't appear on ASV LIVING ERA's Xavier Cugat album is an absolute mystery. Its absence is the only reason I've given the CD a four star rating.

Cugat's standing as the Rumba King was never seriously challenged. Even when disciple/employee Desi Arnaz left to form his own band, he was to popularize a new craze, the conga (a handful in this style appear here).

Concerning some of what IS on "South America, Take It Away!":

Composed by Cugie, "The Lady In Red," has a Spanish chorus intro from a different song. Lyrics that were later used as introduction ("Say have you ever met the girl who's the talk of the town?") show up here just before the chorus's coda!

Vocalist Chacha Aguilar duets with Carmen Castillo on a most delighful "La Paloma." ('Cha-cha'... what a cool name!)

The bolero rumba "Night Must Fall" features a finely-muted cornet above flute section flourishes.

Low-pitched, very smooth vocals on Dinah Shore's "Perfidia" and "Yours" sound nothing like her later big band/pop style. Miss Shore at times comes in a half-beat too soon.

"Jungle Drums" is a lot more reserved than the title suggests. Shore reaches higher notes here but returns to her crooning register for "The Breeze and I."

"Frenesi," with its reverberating vibes and relaxed pace is delighful!

"Brazil" is another song from the above-mentioned 78 rpm set.

The unidentified girl singer on "Tico Tico" is a very young Elena Verdugo. In the 1970s Verdugo portrayed Consuelo Lopez, assistant to TV's MARCUS WELBY M.D.


Also recommended:
THE UNHEARD: 1934-37 TRANSCRIPTION DISCS AND BROADCASTS features 26 Cugie band performances such as "La Golondrina" and "I've Got You Under My Skin."
XAVIER CUGAT 1942-46: UNHEARD TRANSCRIPTIONS & RADIO SHOTS has 28 songs, including "Babalu" and "The Peanut Vendor."


FOR A COMPLETE TRACK LIST WITH PLAYING TIMES AND VOCALISTS,
SEE COMMENT #1, LOCATED DIRECTLY BELOW THIS REVIEW.

While on a Desi Arnez binge, I bought this CD not really knowing what to expect. I had read the book on Cugat by his ex-wife, and was curious as to his music. And what music it is. I've had this CD in my car's changer for two weeks now, and I'm listening to it more than the other five CD's combined. The music is superb, the perfect antidote to a long day at work. There's quite a variety of tunes, and the rhythm section has to be heard to be believed. And this is music that's a half century old! However, a warning to the guys: Listening to this CD may make you want to don tux-n-tails, order a Martini or Manhattan, and then let your feet fly across the dance floor with your Lady Love!

Xavier Cugat and his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra performed so wonderfully you could swear you were in heaven. This CD boasts a marvelous collection of their recordings made between 1935 and 1946; we get a fantastic assortment of rumbas, tangos, congas and more! Dinah Shore and Bing Crosby also lend their fantastic vocal abilities to several of the tracks on this disc.

The CD opens with the classic number "The Lady In Red;" the band makes great use of the percussion, horns and piano as it often did in Cugat's Orchestra. Don Reid & Chorus do a great job with the vocals, too. "The Lady In Red" is chock full of energy and whets your appetite for more. "Jalousie (Jealousy)" follows; this tango opens with a dramatic flourish by the horns and harp and "Jalousie (Jealousy)" generates a whopping amount of energy, too. You'll want to dance to this number for sure!

Other great numbers by Cugat and his Orchestra include the classic "Cielito Lindo" with a particularly upbeat, faster than usual beat and vocals by Chacha Aguilar and Carmen Castillo. Awesome! "La Paloma (The Dove)" also shines as the orchestra plays this so well. "Perfidia (Tonight)" scores another coup for Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra, too.

But there's more. This CD features Dinah Shore with some of her earliest recordings; she sings along with the orchestra as they play the bolero tune "Yours (Quiéreme Mucho);" "La Cumparsita;" "Jungle Drums" and "The Breeze And I." Great! Dinah's voice is in excellent form on these numbers.

Bing Crosby also lends his talent on several tracks including "Siboney" and the wonderful "Baía" which is a slow, romantic samba.

The CD ends with "South America, Take It Away;" I believe that Bing Crosby is featured on this track even though he is not credited as doing the vocals. The chorus does a great job, too. The song has a big band flavor that was so popular in the 1940s.

The liner notes give you an essay about Cugat and his Orchestra by Peter Dempsey; and the songs credits are there, too. The art work is very good.

The quality of the sound is very good considering the age of these recordings. These are the original mono recordings, so please keep in mind that there will be some surface noise but it won't detract from the quality of the sound too much.

Overall, I highly recommend this for fans of Latin music from the 1930s and 1940s; and Cugat fans will consider this CD to be a "must-have" for their collections. The music is romantic and it also provides us with hours upon hours of easy listening music enjoyment.

¡Olé!

One of the best Latin Big Band Leaders of our century. I suggest adding this one to your collection! Ciao! Josh

I am greatly indebted to the fellow reviewer who described this CD as redolent of the classic motion pictures of the '30's and '40's. I was looking for the Cugat music which I have heard in the old films and this fellow customer's reveiw is what sold me. He was spot-on. I can put this on and feel transported to that Old Hollywood world. Thanks so very much!!!
I like all the tracks but a special delight are the several songs featuring the silky voice of Dinah Shore.
Really fabulous. As for the sound quality, I could find nothing vexing. Enjoy!!

The previous reviewers have caught the charm and attraction of these timeless, inextinguishable melodies and colorful, sparkling, "cinematic" arrangements. Apart from fans of nostalgia and the glory days of exotic Hollywood movies, a younger generation needs to be exposed to this music, all of it as essential to acquiring a sense of the New World's cultural heritage as is the music of Berlin, Kern, Gershwin, Rodgers, Cole Porter and Duke Ellington. In fact, the tunes are so irresistible that mere "exposure" is most likely sufficient: no doubt you'll discover that even when the titles don't ring a bell the music is instantly recognizable. It's been in the atmosphere all of these years, slowly but surely taking residence in the corridors of subconscious memory. As a pianist, I've played all of these tunes, so finally learning the titles is a small, extra amount of satisfaction.

If you wish to download the album, essentially the same 24 songs--with slightly improved audio and a lower price tag--can be downloaded from Amazon's MP3 store. Instead of "South America, Take It Away," look for the 2006 collection: Xavier Cugat: "The Classic Years."

It's cheesy and it's camp, but if you're looking for the best available introduction to this prolific artist, then you can't fail with this delightful compilation. Sit back, relax and pour yourself a cocktail...!!