Muy Divertido!

Marc Ribot

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B00004ST0A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #92,070 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2000
Marc Ribot takes the small-group Latin jazz of his Cubanos Postizos' 1998 debut to an even higher level on Muy Divertido! With his lyrical yet biting guitar solos (suggesting a divine cross between Sonny Sharrock and Carlos Santana), Ribot leads the band through an album as gorgeous and rhythmic as any issued in the year 2000. --Rickey Wright

Amazon.com
At first glance you might think: What's a Downtown New York Anglo hipster guitarist doing in an Afro-Cuban groove like this? Can he swing it? Not to worry. Marc Ribot--who's worked with John Lurie's Lounge Lizards, the Jazz Passengers, Elvis Costello, Susana Baca, and Franz Casseus from Haiti--blends his edgy, cuatro-sounding American guitar licks with organ, percussion, rhythm section, and Cuban clave. Although Santana laid the groundwork for such stuff decades ago, Ribot and his Los Cubanos Postizos add a touch of stateside humor to the spicy, aural sauce. Muy Divertido! picks up where the band's 1998 Atlantic debut left off, adapting the legendary compositions of Arsenio Rodriguez to the 21st century, especially "Dame Un Cachito Pa Huele," "Jaquey," and the festive "El Divorcio." Other Latin gems include Pedro Flores's "Obsesion" and "No Puedo Freinar," A.L. Torruellas's "Carmela Dame La Llave," and Israel Rodriguez's "Se Formo El Bochinche." Ribot's own tunes, such as "El Gaucho Rojo" and "Baile, Baile, Baile," throw some Wes Montgomery chords into the pot, and the band proves that a party's a party from Havana outward. --Eugene Holley Jr.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellente!, May 3, 2000

By	Voice of Chunk (NY) - See all my reviews

Marc Ribot has played guitar for the Lounge Lizards, the Jazz Passengers, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and in many of John Zorn's bands. He is a world-renowned guitarist and sideman. But his solo albums have often been uneven. His greatest commercial and artistic triumph was undoubtedly the "Los Cubanos..." album released a couple of years ago. His second outing with the "Prosthetic Cuban" ensemble is every bit engaging and fun as their debut. While Ribot's guitar playing dominated their first album, this album sees the whole band stretching out, being allowed to shine. Don't get me wrong: Ribot's fiery and unique playing snakes its way through every song, but the band also gets their fair share of the spotlight. Anyone who likes great guitar playing, Latin rhythms, and blistering group interplay will LOVE this album.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PURE ENTERTAINMENT!, May 9, 2000

By	Maria Castro (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

MUY DIVERTIDO!, the second album released by Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos is a pleasant surprise. Sounding a bit closer to Cuban 'son'* than the previous recording it retains, however, Ribot's own identity as an exceptional and versatile guitarist who can play literally anything - from rock'n'roll to improv avant-garde... to Cuban sounds. For all those purists who might claim this is not real Cuban music, I would say that authenticity is not an issue here... at least from such a perspective. From the very first moment these musicians made their intentions clear when they presented themselves as fake Cubans (Los Cubanos Postizos), a group apparently formed on the joy and pleasure of making music together, with no further (cryptic) implications. Anyway, should not music be precisely this? Who can claim they are not being authentic? Actually they are, in their own way! Taking as point of departure the music of the late Arsenio Rodriguez, Marc Ribot gives his enunciation of a Cuban-influenced style (pervaded by his skills as a guitarist) to which his own background as an unusually versatile musician cannot be alien. The result is a satisfying CD, in which particular care has been taken in terms of ensemble performance, music colour and vocals. Compared to the previous album new instrumental timbres come across (also in the guitar part) adding vibrancy to the music. One of the best innovations here is the shift in Marc Ribot's vocal delivery. His vocal contribution to the first Postizos' album was not really inspired, it was mannered and cheesy, creating a certain embarrassment to the listener. Here he seems more natural. Although he is not an innate singer, his vocal utterance is tolerable. In fact, his spoken voice is quite pleasant in 'Las Lomas de New Jersey', while backing-up Frankie Vasquez's fine leading vocals. Moreover, Marc's contribution as a composer/songwriter also deserves to be mentioned, as he seems to do the job quite well in three tracks (interestingly, Shrek came into my mind in 'Baile, baile, baile' due to the steady drum beat and the distorted guitar sound). To mention Marc's guitar playing seems pointless: just listen... and allow yourself to be amazed. In conclusion, this is very enjoyable (and legitimate) music: listen to it in the sunshine and you'll feel like dancing; listen to it on a dull, rainy day and it will still cheer you up. However, this is not my favourite angle of Marc Ribot. I prefer when he is more daring, more on the cutting-edge, more radical. In fact, he has proved that he can accept any challenge (listen to John Zorn's 'The Book of Heads' and you will understand what I mean). Ribot's flexibility as a performer is eventually his most extraordinary quality. Perhaps my best-loved moments are when his unique guitar sound suddenly cuts across someone else's music (like in David Sylvian's 'I Surrender', or Tom Waits' 'House Where Nobody Lives') adding that little bit of magic that makes his contribution always so special. Anyway, these adventures in 'Cuban' music certainly allow a communication with wider audiences, and this is also acceptable. One less satisfactory aspect in MUY DIVERTIDO! is the cover photo. Mr Ribot's facial expression puts you off a little bit and does not seem to suggest that this is really entertaining music. However, the barbershop photo inside is quite amusing.

*'son' emerged in Cuba in the early twentieth century, as a mix of Afro-cuban and Spanish-inspired elements. Initially having structural similarities to rumba, it would later include jazz-influenced harmonies and a more percussive and rhythmical sound. Arsenio Rodriguez modernized the traditional 'son', opening the way to salsa.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucky to have found this gem, June 2, 2000

By	T. Louis Filliger (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews

I came across this CD while browsing through my local music store - and was blown away by it. The songwriting is great - the guitar playing excellent. How can you not love lyrics like "I miss the hills of New Jersey - their fragrance when the wind blows - I know there are trains and buses but somehow I never find the way ...." Also, check out "La Obsesion" - I've never heard anything even remotely like it.

The CD is at one time a celebration of latin music and a clever satire of it. I am back to buy more of Marc Ribot's stuff and I'm sure you will be too. By the way - I have to disagree with one other reviewer - I love the cover art too.

Louis Filliger