Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo

Omara Portuondo

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 9, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B00004SVHO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,061 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Cuba > Rhumba
  #17 in	Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Cuba > Salsa
  #43 in	Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Cuba > Mambo

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While she came to global prominence as the female singer on the Buena Vista Social Club album and in the film, Omara Portuondo has a career that--like the other participants--stretches back many years. She puts her experience to good use on this record, sounding for all the world like a Cuban Billie Holiday, smoky and quietly tragic, with a history of lost love. The lush arrangements, which often sound transplanted straight from 1950s Havana, frame her voice exquisitely while guests such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, and Rubén González add their inimitable talents to the mix. Her reading of "The Man I Love" ("El Hombre Que Yo Ame") is also a microcosm of the disc--slightly jazzy, with a yearning vocal that's emotive without ever being overwrought. There's little doubt that Portuondo is a world-class singer, and this is the ideal showcase for her extraordinary talents. --Chris Nickson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Omara Portuondo's enchanting voice will get you addicted, July 27, 2000

By A Customer

When I watched Buena Vista Social Club, I especially loved the studio recording of "Silencio" with Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo and also "Veinte Anos" from the Carnegie Hall concert. When I listened to this CD for the first time, I couldn't believe just how good Omara Portuondo really sings. In a variety of Cuban styles (Guajira, Bolero, Mambo, Son, ...) she sings about lost love. But even though the themes of the songs are similar, the music is always completely different (sometimes even Jazz-like). I think at least half of the songs on this album are my favorite songs now. In case you just watched the movie but don't have the soundtrack, you should be aware that the version of "Veinte Anos" is very different from the version on the Buena Vista Social Club album (the movie soundtrack). It's much slower and has - except for the lyrics and tristess - not much in common with the "original". Beautiful music!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars worthwhile for the collector of Cuban music, June 12, 2000

By	M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

For those who are expecting dance music, this is definitely not your CD. The Billie Holiday comparision is apt in some ways: this is melancholy music, not your high charged son montuno or salsa. If you are looking for that type of music, go for some of the other BVSC discs. Some of these tracks are incredible -- and you don't have to listen to Ry Cooder's grating slide on every track. My personal favorite is "no me llores mas." This disc brougth back memories of one of my favorite singers of this type of mellow-er music: Esther Borja. Her CD's are out of print (many of them), but Portuondo sings many of the same songs that Borja sang, but with a much huskier voice. If you enjoy the more ballad-like side of Cuban music, you will not be able to get enough of this CD.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravisimo!, May 11, 2000

By	"endofthegame" (Atlanta, Ga. United States) - See all my reviews

Listening to the ethereal voice of Omara Portuondo is a pleasure. This CD expounds greatly on the Buena Vista Social Club's recordings and showcases Cuba's greatest singer. Her voice is in the tradition of the great African American singers such as Sarah Vaughn, Morgana King and Ella Fitzgerald. I encourage you to sit back and take in every note of her precious voice. She will take you to another world...