RADIO TARIFA
FIEBRE (Nonesuch 79822-2)
Radio Tarifa's first album was truly superb, and the fact that six of the twelve songs on this live set are from it shows that they thought so too. The second album was also good but the third one less so. A decade later they reprise their moment of glory with a live album recorded in Toronto, but the magic has gone somewhat from their sound. They were great live when they toured almost ten years ago to promote their first album, but of course it might be just seeing it live made the difference. However I believe they have had personnel changes which always upsets the balance. This album lacks oomph. Maybe they were nervous, knowing it was being recorded for posterity, but that shouldn't discourage them. The originals have more spark. "Oye china," which is haunting on the original album, just sits flatly and looks at you, not even recalling the peanut vendor with a smirk like it should. -- Doctor Rhythm