 
I've listened to a lot of uninspired compilations lately, from Indestructible African Beats to Africa Remix, from Latin Cafe to Italian Cafe to Cafe Latino to some other damn cafe. Most of them make you wonder why the labels bother. There's generally one or two good songs (which are the ones you already have) and at this point people are just going to download the tracks they want and skip the filler. Now a Celia Cruz compilation is a different matter, she produced so many great recordings over her long career, any slice is going to turn up gold. If you don't have a lot of her music already here's a good place to start. This set focuses on her middle period: the Fania years. Her most characteristic tracks are "Santa Isabel de las Lajas, "Bemba colora," "Melao de cana," -- and none of them is here, but no matter, once you get into this collection you can seek out more. "Cucula" is here and even "Elegua" a pure ritual chant with West African percussion though it seems she largely threw off the Afro-Cuban religious trappings once she moved to the Belly of the Beast. There is some slack playing on "Metida con You," which has an off-key trumpet solo that is only mildly irritating as the cut fades. Celia -- la Reina -- refers to one of her most famous tracks, "Yerbero moderno" (which was her smash hit with Sonora Matancera in the 1950s), on "La Campeona," without going there. In the 1960s she and her husband Pedro Knight moved to New York and started recording with Tito Puente and brought Salsa to the American mainstream. In the 70s she teamed up with Johnny Pacheco and recorded the deliriously great song that became her signature "Bemba Colora." You need to find that and hear it, preferably in a live version. I played it for an opera singer once and he said it was an epiphany! One of the great surprises here is her version of "Sugar Sugar" which is a joy, since she is famous for her catch phrase AZUCAR!! It is perfectly appropriate she should cover the Archies' hit. (I can see I'll have to start a new compilation with the Big Youth version also.) Cruz's career spanned 70 albums, 5 grammies, and regular appearances on Spanish-language TV, from music shots to characters in telenovelas! She was busy and exuded joie de vivre. This is essential music. - Alastair Johnston
|
Rough
Guide to Celia Cruz