V.A. - The Rough Guide To The Cuban Music Story (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Fast on the heels of the turn-of-the-millennium Cuban music craze spawned by the Afro-Cuban All Stars and the Buena Vista Social Club's reappearance, Rough Guides released a book detailing the complexity and variety of the Cuban music scene, and an accompanying album. Admittedly, the album leaves out a huge amount of the variety present in Cuban music (the Cuba Classics series might not be a bad choice for that end), and primarily ignore the African-based Santeria works as well, though the influence of African rhythm is ever present in some aspect of the music. The album opens up with the master of mambo singing (and more), Beny Moré, and a signature number. A nice piece from an old tres master precedes works from the outstanding (but only once recorded) Afro-Cuban Jazz Project and the Afro-Cuban All Stars. The old masters have their time with works from Mario Bauza and Bebo Valdés (Chucho's father), both from the early '90s. A nice guajira is followed by an Eliades Ochoa bolero that includes some sax work from Manu Dibango, and ex-Irakere member Orlando Valle shows off his flute work with his newest group, Maraca. Another tres piece precedes an Orquesta Aragón cover of a Senegalese Wolof tune, and Jesus Alemany's two groups are presented serially with ¡Cubanismo! and Sierra Maestra. The album finishes with some electrolatino from German Azúcar Letal and a piece from the venerable pianist Peruchin to bring the album full circle to the early years of Cuban greatness on the world scene. There are countless albums of Cuban music to be had out there, and a huge number are certainly worth hearing. This album is certainly among the ranks of the best, as it collects some of the standouts over time in the slightly narrowed field of Cuban dance music (leaving out a good deal of jazz, Santeria, and rock in the process, but making a much more coherent and enjoyable whole). by Adam Greenberg
Tracklist:
1 Beny Moré – Bonito Y Sabroso 2:55
2 Niño Rivera – El Jamaiquino 4:24
3 Afro Cuban Jazz Project – Campina 5:59
4 Afro Cuban All Stars – Al Vaivén De Mi Carreta 7:41
5 Mario Bauzá – Chucho 3:51
6 Bebo Valdés – To Mario Bauzá 6:02
7 Guillermo Portabales – El Carretero 3:08
8 Cuarteto Patria & Manu Dibango – Quizás Quizás 6:33
9 Maraca – Quiero A Mi Guajira 5:05
10 Pancho Amat – Fania 4:34
11 Orquesta Aragón – Yaye Boy 3:49
12 ¡Cubanismo! – Aprovecha 4:48
13 Sierra Maestra – Tibiri Tábara 3:35
14 Azúcar Letal – Somos Lo Maximo 5:38
15 Peruchín – Laura 2:40

V.A. - The Rough Guide To Afro-Cuba (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Here is an anthology that has been needed for some time. A brief, concise, yet deep and authoritative collection of music that goes further than paying lip service to the Afro-Cuban connection. Here the continental differences are erased in a widespread look at cross-pollination and cultural miscegenation. The great glory of this collection is that it does not solely focus on the Africa to Cuba connection. Instead, its 14 cuts show the exportation of African rhythms to Cuba and the return of song forms like the son and bolero back to Africa. Beginning in Africa with Cheikh N'Digël Lô and Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca and then slipping to a mixed track with Quartetto Patria with the saxophone athletics of Manu Dibango, the story is told first in rhythm and more rhythm. Shifting, changing beats and accents offer all of the erratic foundations needed for love songs and the telling of village stories. When the disc begins to make its move to Cuba, it first features the blood-red rhumbas of Sierra Maestra, a band that embodies both places in its mix without discriminating. Later, the Afro-Cuban All Stars, Patato, and even the hot jumping sons of the Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro intertwine with the music of the Super Eagles and the slippery Orchestra Baobab, exchanging enunciations, harmonies, and all manners of call and response as well as rhythm. This is a steaming volume, digging so deep into the beach soil of these two places that it's a wonder they are untied by geography instead of by the pain of the slave trade from five hundred years ago. They are brothers in rhythm, sisters in song. This is an essential volume for any serious world music library.
(This Comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our Blog ´O Púbis da Rosa´)
Tracklist:
1 Cheikh N'Digël Lô – M'Beddemi 4:24
2 Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca – Le Rendez-Vous 4:20
3 Africando – Trovador 4:13
4 Cuarteto Patria & Manu Dibango – Rumba Makossa 4:32
5 Super Cayor De Dakar – Xamsa Bopp 4:14
6 Orchestra Baobab – Boulmamine 5:52
7 Super Eagles – Viva Super Eagles 2:59
8 Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro – Porque Me Guardas Rencor 5:13
9 Sierra Maestra – ¿Dónde Va Chichi? 5:11
10 Balla Et Ses Balladins – Assa 6:22
11 E.T. Mensah – Senorita 3:03
12 Lázaro Ros – Yewa 3:37
13 Afro-Cuban All Stars – Elube Changó 3:56
14 Patato Feat. Samba Mapangala – Kora-Son 6:30
Featuring – Samba Mapangala