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Calle Salud

Compay Segundo - Calle Salud Audio CD

A fair review of the Compay Segundo "Calle Salud" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Compay Segundo reviews here, or go back to the Compay Segundo tabs.

Band: Compay Segundo
Title: Calle Salud
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-05-27
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Saludo a Chang� 2: Amor Gigante 3: Rosa de Francia 4: Maria en la Playa 5: Versos Para T� 6: Enga�adora 7: Viejos Sones de Santiago Potpourri 8: D�a Que Me Quieras 9: Se Perdi� la Flauta 10: Morir de Amor 11: Lagrimas Negras 12: Balc�n de Santiago 13: Chan Chan

Great album of classic Latin songs, but...
However, I have a problem with it: I don't enjoy the fact that it's been put out as a Compay Segundo album, when in most of the songs, due to his age, it's not even his voice that stands out (or is listed as Lead Vocals at all, for the matter, Hugo Garzon appears as such in most of the tracks). This is without a doubt a great album made up of classic Latin songs (not just from Cuba, since you also find tunes like Gardel's "El Dia que me Quieras").

As a son of a Cuban-born music-loving woman, I was raised listening on and off to some of these tunes, so I love them, but I hate the feeling of exploitation that this album exhudes. Unlike other Buena Vista-related releases, such as Ibrahim Ferrer's or Ruben Gonzalez, where they still perform beyond any doubt, Cuban musical legend Compay Segundo should have been receiving tributes by the time this album came out, not made pose for an album where he could barely be noticed. Now, like Celia Cruz, he's no longer with us, so this is almost like a post-mortem rant. . . My two cents.

Sorely missed
That a 90 year old man could sing and play with such vigor and individuality--while still being only the "second voice"--astonished me. Compay Segundo's resurgence was the best thing about the Buena Vista explosion, I think. I picked up his recordings from the old days, which are wonderful, though the sound quality is quite poor. On this album "Calle Salud", there are no such problems, and Compay is in even greater command. When I first heard "Saludo a Chango", the first song on the album, I was deeply moved. He sheds away the other vocals to become "primero", and his voice absolutely booms with authority. In contrast with the Buena Vista CD and Ibrahim Ferrer's follow-up, which was more trumpet-heavy, "Calle Salud" is more clarinet-heavy, and is not burdened by Ry Cooder's guitars. When Compay died a couple of months ago, I was not surprised to see on the news thousands of people in the streets to pay their respects and celebrate his life, which--from what I see in the movie and hear in the music--must have been incredible.

Farewell to Compay Segundo
Farewell to an unbelievably charismatic and talented musician. Born on November 18, 1907 in Siboney, Cuba, Maximo Francisco Repilado Munoz (better known as "Compay Segundo") died of kidney failure on July 13, 2003 in Havana, Cuba. Known for his sporty, Borsalino-style hats and trademark cigars, Segundo was truly young at heart and rich in sound. He reemerged in popularity in 1997 with the Buena Vista Social Club documentary and CD. With the passing of segundo, the world has lost a truly unique and irreplaceable sound.

Aged Wine Still The Best
When Compay Segundo was born, Roosevelt was in the White House. . Teddy, not Franklin. At 92, he's certainly the oldest member of the musical phenomenon Buena Vista Social Club, and the first alumnus to put out a second album since the club came to it's recent popularity. Having fiddled around a bit too long with the an attempted review of his last album, I was taken by suprise with this release following so closely at it's heels. I'm not about to let this happen again. "Calle Salud" is even better than the last, with a bit more diversity and polish. This is the music of 1920s and 1930's Cuba, exactly as it sounded then, but with the pristine sound quality that only modern technology can deliver. Here in the States, the twenties may have been roaring, but in Cuba, music was far more profound and unfeigned, with a tremendously sophisticated eloquence that was simply lacking it's northern counterpart (except, perhaps, with rural blues, which was, in any event, less urbane). And no Cuban music fit this description more than the son and rumba stylings heard here. With only a paucity of instrumentation, it is the antithesis of the Cuban big band sound popularized only a bit later by such artists as Benny More and later still, by Desi Arnaz and all the others. This vital music is as lovely and refined as has ever been produced, and has scarcely changed since those times. Compay has stiff competition within the Buena Vista Social Club which also claims such voices as Ibrahim Ferrer and Eliades Ochoa (both reviewed a few months ago right here), but it's his voice that is my personal favorite. It's deep, resonant qualities are as rich as chocolate cheesecake, with those subtle nuances that can only be achieved by time itself. The laid-back arrangements of these traditional songs provide a rich palette of colors from which Compay paints his masterpieces. The songs speak of everyday life in Cuba, songs of love, work and contemplation. The harmonies are simple but precise and sound effortless. Likewise, all of the ensemble playing strives for the substantive and not the flashy. This is the sound of pure emotion. It's so fortunate, therefore, that Compay is still with us and able to benefit from modern recording techniques and equipment. This disc makes it sound as if he's right in your living room, singing only to you. The other obvious blessing is that, finally, he's getting the recognition he so deserves and the monetary rewards which accompanys it. And there's more oil in the pipeline, with several upcoming projects on the burner as we speak. These might be the gloaming years of his career, but nightfall hasn't arrived quite yet. The man is still touring! He recently played the area with a band that includes several sons. He's trying for a sixth child as we speak, and claims he has no use whatsoever for viagra. Stranger things have certainly taken place, and, even after 87 years (his claim) of smoking cigars, I'm inclined to believe he'll suceed at it. A faultless, stunning recording by the dominant lion of traditional Cuban music, "Calle Salud" is hopefully not Segundo's swan song. He's an international treasure, and shows no signs of giving up the ghost any time soon. Viva!.

Liked "Lo Mejor De La Vida" much better
At least so far. Okay, I'm obviously in the minority here. But this CD leaves me just a bit cool -- a question of personal preference, no doubt. It's not bad. Far, far from that. It has several good tracks. But it doesn't knock my socks off.

I have Compay's "Lo Mejor De La Vida" CD, which I just love and did from the very first playing. The "Buena Vista Social Club" and "De Cuba Son" CDs had the same effect on me. I loved them right away, and have never tired of them.

I've decided that it's the clarinets. They get a bit intrusive and annoying (to me, anyway) on several cuts. They're almost (though not quite) as annoying as Ry Cooder's slide guitar on so many of the Buena Vista Social Club recordings. Maybe it's just me, but the clarinets keep me thinking that this CD should be called "Tres Player On The Roof".

And then I keep flashing back to the BVSC video -- the scene art where Compay Segundo is trying to locate the site of the old Buena Vista Social Club. Compay was giving another elderly gent his recipe for avoiding hangovers and maintaining overall health --- it's your basic chicken soup. So maybe "Tres Player On The Roof" isn't so far off afterall. But what do I know?

Hey, maybe the CD will grow on me with time. But it doesn't pack that right-out-of-the-package punch that "Lo Mejor De La Vida" had for me.

You can see a complete list of all Compay Segundo discography, or go back to the Compay Segundo tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.