Holly:
El manisero (Don Azpiazu & His Havana Casino Orchestra): 4/5
Oh! Ha ha, this is The Peanut Vendor! I know this song! Anyway, there are approximately eleventy billion versions of this song, but this one’s great. I just love that mariachi trumpet sound. It’s so weird and bright. This was apparently the recording that made this song so well loved around the world, and you can tell why. It’s catchy, and the singing is great. I also need to point out that this is the first recording on our adventure with a bari sax in it. For bonus listening, listen to the Stan Kenton version filled with lots of drumming and crazy trumpets!
Kelly:
Yeah, I don't think I actually know this song. But it's pretty catchy! It's exactly the music I would imagine as I walked down the streets of old Havana, a mojito in one hand and a cigar in the other. I love the trumpet with the harmon (?) mute, it gives the song that perfect latin flavour and the percussion is perfectly laid back. I didn't even notice the bari sax in this (sorry Holly). You can also tell with this recording that audio quality is getting better and better. Thanks, technology! 4/5
Olé!
An interesting number , for me mostly from a technical standpoint. My rating scale for Cuban music stretches from Desi Arnez's Babalu as low to Buena Vista Social Club's Chin Chin as high. I'd place this in the higher bracket.
ReplyDeleteTechnically what gets my interest is not the great trumpet work but the rhythm guitar. 1930, electronic mic's were very much in their infancy, disc overdubbing was laborious and mostly experimental and electric guitars we're 15 years away. That means to get this acoustic guitar as prominent as it is it would have been separately mic'ed and mixed by whatever primitive mixing tools they had in the day. So I'm easily amused so what.
Ron D