Four great artists playing sons, boleros and cha-cha-cha that remained in the memory.

Track Listing

1. Chan Chan
2. De Camino A La Vereda
3. El Cuarto De Tula
4. Pueblo Nuevo
5. Dos Gardenias
6. Y Tu Que Has Hecho
7. Veinte Anos
8. El Carretero
9. Candela
10. Amor De Loca Juventud
11. Orgullecida
12. Murmullo
13. Buena Vista Social Club
14. La Bayamesa

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1420 in Music
• Released on: 1997-06-09
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism, Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they're putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn't mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres's laoud solo on "El Cuarto de Tula" is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a quote from "Stormy Weather" and some very distinct parallels to Hawaiian styles remind us of why it's called "world music." --Rickey Wright

The Observer Music Monthly, 50 Essential CDs from Around the World, June 2008
The record that put Cuban 'son' on the map and relaunched the careers of a generation of stellar musicians.

CD Description
That Ry Cooder, you've got to keep an eye on him every minute, or he jumps into another cross-cultural collaboration. In the wake of his landmark recordings TALKING TIMBUKTU with Ali Farka Toure and A MEETING BY THE RIVER with V.M. Bhatt comes BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, essentially a supergroup of traditional Cuban musicians with the addition of internationalagitator Cooder. Somehow, Cooder always finds just the right space to slide his sinuous slide guitar into, so that it works in almost any context. Here, amidst the multi-layered percussion, piano and Cuban guitar rhythms, Cooder's slide simultaneously finds a home and eggs the ensemble on. The natural beauty of the Cuban tonal and rhythmic palette is the real star of BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, evoking both a sense of mystery and a feeling of intense emotional satisfaction.

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Customer Reviews

Absolutely fantastic - everyone should have one!
A truly amazing album, full of quality music which is impossible to dislike. There are obviously tracks which stand out as something special among the many on this album, "Chan Chan" and "El Carretero" especially. The album is tinged with the magic touches of many previously forgotten Cuban musicians, from the bubbly Ibrahim Ferrer, alongside Compay Segundo and Eliades Ochoa , to, of course, the genius that is Ruben Gonzalez. Their personalities shine through in this pure music, and one can sense that they enjoyed making this record as much as fans love their music. Viva el son de cuba!

Pure magic!
If you love music you'll adore this masterpiece. Hauntingly beautiful from start to finish it's melodic, intoxicating, sensual latin rythms will transport you to a place and time that only true passion can. Shut your eyes and open your mind to something truly extraordinary that you rarely come across, perhaps once or twice in a lifetime of music. I love music in all it's shapes and forms but this recording of real musicians creating something magical will outlive anything you've heard before. This music is beyond mere ratings, it is immensely powerful, passionate and of a beauty indescribeable. Once played never forgotten.

If you only buy one album this summer ... it has to be this!
Buena Vista Social Club and Juan De Marcos'Afro-Cuban All Stars played Hyde Park on 29 July 2000. Considering the ages of the stars of the show it was an unlikely sell-out gig!

This album, which reintroduced the world to the stars of pre-revolution Cuba, is the most glorious combination of Cuban music and evokes a sense of imagination and vivacity that is sadly lacking in today's mass-produced, copycat pop culture. The Buena Vista Social Club know how to enjoy themselves and it shows!

This should be on everyone's all-time greatest albums list