Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Nice solid album
Wow, this was great. If this album doesn't make you want to move, check your pulse. Percussive and energetic with song structures that are loose and improvisational. You just have to let go, embrace the groove and stop expecting a song to go somewhere all the time. Fave songs: El Cumbanchero, Choferito Plena, Billumba-Palo Congo, Tribilin Cantore
This was interesting and a nice change, but I found it really repetitive and only really liked the tracks that had guitar. I can’t be too harsh on it though bc I think my issues were mostly just bc of me not having an ear for the genre. 6/10
An album as old as me ! It wasn’t bad 3*
Liked it but its not the same when you are sat at a desk working as opposed to up and dancing.
Definitely good sound, but don't think I'd come back to it.
Didn’t finish
Samba im Homeoffice! Der Soundtrack einer karibischen Cocktailbar. Wo ist mein Mojito?
Like African traditional music, bit of a more samba Latin-American sounding vibe going on too, especially compared to stuff like Ali Farka Toure. Decent still. 3/5.
false
okay
Good, solid nandos music
Ritmos chulos
Latin: oft nicht mein Ding. Zu viel Ayayayayay, zu viele hektische Bläser, zu viele Salsaklischees für meinen Geschmack. Das hier aber (hört gut zu, Bongonazis aller Stadtparks in den 90ern und geht zurück in eure Keller!), das gefällt mir sehr gut. Ob in den toll rohen reinen Percussion-Nummern, in den Call-and-Response-Machismospielchen oder auch in den eher lieblichen, für mich dann doch auch nach vertrauterem Latin klingenden Gesangsnummern. Hat ne Tür aufgestoßen und bringt locker 3,4 Punkte. Ayayayay!
A lot of cool rhythm, but not much more
Papi Congo is Spanish Jazz, while I am not totally familiar with the genre I’ve heard it in other media. It definitely transports you to a different place, for me it reminded me of walking through some of the markets in Mexico while the dry heat engulfs you. Great music to have on the background while doing something around the house where you might find yourself moving to the beat.
not really my thing, but cool to listen to something different
It likely inspired the genre which is amazing but the album itself sounded like a bunch of pals just trying to figure out what to do at first.
If I could understand what they were saying I would probably love it.
Very solid drumming skill, got a good driving rythm to it. I enjoy this as background music but it's not a thing I'd want to typically listen to.
Palo Congo definitely wasn't my thing at all. When i was going into this album i was definitely expecting something like Kenya by Machito where it would be this big band sort of album with a small Cuban touch but what i ended up getting instead was this highly Cuban sounding album with a small touch of jazz. I can definitely see what these guys were going for and they definitely do seem like solid musicians but i just feel like it got way too repetitive as nothing really that noteworthy happened in any of these songs which kinda just makes them just all blend together and feel drawn out even at 40 minutes. I can't give this album a 1 star because it wasn't the worst thing ever but this isn't something i would recommend to anyone outside of the most diehard lovers of Cuban music. Best Song: Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso Worst Song: Billumba-Palo Congo
Not my thing, not bad but not great
I'm sure it's fine, but didn't get more than two songs in cause it bored me
Some of this was a heck of a vibe. Other times it was hard to listen to. I like learning of new albums like this though, even if they don't really align with what I typically listen to. 2/5
It sounded discordant and there was too much random yelling, though parts of it were cool.
Nah
Not so much songs as as jam sessions. First one of its kind and the band seem to be having fun. I didnt
This was just too conga/rhythm heavy and not much melodic elements for me to really enjoy this. Maybe a song or too but a whole album of this was just too Much.
Just wasn’t very interesting to listen to.
I appreciate this a lot but the overall enjoyment was not there
lots of noise
One of many great things about going through this list is that I now have a deeper understanding of world music. My biggest insight is that I don't care for it. I am the problem, this type of music in not for me.
I don't really fuck with the weird yelling and tribal sounds in songs, but some of the jazz was good
1. cumbanchero - 3 2. congo - 2 3. choferito - 2 4. azabache - 2 5. zimba - 1 6. maravillozo - 1 7. aggo - 1 8. cantore - 2
I can picture a scenario, in a new york cub in the 50s, in which I really enjoy this. But I’m not here to rate hypotheticals.
not ma style
What I mean - it's five dudes in a room playing congas. There is some chanting and yelling, and occasionally there is some guitar and bass work. But overall - it's mostly hand-drums. If you're looking for something "tribal" to sample, this would be an excellent choice. Otherwise, I don't really know who this music is for. TWO STARSS
I suppose conga music should be represented on this list but I now have had enough for my lifetime. Monotonous percussion. Repetitive lyrics. Songs that featured the tres, the stringed instrument, on Rhapsodia del Maravilloso and Tribilín cantore were better.
I can appreciate the album being unique and out there. Definitely more of what you would expect in this list but that does not take back from the fact that it gets a bit boring after a while. All in all, despite how much of an early influence it might have been, it is far from the best display of afro-cuban music I have heard. 7/10 [SWAP]
Really hot on the bongo drums. Hey Loozie, I’m home!
This is honestly really impressive considering it predates the "classic" era of music recording. A nice left-right mix is used, placing the listener right into the thick of the performance as if they were onstage. El Cumbanchero is a solid opener, though I kind of understand why streaming numbers drop off substantially after this point. I imagine most users of Spotify/other online music streaming platforms are Westerners, and when people (myself included) listen to styles of music they aren't familiar with, a lot of it starts to sound the same. Anticipation of this fact means one or two songs is plenty to appease the average listener. To its credit, this first track has a great catchy sung hook, and some nice guitars and drumming to back it up. The same cannot be said for Billumba-Palo Congo, which sounds barren and undercooked in comparison. The singing is pretty crap – mainly consisting of a bunch of guys yelling repetitively into each of your ears – and the only distractors are a couple of simple percussive instruments. Choferito-Plena gives serious Buona Vista energy with that hurried male-female-harmonised singing. Another solid track. Asabache is pretty monotonous, being a 100% solo conga track, but I'm willing to put up with it as long as it's the only one like that. Next we have Simba, which reads (sonically) like a repeat of the previous track but with deliberately annoying, screechy vocals. And still nothing in the way of (convincing) melody or harmony. A filler track if I've ever heard one. Then Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso jumps in with a vengeance. Some decent guitar lines for an almost-5-minute (quasi-)solo piece. Pretty good. Aggo Elegua... eh. Not so good. Exceptionally repetitive. They're not even trying to hide it. The same couple of bars of call-and-response melody over and over... and over... We end with the messy but pleasant enough Tribilin Cantore, another likely inspiration for BVSC. 2/5 Key tracks: El Cumbanchero, Choferito-Plena
Heavy with the Congo drums throughout the album. It’s bare bones. 2.5/5.0
Not my taste
It's like proto-bossa nova. It was hard to tell when this was recorded. Music like this is better live in a place where it's hot and humid, people are dancing, people are eating, and people are drinking. I didn't want to listen to this in my office while I was working. It felt out of place or I felt out of place because it's not the music's fault no one dances or drinks or has parties anymore.
Isolating the vocals to just the right audio speaker on several tracks completely detracts from the experience, especially when listening to this in a car where it sounds terrible. 3-stars with a single speaker 2-stars with headphones 1-star listening in a car
It felt a bit samey, I played it in the office and the conclusion was tthat we were at some kind of ceremony.
I really thought I would like this. I really like Cuban music, and I think this would be really fun to hear in person. But, the combination of being a studio recording with very distracting stereo and a small ensemble made this not an enjoyable listen for me. I feel like this type of music works better the more people that are involved. I just pictured a sad studio and these musicians doing the best they could but not being able to replicate the energy that this would have in a club. I am probably projecting completely incorrect circumstances, but I didn't like this.
I like that this album is on the list. I never would have known about it. It wasn’t my favorite, but I appreciate hearing something new
Haven't heard of him. Was excited to listen to something brand new but I think this just isn't for me. Interesting but not for me 2/5
The Good: Congo Sticks rule! The Bad: Realizing that you don’t play the congos using sticks… The Ugly: Getting repetitive strain injuries from too much congo… This was what it was. Let me ask this question; why is it called Cuban Jazz? What the hell does this have to do with jazz? It’s just some congos and back and forth yelling… World music, some times, should just be skipped… Will give it 2* for effort
It's incredibly hard to connect on a relatable level, or even many levels at all, to music that is not in your native language; therefore, I didn't know what each song was about, so there was no real meaning to me behind what I was listening to. So it feels harsh for me to be giving this two stars when I can't listen to the album the way this artist intended me to, however this rating is of my own personal listening experience, and it is just the way I feel... if I can't connect to the music that I am listening to, I find it much harder to enjoy or find any real meaning. That aside, I enjoyed the styles of instrumentation throughout; it was very danceable and kept a solid groove throughout the entire album. There is nothing inherently 'wrong' with this album, but this is just how I felt listening to it. Although it was easy to sit back and just let the music play. There were no tracks that really stood out to me or felt 'better' than any other.
Nah
Kind of got into the hypnotic nature of it. Won't stick it on when my mum visits though.
What a previous person said, nice to hear some change in the list, a breath of fresh air. However, it's a bit too harsh and too repetitive this wind. Can't say I really enjoyed listening to this.
i was vibing but i wouldn’t listen to again
I hope someone enjoyed this. I didn't.
This is not for me but I can appreciate it! 2.5 stars rounded up.
I'm not into this at all.
Number: 103 Date: 04/15/2026 Artist: Sabu Album: Palo Congo Year: 1957 Genre: Afro Cuban Jazz Rating: 2 Notes: Before: ======= New to me. Maybe it'll give me something to put on my best of 1957 playlist, if I ever get around to making it. During: ======= 3 El Cumbanchero 1 Billumba-Palo Congo 3 Choferito-Plena 2 Asabache 2 Simba 3 Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso 2 Aggo Elegua 3 Tribilin Cantore ----------------------------------------------------- 2.33 WEIGHTED AVERAGE (accounts for song lengths) After : ======= I suppose this album is a good representation of this type of music but what do I know? I did not really care for it. 2 my personal rating 4 suitability for this list 5 impact ----------------------------------------------- 3.7 composite rating
As a fan of polyrhythms and quick percussion, it's hard for me to not get at least a little enjoyment from an album that's centered on those things. The congos are the star here, and on some tracks there's nothing but congos. While those tracks and the ones with only call-and-response vocals over the top are interesting, it's also hard to not want at least a bit more over their long runtimes. "Choferito-Plena" and a few other songs add jazzy, staccato guitar over the top, which fleshes things out but also fails to add any sense of progression to the songs. I imagine this would be a blast in a live setting, maybe played by street performers. I don't think the recorded version captures the energy well enough, and listening to the entire thing highlights the lack of variety. The performances are great, but it doesn't quite work in a casual setting.
An interesting album that I will never think about ever again.
Nee, nicht wirklich
Interesting listen. Not an artist, album, or genre I'm familiar with at all. I had never heard of Sabu but his story is fascinating. This sounds exactly like something I would expect to hear at Big Ears and enjoy.
2.3 2x interesting but not going to listen again
Okay take this with a grain of salt. I mean, I just some dumb old Midwesterner. But I still know music. I even know world music. Not a lot, but I'm no slouch. I'm just saying that of all the Spanish language albums to feature in this project, this album was chosen? This one? I guess I'm surprised considering ALL the legends this dude played with as a sideman. Sabu has the skills. I just didn't dig the material.
The drumming is certainly skilled but it is not a good listening experience. This is an album that should be experienced live or not at all
Not really my thing but it is cool to be listening to something almost 70 years old
I guess it’s a cool one time listen but I never see myself coming back to this
Not memorable
The recording of this album is trash boy. It’s all highs. The bongos or whatever you choose to call them are too drowned out. I thought this was a live album. It really is hard to get a good judgement on the album as a whole when the production quality is so bad. I don’t know whose fault that is but it makes it unlistenable. What I could draw out of the album was that it could be decent given the right amount of work put into it. I feel bad but this is a fail.
65
It's good. Not my kind of music or something I would ever listen to in my spare time, but I had my hips moving a lil bit.
I guess I'm glad I listened to this once and never again. I don't know anything about this artist, but they were singing in Spanish. the music was very danceable. This album is very reminiscent of a music history class that I took in college that I had completely forgotten about. this artist has 2,000 monthly listeners. I wonder how the list's author even heard of this album. Probably from their college music history class.
I had a difficult time getting into this. The congas just faded into the background for me. There are some interesting guitar parts on here though. Overall, it's fine and not something I would consider revisiting. It didn't make my butt shake enough and some of the yelling/singing was a bit grating to me. I found some of the other albums close to/in this genre to be more interesting. I would not doubt this is a fun artist to hear live but the joy didn't cross over to the recording for me.
I like the energy I just wish there were more actual songs.
Just not my thing, but not bad. Respect the beats!
Pleasant background music that I will never listen to again
Sabu? More like sybau
Meh
I’m at a 2.5 that I’ll bump down to a 2. I mean, look, it’s not BAD. It’s just boring as hell. So many of these tracks are culturally specific, so without the inroads of understanding why these tracks are so important (think Ravi Shankar’s ‘tutorials’ during “The Sounds of India”), a lot of them just feel very, very similar. Since the lyrics aren’t really online for a lot of these, it’s up to the vibes, and sadly, the vibes just aren’t really there. I don’t know if the style this album is going for directly forbids horns from being involved (it certainly seems to love & rely on the bongos / conga drums), but they felt DESPERATELY needed on a lot of these tracks. Past that… christ, they’re just too long. So many of these tracks could be finished after 2 or 3 minutes, but they all just go on for too long in a way that doesn’t work together as an album experience. Hence, a 2, though it could bump up to a 3 in the future if even just one more track clicks a little better. I just wasn’t that impressed, & ironically, the most compelling tracks here are the ones without any vocals to begin with, so maybe the instrumental approach would’ve worked better? It certainly worked for “Kenya”, which was released the very same year as this, and felt like a bolt of lightning compared to this. There’s just nothing here to hook onto meaningfully, and while it’s really not that bad, I can’t in good faith say it’s an album you need to listen to before you die.
I was excited to listen to this, as I enjoy world music, but this was just relentless bongo-ing without purpose, at least to me. Boring and annoying with the occasional danceable bit, sorry!
If I heard it in the background of a restaurant sure, I’d be fine with it… but I didn’t need to hear this
2.5. Impressive conga drums. Only have to hear it once.
Isch no gflashed, aber eifach nüt für mich. Für das was d songs sind, sind sie mir z lang. 1-2 songs sind schono cool, aber s meiste fühlt sich a wie filler
es isch definitiv es album. meh chan ich au nöd drüber sege
Drums were on
2nd day in a row of Latin jazz.
Kind of cute novelty album that's fun for a little while.
I didn’t hate this album. I just felt that most of the songs had same tempo and this felt like the same song.
I've been staring at my screen for a solid 10 minutes trying to figure out what to write in this review. I won't leave it blank because I'm determined to write a review for every single album, but this one was just so forgettable that I feel absolutely no inspiration to share an opinion on it. Partly because my feelings on the album are so neutral, but mainly because I remember literally nothing about it so I don't really have any thoughts to share.
I was enjoying it the first few songs but then it got old and repetitive very quickly. 40 minutes of this is wild
Nothing remarkable to me, just some lively rumba music.
A perfectly middling example of the genre.
Not my thing.
well - not woking off mr. Good in it's own right especially for almost 70 years ago
Very repetitive, ritualistic-sounding music (I hope this is not an offensive thing to say; I know nothing about the culture it comes from). It’s not, like, slow and sparse, which is my least favorite type of music, but it felt boring. It felt too random, without a coherent idea, like people sitting next to each other and jamming out some stuff with no prior arrangements. This is not a bad thing necessarily. I guess some people can vibe to it, but I couldn’t. It had no highlights, no emotional tension. Every song sounds the same at the start as at the end.
It shouldn’t be boring but is.
Cool listen! Isn’t something I’ll return to.
very summer vibes
Actually quite like the beat theres just not enough singing if there was definitely higher
2D: Not including international music is racist 3D: WASPs curating international music is racist 4D: Pretending to like international music is racist
I get that this is an older record, but it’s hard to get past just how rough the production is. There are some fun rhythms sprinkled throughout, but that’s about as far as it goes for me.
2,4/5
Ga meg ingenting
Hørte på en gåtur i sentrum. Fy faen for en stressende opplevelse. Ikke hør på i bakrus.
Trivelig, men gir meg lite.
un enfant qui crie dans sa canette pendant un long voyage de train
An unfortunately devoid of feeling jazz and rumba cubana album. The record starts with one of the strongest song, "El Cumbanchero". It is very rumba inspired and has a very infectious and skillful conga playing, a guitar that adds a little bit of melody in the background and some playful voices singing in the front. The next song, "Billumba-Palo Congo" has to be the weirdest track, due to the incoherent choir ramblings that are exclusively accompanied by a monotonous conga. The following track, "Choferito-Plena", is also one of the best tracks that shows more influence of the rumba. Just as the first song, it is very infectious and tasteful with conga, voices and guitars playing. It is from this point that the album loses all the potential. The next four songs are basically the conga playing without any groove or taste. In addition, over the rhythms they play and sing some very uninspiring voices and guitars. The last song of all, "Tribilin Cantore", despite showing a bit of the rumba side that made the first songs great, doesn't recover the energy and is not as memorable as the mentioned ones. Quite a pity that I feel this way, because in my first listen I was really digging it and I believe that there is a lot of passion put behind it, but with subsequent listens, I was getting less value out of it.
It started off being a refreshingly different sound then wore out its welcome quickly.
Not for me. I tried to like some of the tracks and there were a few that had some catchy parts, but there just didn’t seem to be much going on throughout most of the album.
Palo Congo honestly didn’t connect with me. Listening to it during a cold Japanese winter, with light snow falling outside, the sound just didn’t sink in at all. It feels like an album that probably makes more sense in a completely different climate and setting.
Not my thing at all
Quite different, had a good jazz and Latin blend. Good listen but nothing for me to come back to.
This started out as a three for me, as a one off song is jaunty and fun enough to listen to. But the repetition soon sets in. Maybe this was influential at the time, but as an interesting or enjoyable listen there is little here. This is, at best, music to dance to. I don't like dancing.
if i'm ever in the mood for call&response bongo music in a language I don't speak this is my go-to
Tror da va greit
Holy congas! A competent Cuban rumba record I guess, but wish it had a tad more variety. Don't have much interest in seeking out more of this music, but this was OK enough to listen to in one sitting.
Very cuban, great vibe. I did not enjoy the fact that some parts are 3 minutes straight of only drums. And the singer is sometimes plain bad 2.5/5
The guitar work on here is terrific. Unfortunately only three songs feature guitar. The rest of the album is not good. There’s a song that’s just a bongo solo, a bongo should not be the main instrument on a song let alone the sole instrument. The song after that is another bongo solo but there’s also someone randomly banging on a tin can and a guy yelling at you. Other than that there’s a lot of call and response songs and I just don’t like call and response. Also, don’t listen to this with headphones! The stereo mixing is so harsh. There’s a song where it’s just soft bongos in one ear and two women screeching at you in the other ear. It sounds terrible in headphones. So basically, great guitarist, awful everything else.
weniger meins: viel trommeln, wenig musik.
Auch sehr aufgedreht
07/01/2025 1. el cumbanchero - like the maracas. like the vocals :) lots of congas.... guitar is really nice.... 2. billumba-palo congo - liking the spoken word bit at the start.... the drums are reallly nice. liking the call and response in these songs. definitely not bad to listen to, but gets a bit repetitive after six minutes and drags with not many instruments *3. choferito-plena - oooh liking this one more immediately. the guitar is reallllly nice with the drums. like the scratchy washboard-y sound? (not sure what instrument it is...) whistle is nice! bass at the end was nice. 4. asabache - lots of drums... 5. simba - drums are realllly nice in this album. liking the vocals :) whistle again! liking the cowbell? sound. not sure how if i love or hate the bird-like vocals.... *6. rhapsodia del maravilloso - immediately guitar is realllly nice. bass as well :) about halfway trhough, loving this one so far! really nice ending 7. aggo elegua - liking the vocals again :) will have to look up what the lyrics mean later.... for me, the songs just go on for too long and end up dragging after about three minutes of the same thing over and over.... *8. tribilin cantore - liking the tracks with guitar more, so hopeful for this one :) liking the female vocals especially through this album. not sure if i would listen to most of these songs again, but i will definitely give the ones i liked the most another listen, a relisten, especially without the rest of the album with it might help me to like some of the songs more? a lot of the songs went on for longer than needed, which just ended up dragging... especially on the tracks with few instruments (although i enjoyed the drumming on asabache, it got stale after a while). enjoyed it though, wasn't as bad as the white stripes!
i'm sure this is great. it is just not my thing... at least not on this listen.
Loud and raucous, not easy to listen to, maybe ok for a loud party
I don't care. 2/5
Lotsa hand drumming, which I don't hate.
fuuuuun! vocals are awesome. saved: choferito-plena, rhapsodia del maravilloso.
So much percussion and not much else, except for the odd vocal and guitar wig out.
This kinda sucked. It was just uber long repetitive boring drum solos and repeated lyrics for most of the album. No bueno
The conga drumming is kinda cool but this is not my vibe. I always feel bad when I rate 'world' music because I know I don't have the cultural knowledge to actually or fully appreciate it.
it has a lot of conga drums. apart from that seems a bit repetitive. seems like fine background music but not to listen actively idk
Lots of monotonous drum rhythms. I wanted to like this a lot but it didn't do it for me. 2.4/5
The section in the middle sounds like someone dropping a marble down a drainpipe
Some songs could've used more bongos
Not my thing
Repetitive droning
I need more than a conga drum circle and shouting, man. Like, I can tell the skill and passion behind this, but God this one isn't my cup of tea.
Jag har suttit och lyssnat på sånt här på Kuba, folkmusikstandards med två congas, gitarr och kanske nån flöjt och några som dansar. The real deal på nån hacienda i djungeln eller mest nån turistgimmick? Anyway eftersom maten inte va nåt att skriva hem om blev ändå de luncherna lite minnesvärda. Rytmerna är väldigt svängiga men det blir too much. Då hjälper det inte gitarristen är smått fantastisk stumdtals, det melodiösa får aldrig fäste. Allt liksom bara pågår. Men så kommer du i svänget nån minut eller så, för att sen försvinna ut ur det igen. Kanske handlar det om vanan att lyssna på sån här musik? Det får mig att fundera på annan rytmbaserad bruksmusik som t.ex. techno, som i alla fall jag är van vid. Betoningen här är ju bruksmusik, det är musik som ska få dig att röra dig, inte lyssna på. Att svänget bara pågår är en stor del av idéen. Därför är det kanske inte konstigt att man zonar ut. Det kan jag göra med brukstechno också, men kanske inte lika lätt för jag är van vid den på ett annat sätt och vet vad jag ska lyssna efter. Så jag antar att om du dansar rumba vill du ha ett stadigt sväng som inte avbryts eller att det melodiska får för mycket plats, på samma vis som på ett technodansgolv eller när ett dansband lirar på dansbanan. Och det blir naturligtvis svårt att överföra det till en skiva, inte minst 1957 när albumformatet var helt nytt. Jag vet inte, någon annan som har nån tanke? En tvåa för svänget
Den melodiska delarna är rätt trevliga i Tribilin cantore och Choferito Pleno. Men i övrigt bara ett ändlöst trummande utan mening. Svag tvåa.
Ett svängigare kromata. Det bankas friskt på slagverken. I flera av spåren blir tyvärr allt för enahanda. Låtarna pågår utan att det händer något. När trummorna backas upp av en gitarr och melodier tillåts som i Choferito-Plena och Tribilin cantore blir det däremot riktigt trevligt. Mer av den varan och betyget hade blivit högre.
I am in no way qualified to review this rumba album. I liked the percussion throughout, but really only jammed out with a couple of the songs.
Música de santería.
I hope you like congos. Best Tracks: El Cumbanchero; Choferito-Plena; Rhapsodia Del Maravillsos
this was not made for me
An interesting listen for about 15 minutes when it begins to feel too repetitive. I’m inclined to score a 3 to encourage a revisit but doubtful. 2/5
The more I listened the worse it got. Not horrific but not enjoyable.
Ugh, I was on the fence here. One one hand some of the guitar work and beats are kind of nice, on the other some of the other songs are annoyingly repetitive. I especially didn't like the second song which sounded like a lesson in Spanish 101. Overall less impressed. 2.4/5 -> 2/5
Despite being a genre I usually like, this was too frenetic for my taste.
Cool bongos, interesting beats, and love the panning. Very musically coherent album. But not necessarily my vibe.
“Oops! All Congas!”
Really didn't do anything for me! But probably serves some purpose, so 2 instead of 1?
Nett. Aber mich nicht sonderlich ansprechend
This is #day469 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… there are always things in life you get to do for the first time, right? Like, this is my first time listening to Cuban rumba, and what can I say? Not much. It was certainly worldly, but I'm not sure I'm that open-minded. Let it be a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day470.
Definitely would've enjoyed this more without the vocals
Not really for me
Certainly joyful but the repetition didn't do it for me, it's entertaining but I can't see myself putting this on again.
Not my thing
I accidentally listened to this on shuffle. I don’t think it mattered.
I don't like congas enough to enjoy this. I liked the guitar work more than I did the congas. Pass.
Meh
50s latin music. interesting, not my bag
5/10 Favourite: El cumbanchero Least Favourite: Simba
Look, conga-forward afro-cuban rhythms are probably not my vibe, but I love when things like this come up that are completely unique and plethora of countless mediocre British 80s/indie bands that have no business being on the list… 2.5⭐️
The music is great. The Spanish singing leaves something to be desired as an American listener. But the Afro-Latin based music is so fresh it’s hard to believe this is 1957.
ok
Good! Very good musicianship, I can definitely see how this rocked people's shit in the 1950s.
Some good guitar parts. Otherwise very repetitive. Reminds me of hearing the all-night drum circle at my local music festival while I'm in my tent trying to go to sleep. At least it's not wailing British dudes? Listened before? N Saved to library? N Favorite track(s): N/A ⭐⭐: Didn't like it, didn't hate it. Saved no tracks.
An OG for sure, some interesting through lines to modern Latin music.
Not for me.
Aufgenommen am 27. April 1957 im Manhattan Towers Studio, New York. Sabú Martínez war ein US-amerikanischer Conga-Spieler puerto-ricanischer Herkunft. Genre: Afro-kubanischer Latin-Jazz / Cuban Rumba. Besonders bekannte / stilprägende Stücke: El Cumbanchero, Billumba – Palo Congo (Titelstück), Asabache. Palo Congo rückt Perkussion und traditionelle afro-kubanische Rhythmen in den Vordergrund. Die Arrangements sind absichtlich sparsam aufgesetzt: mehrere Congas, Stimme, Bass und gelegentliche Tres/Gitarrenfärbung bilden den Klangkern. Das ergibt eine unmittelbare, ritualhafte Klangwirkung, die Authentizität und Rhythmusgewicht in den Mittelpunkt stellt. Gleichzeitig führen die ähnliche instrumentale Besetzung und der Fokus auf rhythmische Fortführung dazu, dass manche Tracks in ihrer Dynamik nah beieinanderliegen — Hörer, die Abwechslung in Melodie- oder Harmoniearrangements suchen, könnten das als Einschränkung empfinden. Für diejenigen, die eine direkte Verbindung zu afro-kubanischen Traditionen und perkussiver Intensität bevorzugen, ist das Album eine klare Empfehlung.
Best Track - "El Cumbanchero"
Trying to be objective but this album has nothing for me. Live albums, world music, no attachment to lyrics. This makes it something I will never come back to because it’s just not my vibe.
too much
I'm not sure this is for me, and I also feel like recording is not the best way to experience this genre—I think it would be a completely different experience live. I enjoyed the instrumentation, but the vocals were often grating and I was off-put by the somewhat-improvisational tone of the call-and-response. Best: "Rhapsodia del Maravilloso" Worst: "Simba"
Surprisingly good, musically with hypnotic conga drums & better then it ought to be guitar riffs. I just don't really think I would revisit this album or style of music.
ok i was wrong XD have no idea in what circumstances u would like to listen to this one, was painful to go through it. maybe if i knew more of their culture it would make more sense, but i dont.
2 much congo
This quickly became tedious. Guitar is interesting though
Very easy listen. Better than expected, considering that this is not my favourite genre.
World-music kan vara kul, men nja.
I just don’t need this much Congo music in my life.
I really want to listen to some contemporary music now app. This was an interesting listen and I enjoyed the more it went on. It was nice having in the background but I was still bored. Am I more culturally informed now still no.
I actually think that if you found yourself in a hippie tribe esque retreat, wearing garments made of cloth and barefoot on the outdoors, then you’d be having the time of your life dancing and drumming away with everyone else. However, walking through the streets of London does not give you that same satisfaction and restricts you from tapping away to your hearts desire. There’s something undeniably liberating about the music and obviously this has its place within the world, but perhaps this time we have civilised society to blame for me not being able to get as into it as it perhaps deserves and I can’t say I’ll be listening again, even if I did enjoy the 40 minutes.
It was okkkkk, not much to say. Started off well but then became a bit of a jam session that was a lot of percussion and then just rambling it seemed.
Ok but nothing great
Appreciated this different style in the mix, but the recording quality was pretty bad. This might be good on a dance floor, but it's a bit repetitive to just listen to.
Really just not into this one.
It gave me a headache unfortunately. Still it was a unique listen compared to the usual and always fascinating to hear music from the 50s. Rating: 2.0
Mastering is good but the music itself is exactly as you'd expect from the genre. Not great, but it also isn't meant for me.
I could see how this could be good if I enjoyed this type of music. But I don’t particularly enjoy this type of music.
тумба юмба
Really boring. And disappointing, like almost every song would start with a musical motif or sound I liked and then devolve into the same thing over and over again for 6 minutes. I didn’t like the vocals either
Respect the uniqueness but this wasn’t it tbh
Fun listen but nothing I’ll go back to.
meh… don’t really have much to say about this one. 2/5.
I haven’t heard this many bongos since I accidentally stumbled upon that hippie drum circle in Golden Gate Park! I’m sure there’s someone out there that thinks this is the greatest album in existence, but that person is not me. Glad to have listened to it once. Probably never again, but who knows?!?
Tak o, trochę tego nie czuję
Bongotrommer for alle pengene, jazzet, rytmisk
Fine.
Cuban bongo beats
Uses conga (tumbadora) a drum. Good sound for a dancing party.
Not really my vibe
I'm not sure what I missed from this. It didn't really grab me, didn't feel overly inventive, and won't hang with me.
The stereo mixing is kind of crazy. The track Asabache had a sound that felt like it was projected into my nose. Alot of the lead vocals are hard to one channel on headphones. The opening track was solid, but many of the tracks were too loose. There were moments I could dance to, but this really didn't click for me.
So much percussion.
Couldn't totally get into this one as it's just not really my style. Not that it was bad; I actually thought it was pretty fun for the most part. It was also nice to get something a little different in style to listen to, but it felt more like an album I'd only want to hear in certain situations rather than enjoy whenever on its own. The instruments were nice, if a bit repetitive. The vocals worked with the music more like an instrument than as a focal point. The percussion almost seemed to be the main instrument(s) for a lot of it, which was different and cool. The parts all meshed together well. That said, I didn't really find it all that impressive. I don't know enough about the genre/music to see its importance for being here. I'm sure there's a reason. As it is, I can only rate it on my listening experience. I have it as OK, but not really something I'm likely to listen to again. Overall: 2.25/5
Sometimes "world" jazz really hits, most of the time it misses. This one misses. I can't believe would listen to Latin American music and think "This needs more emphasis on the congas".
I usually like musics like this. This one is just noise and yelling.
Not my favorite but had some great Latin beats.
Different
Beeboppin
This is on here but not one single album by Desi Arnez? Dimery! You got some 'splainin' to do! +1 star for being a source of a Beastie Boys sample
Not my thing
It gets +1 star because I caught myself doing airdrums to one of the songs.
I liked some of the guitar riffs, but not 100% my vibe. Not something I’m going to revisit
Don’t think I’ve ever listened to anything like this. How did they even find this guy to put him on this list. Cool drums but not for me
Interessante Rhythmen, aber zu treibend und monoton um am Stück zu hören. Zu roh.
Another one I wanted to like and just got boring and repetitive
Мее
Appreciate something different, but this album didn’t resonate with me. Really liked the guitar parts and polyrhythms on some of the songs, but most of the songs just blended together. I can appreciate elements of this, but I can’t say I enjoyed the whole thing.
It wasn't bad, but it didn't speak to me like some of the other world music albums have. It was like a good jam session.
Day557 - the longer i listened the less i liked it
Eh sorry this just isn't for me. The singing/chanting doesn't add anything and the instruments are kind of just there. I have a hard time believing people actually listen to this besides to stay "look how cultured I am." 3.5/10 (1.75/5)
Not really my jam... But I was able to listen to the whole album, which makes it better than some other stuff on here :D
Felt like a recording of a classroom learning a song.
not particularly to my liking. fine
This is probably mostly about me, but something about a lot of the tracks really spiked my blood pressure. Not sure if it was the pace, the vocals, or what, but it made me feel on edge and I needed a few breaks.
It was fine. Not my thing.
Het is wel leuk om een wat bredere blik op pop-muziek voorgeschoteld te krijgen. Ahoewel, pop muziek. Een aantal nummers maken gebruik van een voorzanger, waarna de groep alles herhaalt. Dat is meer een dorpsfeestje rond het kampvuur. Erg gezellig, maar om dat via Spotify binnen te halen, voelt wel erg strijdig met de beleving. Het matcht ook niet helemaal met de internet/wiki uitstraling van een gerenommeerde band. De wiki-term 'octet' zal technisch kloppen, maar wekte bij wel verkeerde verwachtingen. De officiële naam van de artiest, dekt meer de lading. Dit draait vooral om één man (Sabu), de man van de handdrums. Om het achtergrondkoortje nu te gebruiken om een octet te vullen....
Dit soort oude muziek is doorgaans niet suitable for work, dus ik had het even uitgesteld tot een rustige, druilerige zondagochtend. Het is ook wel zondagse muziek, want het is nogal bezwerend met de percussie en de zang. Als een gospel predikt de hoofdzanger zijn preek en herhalen de zangeressen een vast zinnetje. Al is het wel van het niveau duolingo, buenos noches, senor! Geef me dan liever "buenos noches, mi amor" van dalida, dat doet me namelijk denken aan de afleveringen van de avondetappe met de martosaurier. Hoe toepasselijk was dat geweest nu de tour net begonnen is. Verder is het alsof je bij een eenvoudig optreden in de lokale Ponderosa bent, maar je je niet helemaal op je plaats voelt. Je bent toevallig beland op een feestje van iemand die je niet kent. De beste man trommelt er wel aardig op los en af en toe horen we een fijn gitaartje. Het staat alleen een beetje te schel afgesteld allemaal, dus echt plezier beleef ik er niet aan. Meer dan een 2 kan ik niet geven.
Oh these types of albums bare just not my jam lol but I can see the good in the music just not for me
Weirdly, kind of the best place I could have started for this. Would I listen again? No. But what good would it have done me to have started with Is This It? and gone 'Huh, yeah, still think the Strokes are pretty good'? Driving, percussive - my god, is it percussive - and the sort of thing I'd never have actively sought out. Problem is that I don't really see where this sits. It's not compelling in the way where the emotion is immediately intelligible, even if the words aren't. It's almost too raw in that way. But it's not easy enough to listen to where it can sit in the background. Highlight Track - Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso.
Interesting
Not my thing
#623. There's possibly some context in which you could convince me this is good, but I dont know what it is at this moment. 2/5: it's probably drugs, I'd guess
Another bongo album?! The only way this was entertaining was to imagine that my three sons were the ones making the music. Now that was hilarious.
I I’m sure this album is seminal if I were a jazz / latin percussionist, but I’m not, so it didn’t really move me.
373/1001 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
Could have been great, but this really wasn't for me.
Perhaps I'm just uncultured but this didn't do it for me. Pretty minimal instrumentation, some songs only percussion, lot of repetition in both vocals and music. Sonically didn't sound bad and would be good background music but just wasn't that interesting.
I wonder which one of you hipsters are going to give this album 4 or 5 stars.
very repetitive
Sabu, of whom I simply had not heard, will not be someone I'm checking out in the hit parade. And not only because this came out in 1957 and I assume he's long since retired. Like a lot of music of this kind of time period and this kind of genre, I'm sure it's ground breaking and to be respected, but I don't wanna hear it ta.
In fairness to poor Sabu, I don’t think I’m in the mood to listen to any music today.
Hard to not get up and dance to this one. A little difficult to get through since I’m not a Spanish speaker. First, I thought it was kind of fun and then I couldn’t wait for it to end. I’ve heard enough bongo drums to last me for a while. Perhaps they were trendsetters for this genre. Just not my thing.
Sick drums Opener is fire, almost crashed my car
1.875
Painful to listen at times, to say the least. The songs where there were actually other instruments besides drums were kind of okay, but they sort of lacked creativity on the individual solos. The songs featuring just the drums, however…..awful. Who the hell wants to listen to 6 minutes of bongos and congas? And don't get me started on the vocals. Just overall the music was way too harsh-sounding and repetitive. I can't discount the full band songs, so I can't justify a one-star rating; barely a two, though, however.
Interesting as a change and I enjoyed the drumbeats in a couple of tracks, but mostly not my sort of thing. Would I switch away if it was on in the background? Probably?
Wasn't expecting this to be so early when I first started listening. It was enjoyable if kind of generic sounding to me. I liked the focus on drums.
Solid! But unfortch need to start being harsher so 2
I like Tejano music, but this was a bit too much bongo an I didn't like the vocals very much.
Very drum centric. Reminded me of a rawer less produced version of the guy we had a couple of weeks back.
You get the gist of it pretty quickly
Yes but no
Yeah not doing it for me
i would've liked this a lot more with less repetition and more guitar. it just wasn't for me!
i liked when they brought out the guitar favorites: el cumbanchero, rhapsodia del maravilloso
Repetitive Cuban Rumba featuring conga drums broken up by random yells and loud samba whistles.
This was interesting. It was fairly sparse musically but I can see how this was an influence on later african music I've enjoyed.
Never heard this one. Salsa makes me positively tap my foot, but this was hard to listen to.
I don't really know enough about this music to comment.
Lacks a more diverse sound. While I love latin percussion, this just wasnt very interesting and too 1 dimensional
Cuban jazz. Not very melodic, very minimal. Repetitive. Mostly drums and vocals, sounds more like traditional African music than jazz.
It sounds like he's a congo drum virtuoso, but for me the combination of drums and singing/chanting is not interesting enough to want to hear it again.
World music - probably fine, but not for me. 2/5
I found this more difficult to listen to than I expected - I think it was possibly just a little too grating to work to easily?
I wish I understood percussion more than I do now. It would ave helped here. Mostly just come banging around with some chanting vocals that's do get repatatve for me. But not bad. Just not something I'll be spinning again and again
Look, the guy’s a helluva conga player, but I don’t need 40 minutes of his playing any more than I want to hear 40 minutes of plain guitar noodling from someone like Jeff Beck.
Not my cup of tea. Repetitive and loud.
Jazz conga bongos album that really doest work on an icy commute to work. Overly repetitive and annoying at times. I was not in the mood. 2
boring :/
fine, maybe a little annoying / boring at times. highlight was the guitar rather than the drums.
Album 697 of 1001 Sabu - Palo Congo (1957) Rating : 2.5 / 5 I enjoy listening to this but can't really deem it a "great" album. It is a nice introduction to Afro-Cuban jazz for anyone who isn't familiar. I would recommend.
Twee dingen die ik meeneem na het beluisteren van 'Palo Congo': 1) Dit album is echt een reminder hoe verweven de Caribische en Afrikaanse muziekhistorie is (hoe zou dat nou komen???). Latin jazz is in vele opzichten een zuster van de West Afrikaanse stijlen met jazz-ritmes, zoals afrobeat of highlife. Voortbordurend op Westerse ideeën, maar wel dichtbij lokale tradities blijvende. Dit voelt echter wel heel erg authentiek voor een in New York geboren artiest, wat wel verfrissend is. 2) Ik heb geen greintje Caribisch bloed door m'n aderen stromen, of ook maar één West-Indisch allel in mijn genoom. Op momenten tijdens het openingsnummer en 'Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso' na lukt het me niet om écht te viben op de ritmes. Ze zijn misschien wel wat te complex voor mijn Hollandse brein. En de ellenlange conga-solo's werken eerder op de zenuwen dan dat ik zin heb om eens even flink met de heupen te gaan zwaaien. Ik vond het best leuk om eens een Latin Jazz-plaat te treffen hiero, maar het echt op waarde schatten gaat me moeilijk af. 6/10 Highlights: El Cumbanchero Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso
Mooi en grensverleggend om eens een album te luisteren waar de conga centraal staat als instrument. En deze plaat is gewoon al 68 jaar oud, dat is best sick. Het klinkt super Cubaans en is jazzy. Vind het extra lekker als er een gitaartje en zang bij komt, zoals in het slotnummer. Halverwege werkt ik het getrommel al aardig beu, zeker in Asabache - wat enkel trommeltjes zijn. De jeu kwam daarna toch weer terug, dus best verrast bij zo'n plaat het tot het eind een aangename luisterervaring is gebleken. 6/10 Highlights Tribilin Cantore
Drums
Definitely vibing to Choferito-Plena. Is it amazing? No. But the guitar tone and lived in atmosphere are both so messy and inviting. Otherwise, this falls into a category of percussion heavy world music that only really works for me at times. On one hand, I like the messiness of it all; it feels tangible and real. On the other, there is only so much hand-banged poly-rhythm and call and response shouting that I can listen to before I get worn out. This album was pretty low for my personal appeal. With the exception of Choferito-Plena (which I took as the most western in here) I really didn't care. This is a low 2 for me.
Fine music, but not something I need 40 minutes of. Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso was a favorite. 2.5 here. Repetition was the downside. Rhapsodia and Tribilin Contore gave it that extra 0.5.
Some of the songs with just bongos and instruments were pretty awesome, especially the first song. But the random chanting and whistles and what not were quite brutal
Kinda just the same thing over and over again. Nothing really stood out to me at all. Was hoping for it to be a little more jazzy.
Nein Danke
This is music that would be good live. As an album, it wasn't.
I didn't enjoy this a massive amount.
I can get down to this kind of music, but this record? Nah… I know it’s from the 50’s but the songs just feel incomplete.
A Cuban Rumba album. Not sure why this album is in this list as it deson't seem to be significant or historically important in any way - at least not according to its Wikipedia entry. Overall, not bad, if you like this sort of thing.
This sounded like a devolved version of Phonk. I'll have to look into the history of it and see if its actually the case, or if phonk carries heavy influence from these roots. The album overall was barren, I kept waiting for some chord structure to hit me, but by song 2 realized this was mainly a bongo centric album. I couldn't find anything on how much this influenced the world, or at least the wiki didn't note anything.
Nie wiem, co to tutaj robi i nic nie mogę nawet znaleźć na temat tego albumu. Totalne widmo. Nigdy mi nie było po drodze z muzyką afro-kubańską ani afrykańską, choć YouTube i Spotify mi świadkami, że próbowałem. Nic nie zapamiętałem z tego albumu poza wrażeniem irytującego stukania bez ładu i składu. I mówię to jako osoba, która uwielbia bębny i za dzieciaka chciała być perkusistą.
Kinda in the vein of Tanto Tempo and Siembra. Vibe/experience music that isn't something I'd put on while in the car or just listening to music, but could get behind in the right contexts (Dancing, soundtracks, etc). Only difference is, a lot of it is just rhythm based with minimal music, so a lot of the album does not do anything for me really. I'd give it a 3 if it weren't for the rhythm based stuff.
I don’t really get it
I had such high hopes, but this wasn’t fun to listen to.
Not for me
I like music with energy and rhythm, which this had, but there really wasn't anything special about it for me.
I know nothing about latino music, but I know this is straight up annoying to listen too. Production is superb for a 50s album.
First off, glad to have more variety in music. Very percussion and chant-heavy. At their best when accompanied by guitar. I can appreciate Sabu for their contributions to Afro-Cuban music and folk songs, but I can't see myself putting this on often. Possibly essential, but not really my thing.
mostly percussion, wish there was more melody
Not the best fit for a dark, snowy January morning. I enjoyed the songs with the whole band a lot more than the ones that were just call/response and drums
Not for me
Not bad, but not all that great either. The percussion-only songs got stale half way through the first one, though it did start out neat. The guitar was very enjoyable when it was present. Vocals were either inconsequential or carried a call-and-response for way too long, to the point that it became droning and almost annoying. Overall fine, but very skippable. Top tracks: Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso, Tribilin Cantore
Ero curioso, poi è partita la canzone dell’eterno buona noche e mi sono ricordato di averlo già sentito e detestato