Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Wow bongos
Palo Congo starts well with the opening track but then quickly loses its way. Way too much bongo, way too repetitive, it's nearly 70 years old and it shows. Not really a fan of the genre anyway, it gets a low 2 because it's inoffensive, just not very good.
Yeah, the man loves a bongo. It's simple, repetitive music, and it gets a bit wearing after about 10-15 minutes. Sadly, the album lasts 40. 2/5.
Not bad
Exactly why I love music.
Energetic
Si t'aimes les congas c'est cool.
Sabu Martinez is one of the first musicians to make Latin jazz popular. He started his career at a very young age, and spent time both Dizzy Gillespie's and Benny Goodman's orchestras. Palo Congo is Sabu's debut album as a band leader. It's an interesting collection of songs in a style known as Cuban Rumba. Sabu led a band with a distorted lead guitarist, strong percussionists, and vocals that lend a tribal sound.
No es para mi
Latin music album. It was fine, just not my style. I enjoyed a couple of songs. Standouts: El Cumbanchero and Choferito-Plena,
i loved it
2 tracks were cool....
Lots of high energy congo / bongo drums, primitive guitar, very repetitive, simple Latino lyrics. Not bad during an elliptical workout, would be a lot better at a late evening party with extra hot salsa and plenty of tequila! Liked it enough to rate it (1.957*s)
To drum at this speed, with this repetition for 6+ minutes straight is a feat in itself and I can respect that. What I don't respect is why this album has to be heard before one dies. I don't like the call-and-respond format of the vocals, a lot of it sounds like Speedy Gonzales yelling to Chiquita Banana Lady. There's a few songs where the rhythms are decent and somewhat primal but I'd rather just be playing the drums myself. Interesting listen but not putting it on.
I can get down with a conga/bongo beat for a while and this album was just enough at 40 mins. Felt like I was in a drum circle at playa de venice or casa de Estrella. Simple and repetitive so not a high mark on the rating. Not the worst so far either...1.8.
I don't understand why this is on the list. 40 minutes of mundane congas mixed with redundant chanting. I've legitimately heard better versions of this at weddings or restaurants. Hard pass. 0.5 stars
No bad, just not for me. The chants get really repetitive.
I didn't hate it but there are a lot better latin congo albums out there. This ended and Spotify started playing another, similar, artist and I had the thought, "finally this is getting good." Then I looked and saw it wasn't this album anymore.
South American folk music. A lot of call and response singing. Songs too long for what they are. The drums and sparse guitar were nice though.
I don't care for music which is mostly percussion, just don't find it very interesting, and a lot of this is only conga drums and shouting. The tracks with guitars are ok
This was fun for something different. I liked the energy and call/response dynamic. Some of the guitar playing was also great for 1957.
interesting 50s drum & jazz
It's great music - it sounds so ritualistic in a weird way? It's like chanting but with instrumentation in it too. It just sets me into a trance but in a good way.
Not my jam. Favourite track: Tribilin Cantore.
Another surprising collection of bangers!
This is just too much. Brilliant stereo recording. But 40minutes is far too much, unless Congo is your thing.
It good be good but it is too repetitive and noisy
Some standout tracks here and there.
J'aurais vraiment aimé aimer cet album, mais honnêtement c'est beaucoup trop niche comme son. Je suis sûr que ça a eu un impact sur la scène latine, mais ça a vraiment mal vieilli. C'est impossible à écouter avec des écouteurs. Le style de vieux stéréo est beaucoup trop irritant : on a l'impression d'avoir deux moitiés de chansons dans chaque oreille en même temps. Aussi, ça fait comme si voir un groupe de ce genre dans un jam session serait vraiment intéressant, mais pas au point de l'endisquer. 3/10
Palo Congo Banging on those bongos like a chimpanzee El Cumbanchero is the closest thing to having a recognisable melody and structure and I quite like it. Billumba-Palo Congo and Rhapsodia del Maravilloso are probably my favourite of the other tracks, the former one of a few tracks that seem to eschew latin sounds for something more African in it’s percussion and chanting, and I liked the guitar on the latter. If you are into this type of thing I presume this is a great album. Cuban Rumba isn’t exactly my thing though, but I think I can appreciate the skill in the polyrhythmic percussion and the general rhythmic focus. Once you tune into that aspect it does become more of an interesting listen. I found myself liking it more and more on the 2nd and 3rd listens. I wouldn’t say I loved it but I found it a lot more interesting and enjoyable than I thought I would. Between a 2 and a 3, I’ll just tip it over to 3. ⭐⭐⭐
Well, I just didn't get a kick out of this. Feels like a token world music inclusion.
Fun and I enjoyed all of it, but did not really make a dent with me.
Один мужик играет на барабане. Иногда он что-то выкрикивает. Остальные выкрикивают то же самое с задержкой в такт. Буэно ноче. Буэно ноче. Буэно диа. Буэно диа. Йойо! Сэньйо. Йойо! Сэньйо.
Just not my cuppa. A bit too... Hectic?
This is probably culturally brilliant, especially for something released in 1957 but it just gave me a headache and was far too repetitive - one of my pet peeves. Kinda felt like I was listening to some street performers in the middle of town and hating every minute of it
one of the more interesting albums i got
highly interesting, rhythmically driven, album. I was not pumped about this one upon first glance but its quite good and will hold your attention. The percussion throughout uses such unique rhythms and backing vocals its a unique experience till the end.
Not for me
sabu's ability to play deeply complex rhythms at the speed he plays them at while also managing to make it sound structured and coherent impressed me. unfortunately this album was a total chore. at a club or party, in the right live environment, im sure this has unbelievable energy. the recording is stiff however and as cool as the rhythm play is, i dont think i can ever love music as un-melodic as this. i would never go as far as to call this not music (and it's probably straight up racist to do so), it is far too expressive (a core goal of art being expression) and technical to be insulted in that way. things shine on tracks 3, 6, and 8, which all feature prominent and fascinating guitar melodies played by arsenio rodriguez. i would be much more interested in an album that blended the guitar playing of those tracks with the rhythm section on the rest of the album. honestly just for introducing me to rodriguez's guitar skills, this was worth the listen
Incessant conga drums, off key yelling, metallic banging, repetitive call and response, and the random whistles. None of this was remotely enjoyable.
This album does not belong on this list.
I have owned albums from this genre and seen a live performance by Grupo Fantasma - incredibly fun live music, especially if the crowd is lively. This is a great album - I can see its influence on the US pop/rock scene. Pretty seminal being from the 50's.
3/10 I'm glad they're having fun and for that I'm not going to give them one star. I'm not going to listen anymore but I wish them well. 5-14-2024
No. No in tune with my "western ear". Sounds like too much banging and shouting.
So entertaining!
Great beat, weird music
Blue Note Congo. If you hate it, I’m sorry for your mother.
So so different. Excellent rhythms. I don't even know how I can classify this album.
This is a style of music that ideas can be taken from and cool music can be made. But it in its raw form for an entire album? No thanks. It's awful.
This album is a lot of fun, but as always the real treat when listening to one of the vanishingly rare world music albums on this list is reading the racist reviews from nerds apoplectic that they had to leave their comfort zone of Metallica or Blur or whatever.
Boyfriend said it’s nice music to fall asleep to…? Anyway, I think the recording is a little flat, with modern recording techniques it would have a lot more depth and balance. Still pretty swingy but I would like this a lot more live I think. Now it’s just a lot of noise.
Two songs in, I had very little drive to finish this, and after it was over, no inclination to ever hear it again. If Palo Congo is "important", respectfully, I don't have any desire to understand why. There's already more music available to be heard than a person can listen to in one lifetime.
Not my bag
My kids liked it
There can't be too many congueros (players of the conga (a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba)) with international recording contracts in 2024, so just as well this exists from 1957. Although the thing it does is well done, it is a bit of a museum piece and 20 minutes would have been enough to illustrate the point. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: El Cumbanchero Date listened: 23/04/24
It's fun. There's a lot of call and response. I like the drums.
Sabu’s Palo Congo is very… vibes. I can’t vouch exactly for the meaning of the tracks, mostly because my Spanish knowledge is limited to high school grammar. But, it sounds smooth, and the music is overall relaxing. I like Choferito-Plena and Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso. I feel most of it unfortunately sounds the same, and so I can’t give most of the songs very high ratings. All in all, Palo Congo is an alright album. Best Song: Choferito-Plena Worst Song: Ago Elegua
Ein schwungvolles, abwechslungsreiches Rumba Album. Die Musiker genial, der Gesang manchmal zu schrill. Aber insgesamt: sehr schön. "Asabache", "El Cumbanchero", "Choferito-Plena" sind einfach genial und ein toller Anspieltipp. "Rhapsodia del Maravilloso" ist vielleicht der Höhepunkt, aber das ist einfach Geschmackssache.
I could have used a little more conga.
Good for a certain mood and setting. Not something I could listen to at work, but good for cooking dinner
Maybe I was just in the right mood this morning but this really got me 4
Bongo's Bongo's bongo's.
The guitar switch up in the second half of the album was very welcome. Overall it was enjoyable but a bit repetitive after a while. Drums as a focus always struggle as they are limited by the various sounds they can produce. Good background music but probably not something I will be pursuing for active listening in the future.
The drums were great and the final track was really good! I wish the singing didn't bother me as much as it did, but it almost felt like the vocalists were off slightly and it was a bit grating to my ears. I hope we get more music outside of the anglosphere because it's always a treat
This is so wonderful
Really not my thing
Put into the 'appreciate more than enjoy' column. Slice of history but not much to bring me back
As an instrument the conga does not have a lot of variety, I suspect. There is only so much you can do, and after a while listening to it (say 2 to 3 minutes) becomes tiresome
Not great, not terrible. Probably won't revisit tbh. 3
Rumba cubana. Ni fu ni fa.
Cuban rumba. Me resultan siempre repetitivas las canciones.
Not terrible, I actually really love the percussion and guitar. But my god this album is super annoying to me
I get it, but it hasn't really stood the test of time.
Very much appreciate this. Very happy it’s on here. Appreciate the serious musicianship involved but not something I’ll likely listen to again 3.1
Finally, some good fucking music
Whilst I appreciate the longevity of this album and its inclusion in the must listen to album list, I have to say I failed to appreciate it. It seemed very repetitive and all I picked up on was the constant beating of the conga drumming. It reminded me of jungle tribal music and whilst I am aware of the cultural meaning that surrounds this type of music, it really wasn't for me so I am voting purely on my listening experience.
"El Cumbanchero" and "Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso" are the standout tracks. I don't know that much Spanish and even less about Latin Jazz. I suspect Robert Dimery, the author of this original 1001 albums list, is also in the same boat. I feel weird rating what for me is clearly an orphan album from a tradition of music that I know very little about, whose lyrics I don't understand, and the album does not dovetail easily into the rest of the list comprised of influences and progenitors and descendants. I felt the same rating the Lebanese pop star Khaled's "Kenza": Cool music, but also 3.2 stars, because I have only the melody to go on.
Well this is a harmless little album right here. Does it need to be on this list? No, not really. However, I'm not upset at all that I listened to this. It's just nice. I don't really get a lot of 50s albums, so it's something different. The sound is a nice change of pace from the standard genres like rock, pop, hip-hop, and soul. It has a purpose and it fulfills that in every way it needs to. The instruments are pleasant and the singing/chanting works well. It does feel a bit quiet at times, but that's not that big of a deal. I'm sure this album has more value to other people and groups, but for me, it just serves as some decent background music. 3/5.
Fun upbeat instrumental music.
Tolle Stimmung, für das Alter großen Respekt. Aber nichts, was man öfters hören muss. 3/5
No
Meh.
Interesting and different. Couldn't listen to it over and over.
Couldn't get into it. Too repetitive for me.
There was not much to be expected apart from the iconic Blue Note imagery that is splashed upon me, which indicated that this was something of interest. And, for the most part, there is. What hurts this album is the apparent obscurity it holds, for there could very well be doubt that even the most curiously minded jazz fan know that this album exists. Yet Palo Congo consists of the kind of grooves that would be enticing to the listener as they dig deep. Come for the cover, stay for the music. Favorites: El Cumbanchero, Asabache, Simba, Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso, Tribilin Cantore.
Completely new sound for me . I suppose as a generalisation the modern Latin sound ,samba ; mombo beats continue in this sense today.
It's at times entertaining but at others incredibly irritating and repetitive. I'm not angry to have listened to it, and it's relatively short, but not one I'm keen on returning to. Nice to have a Blue Note album at last though. 20/03/24
Good sounds and ideas although a bit repetitive and the recording is not that good
Loved this. Can't go wrong with Blue Note really. Wouldn't have given it a listen without this app.
Lucky to be getting a 2 to be honest. Quite like the guitars at times. Too much conga. 18/100
I wanted to just get up and dance the whole time! I feel like it should be remixed because the vocals were sometimes overpowering, but this was a really fun find!
Interesting but not essential
Highly energetic; one can't help but get up and move, and the repetitious rhythms are almost, to an extent, hypnotic. That said: vocal performances are limited, as the emphasis is primarily on the congas specifically, and while very grooving, the sound gets overly familiar after a while. Nowhere near bad, but not thought-provoking enough for frequent listening.
Cool rhythms and vocals throughout with some nice polyrhythms and guitar work. The percussion is very cool. I love that there are long periods of percussion only. Sadly, this is not a genre I will listen to often, but enjoyed this album to start my day.
One's glad to expand one's musical knowledge, particularly in the global and historical sense (and this would be Exhibit A of that confluence). Certainly, there are moments here that are rich beyond the rawness; "Rhapsodia," for instance, is, well, rhapsodic. Many other grooves are deep and true and primal, and the enthusiasm and passion of the playing is undeniable. This can't be said to be exactly one's thing. Still, it must be praised.
this would be 100x better live it's fine mayb 5/10
While this is certainly a groovy record, I ultimately most of the tracks here to be rather barebones in large due to the fact that practically half of the tracks here are primarily just congas and rhythms that get rather pretty repetitive after a few minutes (this is practically the case for the first two tracks). When the songs on this record do get extra instrumentation such as bass and guitar the tracks are noticeably more fleshed out, but they are a bit few and far between. Favorite tracks: Choferito-Plena, Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso, Tribilin Cantore
Messemble que j’aimerais ça théoriquement, mais en réalité ça me tape vite sur les nerfs
talented with the rhythms, pretty much unlistenable if not interested in listening to the same music for 40 minutes
Can't fault the musicianship, and can't fault this being an exemplar of the genre. It's great as background music, but very tiring to actively listen to.
This is great. I like Afro-Cuban music anyway but the heavy congos are fun in this. Can definitely listen to this on a regular basis!
Total not my style... mostly anoying
Es un disco divertido, me ha gustado bastante. Además algunas canciones eran en español.
Not really a massive fan of this. I feel it's what people listen to 70 years on when they are trying to be trendy.
fun listen
Interesting portuguese/tribal/cumbia type music.
3.25
Fun and charming!
I think you had to be there.
Yes yes yes! Already love the first song. Love having a chance to hear the whole album. Truly, this is exactly what I was hoping to find on this list. Everything about this is perfect.
not for me.
It was exactly as I expected it to sound. I can respect the genre and the influence this had on it, but it’s just not for me.
Repetitive
Congas mother fuckers! I’ve listened to this before and I find it enjoyable. Sure, it’s not something most people will listen to every day or in every situation, but when given a chance it can be a bit hypnotic to get lost in the polyrhythms and Latin melodies contained within. I also find this to be great music to listen to while focusing on work or a project. Sometimes we need to expand our horizons, and sometimes that new horizon is a straight up 6 minute conga instrumental.
To summarise this album: bongo solos and shouting in spanish. My first thought was "do they allways need one person who sings of key?" But then i realise that it's probably a cultural acceptance of that note interval. But as a non spanish speaking person it sounds flat.
I haven't heard this in forever! 5 stars for the beat, random shouts and animal sounds and 5 stars for the synchronicity: I just listened to a podcast about Rafael Hernandez this morning.
This is fine, but boy howdy, many of the people reviewing things on this site are absolutely not. This isn't my jam, but it doesn't mean it's shit just because it's foreign to what one is used to. People suck.
interesting. I liked the drums a lot. will probably never listen to it again but it was pretty good
I love cuban music so much
Ooh! An old one...
Notable tracks: El Cumbanchero, Aggo Elugua, Billumba-Palo Congo, Choferito-Plena, Rhapsodia Del Maraville
(in spanish), impressive rhythm
Highly enjoyable, but that’s to be expected from a Blue Note record.
It’s fun for a track But a whole album of this - no thanks
This album is pretty cool. I don't have a ton of context for conga music, but it's neat to listen to. The polyrhythms and call-and-response are familiar from other types of Afro-cuban influenced genres. The sound production could be better, but that's not unusual for the time it was made 4/5
I understand the negative comments about the album's repetitiveness, but I have a different opinion: I consider it excellent, full of captivating and even spiritual energy. I was impressed by Sabú's performance on the conga. Not only did I enjoy it greatly, but I also decided to delve deeper into his work and found out that he has several albums in collaboration with Art Blakey, which are now definitely on my listening list. I'm sure I'll revisit it at some point. Best Track: Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso 3.5/5
This has great energy, as if a community celebration is happening rather than merely a performance. The musicianship is at a high level, and it is a lot of fun!
Good music, not my style
I DONT WANT TO LISTEN TO ANY MORE CONGOS
Unfortunately I find myself stuck once again in an album that is quite repetitive. The language barrier definitely doesn’t help, but I’m also thinking a lot of this is on whoever mixed the album. We get a lot of vocals that could be/ARE great, but it sounds like we are listening to them sing from miles away. However, this album has two fun tracks im fond of. “Rhapsodia del Maravilloso” and “Tribilin Cantore” both of these tracks feel like a breath of fresh air after most of the earlier tracks in the album are the same bongo patterns with the same guitar.
WEPA BABY THIS IS SMOOTH! I can hear the influences that some of my favorite Bachata songs took from this era of music. It is just easy listening and not much more which does not make it bad but makes it a nice background album. The instrumentation and the way the band works together on some of the songs is so interesting like on Rhapsodia del Maravilloso, The guitar keeps building higher and higher while the drums cascade in. So much patience and grace in a move like that its a 3.5 closer to a 4
a bit too one dimensional for me
Sorry, I feel so uncultured but it’s just not for me. Musically great, just my opinion.
ja wel crazy ngl
Just couldn't get into it.
mmm ok?
My friend has this CD. We never listened to it though. It is all of the same palate. Boring after the first tumbao or so. Is it historically significant? One star
Ahh the eternal question - how much Congo is too much Congo. Turns out the answer is pretty much anything more than one song’s worth.
Sehr spannend. Musik pur.
Felix called it caveman music. Pretty fun but couldn’t get through entire album
DIg it. Sabu was a rhythmic machine.
Too tribal for me.
Good but not my bag
You will like this if you are a hardcore Congo drum fan I guess.
Forgettable rumba
This makes me want to palm somebody's face repeatedly like a bongo
congo
I am clearly not the target market for this album.
Kubanische Rumba. Sehr variabel. Gefällt mir.
Conga drum bliss
Sorprende ver este tipo de música aquí.
I really enjoyed this at background music, unsure that I would seek it out again though. 3/5
4/5 Fun fun fun. Great album to not worry about a thing to.
Ihan saatanan hyvä! Kunnon rumbaa eikä syntikoita 4/5
Onpas tiukkaa, kunnon tanssimusaa. Etenkin puhtaat congatykittelyt toimii. 3,5/5.
Yleensä innostun maailmanmusiikista mut tähän en oikein päässy sisään, ehkä genre ei oo lemppari. 3/5
Fun and energetic, takes me to another time and place. The production and harshness of the backing vocals detracts a bit from the experience and some of the tracks, like Simba, were a bit much. But overall, two thumbs up. Certainly interesting and worth a listen. Also, took Spotify down a great path for today, always nice side benefit. 3.5 rounding up for attitude.
The first non-english album on the list. Didn't expect it to blow me away but it definitely feels ahead of it's time. Some off time signatures and complex drumming.
I appreciate a lot of things about this album, but it’s a bit too rhythmic and repetitive for my taste. Just not for me!
Och vem gillar det här?
I don’t want to work I just want to bang on the Congo all day. This is some old school instrumental stuff that is fun but overall pretty boring. Nothing against it just not really for me. 4.0/10
Quite enjoyable. Better than i thought. I believe that it was almost a four but was quite repetitive
It was good, but I didn’t really care for it all that much. Nothing inspiring to me.
It’s fine. Not bad, not great.
A little boogaloo goes a long way but I bet this blew the roof off of 1957. Added ‘Tribilin Cantore’
Not for me.
Not my cup of tea. Grade: 1/5
Listened Before? N MEH. Not my style. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: El Cumbanchero
Previous Familiarity: None When I saw the reveal for this album I was pretty excited! I am a total novice to Latin jazz, but I love most everything that Blue Note put out in the 50's & 60's. This was going to be a soulful and sexy ride, right?...Right? Whelp... Soulful? Maybe. Sexy? No. This album was full of interesting African influenced percussion and rhythms, but none of it was overwhelmingly impressive, nor engaging. The vocal chants only detracted from the vibes, and could have been left off entirely. Sabu's ranting chatter added a fun element here and there, but didn't really add enough to make it worthwhile. I'd be willing to check out some more of Sabu's catalog, as I think his influence is important, but unfortunately, I don't think this one is essential.
Heard this before. I really enjoy the foreign album on this list, this one I'm not too sure of. It's nice, but I'm not getting it. 3/5
not my type of music, but not bad
The middle of the album sounds like a drum circle, which would be more fun if you were participating, I think. The rest is nice. I especially liked Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso and Tribilin Cantore
Minimal Viable Jazz. There really isn’t much happening. A guy tapping away at bongos. Some vocals that are bit like found sound recordings. And that’s it. I quite like it, in some ways. But I’m not sure of the significance for this list?
Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso is just El Manicero but I love that song so it's ok. I'm sure this album was influential, but I can't help but feel like there would be better representatives of rumba cubana out there. Best Song: Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso Worst Song:N/A
While I appreciate the artistry, I can't say the album hooked me.
Hey, it ain’t jazz though released by Blue Note. Reminds me of some Cuban traditional music. But in the end I found it quite haunting, and also amused by the number that sounds like Sabu’s band is trying to teach someone Spanish.
I'm sure this was the shit in 1950s Cuba, but I find nothing noteworthy here.
Mischung aus Latin, Jazz und afrikanischer Folklore. Interessant als Hintergrundmusik zu Zigarren und Rum in einer karibischen Bar. Ingesamt aber nicht meine Welt.
Not my thing but I recognize the talent. Making me wonder if this was the catalyst for the character “Ricky Ricardo”
Really likes the Mambo ones. So tracks 1, 3, and the last one. The rest were not good. Either just drumming, or something which didn't for the rest of the theme. 2.5* averaging out
This might be the worst of the world albums on this list and that's saying something.
Amazing! Just listening can clean out your sinuses! More!
Different, which was nice.
3.75
This was motivating music to run to. The more musical ones I really liked, but more just drum ones only I found a little harder to get through. Overall good stuff though!
Good fun! Enjoyable and relaxing
This was really fun to have on while working, some of it reminded me of Todd the bongo player from Flight of the Conchords
congas & bongos, ok.
Not for me at all
Eläimellistä menoa
Whole lot of conga drumming. Not much there to redeem this one for me. I liked when the whistle was used. Not really sure how this is essential to the history of popular music.
Un album qui a eu pour seul mérite de bousiller une journée de la triste vie d'eltrapeze.
Un album minable de la part de ce groupe d'indigènes et de leurs tambours, est ce que tu te fous de notre gueule Robert ???
Pues entretenido, entiendo por que está aquí. Me dio un poco de conflicto algunas lyrics creo que es algo que no entiendo bien pero pues se aprendió
I liked this but didn’t finish.
I love the Spanishy stuff but it did sound like someone was hitting a frying pan with a spoon for most of it
Not for me I'm afraid
Love this energy.
Cuban rumba. Me resultan siempre repetitivas las canciones.
I was really into the first song, I love music of that style. After that it became insufferable, just noises.
Es ist gut.
Probably the best *checks Wikipedia* Cuban rumba album I’ve ever listened to.
Not the best latin album I've listened to so far but it had a couple that I saved to playlists.
Not for me
apenas ruim, credo
Apesar de america latina, conga não chegou muito no Brasil, tenho zero costume com esse tipo de música e não consigo me divertir como deve ser pra alguém que cresceu ouvindo isso, já que é bem dançante
Listened to this while playing Aeon's End with my partner against Hollow Crown. We lost twice. Hmmm...I kinda was excited to hear an album like this...but I feel like there HAS to be better examples of this genre than this. The vocals were a bit tough to digest at times. The second track had my partner and I shouting back in a call and response manner, so that was pretty fun. A solid 2.
pretty cool. quite varied and some songs styles I had not really experienced before.
What the heck... this is the rhythm, this is not music
come off it
5/10
A fun and funky upbeat salsa/rumba-y album that would be amazing sitting in an alfresco area on a balmy night in a Latin country, sipping on some cocktails or a nice wine, watching the world go by, perhaps even getting up for a little dance. Best: El Cumbanchero Worst: Aggo Elegua 3.5 Stars
Jungle drums - it sounds like a soundtrack from 1970s Tarzan movies.
The influences are cool from a historical perspective; afro-cuban is something I got to learn about thanks to this album, but the music itself didn't do much for me. This is primarily drums/repetitive beats.
Happy and entertaining at first, but a little boring after a while 3.5
difficult cuban rumba
Terrible
I could see this being fun live, as a record it just falls flat. Will I listen to again: 0%
Musically an absolute 5, I love it. The vocals and this is perhaps a reflection on how they recorded, just got quite tiresome and distractive. 3.5 for sure but I round up.
I really like Cuban rhythms and this was no exception. However, the vocals have a short play time before I hit my limit.
The beat was decent. I don't think I'd listen again.
I enjoyed the beats a bit, but the vocals got a bit much. Better than not liking it at all.
Je l'ai écouté y'a 2 semaines mais je crois que c'était chiant
Not familiar with this artist, but liked the sound (samba?)
Certainly not music I’d regularly listen to, so it was an enjoyable experience hearing the driving conga drums and funky beats. And for music made in 1957, there’s a freshness to the recording (I liked the mono speaker for vocals). But overall, the music is repetitive which averages out my score. Favorite track was probably the opener “El Cumbanchero” so it was hard to keep the hype up from there. For music I’ve never heard before, it was easy to sing along and bop to the beat though and that’s impressive.
There was quite a lot of bongo in this Congo
alright but distracting for work
Loads of fun - I couldn't help but get up and move. Sounds authentic and real. 3.5 stars
Borders on world/indigenous music more than conventional (or unconventional) jazz. 3.0
This was a fresh sounding 50s album!
Cuban rumba. Me resultan siempre repetitivas las canciones.
Gear: Focal Clear Artwork: 🪘😃🟨 Production: 🔥👌🎯 Music: 😅⁉️🤔 Rating: 🪘🪘/5
De conga's krijgen een flink pak rammel. Je waant je zowel in Zuid-Amerika als diep in Afrika dankzij de Spaanstalige call en response actie. Een fijne reis is het echter niet. Hoe de zang en instrumenten lomp gepanned worden in m'n headset is ook bloedvervelend. De hoofd-dorpsgek tettert vol in je linker oor, de rest van de instelling antwoord schreeuwend terug via je rechteroor. Heel af en toe wordt er een keer van kant gewisseld, maar het is altijd of links, of rechts. Alsof je in Spanje in de trein naar de huishoudbeurs zit. Een verjaardag met teveel kinderen. De Decathlon op zaterdag. Een muziekworkshop met de begeleid-wonen-groep. Jazz waarbij de muzikanten als kind in een ketel met paëlla zijn gevallen. Bij track 4 'Asabache' word je heel even in hypnose getrommeld om te beginnen aan de ayahuasca ceremonie maar die mondt bij track 5 'Simba' al heel gauw uit in een nachtmerrie van een slechte trip, wanneer de medicijnman nogal fel schreeuwend z'n opwachting maakt. Ze pakken er een scheidsrechtersfluit bij, bakstenen worden in rap tempo met een metalen troffel op maat geslagen, indianengeluiden, geluiden die je als witte man in een voetbalstadion nooit zou moeten maken. Het is wel een ervaring en ik kan er de grap wel van inzien, maar wat kut eigenlijk.
This Latin type jazz definitely a diffferent sound then most Hispanic music I’ve listened to growing up. Is this the origins of the cumba dance??? Overall they go ham on bangos and it’s a fun album 💃🏻 I better see some other better Hispanic music rep on here tho
2 headphone mandatory album, not bad
That Cong sure isa fine bloke
I downed a red sour patch ghost energy drink and put this on to start work at 5:30AM and I got real productive real fast. Hijacking the arena sport aux to play this during soccer games 🔥
Dinkey Cong in Congo Jungle
Unique, and very far from my usual listening. Glad I got exposed to it but probably won't play it again
so much of this takes me back to my childhood at the hindu temple - the drums, the call and repeat - that I am both nostalgic and grateful to have understood the universality of that experience, even if I cannot see myself ever coming back to the recording. live, however, is a different story.
Not add bad as the other reviews make it out to be 2.75 stars
Didn't get into it but didn't really try
Congo’s are now a vibe
Got me going on a Sunday morning!
Really boring songs. Lengthy and repetitive instrumentals. No good singer. Some songs were pure instrumentals.
Hey bruh, go jam out on some congos. You over there, go beat the shit out of that bell thing while me and the boys yell some random shit. We'll be played in Cuban restaurants in the states for all time!
Every instrument was playing a different song, and they were playing it for as long as possible. When there was the rare moment of synchronization, it was ruined by not-quite-singing-not-quite-yelling.
Some songs were interesting, but some were way too repetitive and unenjoyable. I liked trying something that's pretty different from what I usually listen to, though. Maybe if I were more used to this type of music, I'd like it more.
Fr? Album came out in 1957 and I tried to put it in perspective, but I couldn’t get into it. The rhythms were nice to zone out to at times while working, but then an oddly place yell would just pull me right out of focus. I understand music was not as easily accessible back then but I would much rather listen to Elvis or chuck berry or maybe even my dryer running instead of this if I was alive in 1957.
Blind album and artist. World music ain't for me. Has some catchy parts but could not get through it.
Another listener walked so that I can run: “ Look, I'll be the first to admit that I probably just don't "get" this. But the plain fact was this was painful to listen to. It's repetitive noise. You would have to be just REALLY into conga drums to love this album. There's a 6 minute track that's NOTHING BUT CONGAS. And the next one is a 4 minute track of MOSTLY congas broken up by random yells and loud samba whistles. On the tracks where there ARE vocals, they're off-key shrieks accompanied by extraordinarily shrill "harmonies" (if you can call them that). It's. The. WORST. Hands down. Listening to this album makes me angry.” If you have made it this far, i actually enjoyed two songs as added them.
This is fun. 3.5/5
Katsos, olen ensimmäinen, joka myöntää, että luultavasti "ymmärrän" tätä. Mutta selvä tosiasia oli, että tätä oli mahtavaa kuunnella. Se on toistuvaa melua. Sinun täytyy olla TODELLA innostunut conga-rummuista rakastaaksesi tätä albumia. Siellä on 6 minuutin kappale, joka on MITÄÄN KUIN CONGAS. Ja seuraava on 4-minuuttinen raita USEIMMAT kongaista, joita rikkovat satunnaiset huudot ja kovaääniset sambapillit. asabache
Latin grooves with lots of vibes but a little repetitive.
Niet mijn genre, en niet boeiend
I think I’ve hit my Conga quota for the year
a cultural immersion into some spirited music. Not for my repeated listening but I enjoyed the flavor of the music and percussions.
Dull, repetitive and lacks anything interesting
Fine for what it is, but I wouldn’t revisit
lively and upbeat, but to be honest, most of the songs are pretty redundant.
Yeah, it's like the drum circle at La Universidad de Mexico Centrale got some studio time.
Maybe if I hadn't listened on headphones this could have been tolerable, but the hard panning made me wish I didn't have ears. Why is the bass so horrendous?
3+
pretty cool, i'm a sucker for percussion and this has some excellent percussion. may not turn my world upside down but i enjoy it.
the drums sound absolutely beautiful. Very uplifting music makes me wanna 🕺🏿
Primo cooking music muchahco
From the genre name I thought I'd enjoy this more, but it ended up having a lot of long periods of not a lot
I tend not to like congas, bongos, and that sort of percussion instrument. I don't really know why. Might be because most of my exposure to it has been in rock and pop, and most times I've heard them they usually seemed like an add-on that didn't bring much to the music. I also don't think it helps that in television shows and movies when I was growing up, that style of percussion instrument was always used to connote "primitive" cultures, Anyway, this is better to my ears because the percussion ensemble is the main focus, and the rest of the music is built around it. Some fun stuff in here.
Best Song: Tribilin Cantore. Nice guitar work. Worst Song: Billumba-Palo Congo. It turns out you can repeat a vocal phrase too many times in a single song. Overall: Pleasantly rhythmic but unpleasantly repetitive. Something about the relatively raw vocals repeating certain phrases for minutes at a time did not work for me.
What possible contribution to music could this have possibly given to make this a 'must listen' album? I imagine the person making the list must have been smoking something very good to give this anything other than a 1 star. It's albums like this that make me want to trash the idea of finishing this project.
Not a fan of being shouted at in Spanish in the morning. I didn't enjoy this album at all.
Outstanding Latin jazz - might rival “the one…”
OK. Preferred the songs with lyrics
My husband: "Is this nothing but fucking drums?" Well no, but actually yes.
Egg
I’m usually very lenient on old non English music but this was the worst one I’ve gotten in recent memory. It’s a lot of annoying call and response with not a lot of interesting instrument work. At this point I think I’m more engaged with the albums again but I’m just in another rough patch. Since this album was so lame, I decided to relisten to southern rock opera and the generally positive 4 turned into a confident 4 because I really enjoy the overall themes of the album on top of the garage blues sound. Southern history and politics were some of my favorite topics in college and I really liked hearing a non-academic, non-literary perspective of the South and segregationism. I especially liked the three great Alabama icons spoken word thing (which is crazy for me) and the song about George Wallace that followed. I have no idea if everything was true but I found Wallace's portrayal as a blindly ambitious demagogue as opposed to hateful segregationist (which he still embraced) to be a really interesting perspective.
So different from what I'd usually listen to. Liked more than I didn't.
Just not my music
Won’t lie, never listened to a Congo album, but damn I’m glad I did.
unfortunately mid
No one wants a 40 minute drum solo
Pretty sparse. Fine listening in the background. Might be a 2 if I was listening to it on a walk
I wasn't impressed by either the percussion or vocals on this album. Nowhere near as good as the Tito Puente record we already heard.
Surprisingly good to work out to, though I’m not sure how much I’d enjoy this album in any other context. Years of listening to “Drums/Space” against my will prepared me for this moment I think. The guitar on “Rhapsodia” was nice.
Enjoyable, fun rumba album - something refreshing and different from the usual American/British pop-rock music that is the vast majority on this list. Though I think that this type of music is even more fun listening to it live in a bar somewhere in Cuba rather than listening to it alone at home far away from the country.
Not my style I think. I can appreciate latino music for sure, but this version of it isent very appealing to me
RIGHT up my alley! Afro Caribbean music is the best.
I’m sure this was culturally significant but not quite my cup of tea
Totally not music I listen to but it was an enjoyable listen.
I'm glad some Congo music was included on this list, needed a reprieve from the amount of American and British rock, but I'm not sure is this is the definitive text for Congo music. 2.5/5
Fort intéressant. J'aime sortir du champ de la musique anglo-occidentale pour entendre de la musique moins «surproduite» et léchée, qui semble se situer plus dans l'événement et l'échange
Latin bongo music. That’s it really. Thanks.
1,5
I don’t think I’m the target audience.
If you are up for come handdrumming, boy you have come to the right place.
This was some very fun stuff, fuse those rhythms straight into my bones baby
Like I was at a warm street party into the late hours of the night, just beautiful.
Eens iets anders. Wel heel leuk. Erg traditioneel
Some bops are OK, where the guitar is the lead Melody or some singing.
Very enjoyable. Loved the singing and instrumentation.