Reviews (page 6 of 8)
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
mi ero presa bene con il genere World ma cos'è sta cosa? che barba e che noia ancora una volta
“Cool conga solo—I wish that was the entire record,” said no one ever. I give it a bonus star for the musicianship and general raucousness.
cuban? haven't heard a lot of this style
God this is hard to listen to. Stupidly repetitive and the vocals are horrible, just shrieking away. It may have been amazing back in 57, but I don't want to listen to it again.
Drums and voices.
Just not really my thing
Rating this for greatness or influence or whatever is pretty impossible for me. I respect it, seems like some good drumming. But it was a lot of the same. I would like to have it next a pool with a mai tai maybe. And that's probably reductive but whatever
Ok, that's enough.
If you like the first 10 seconds of these songs, then you are going to like the entire track because it's SO repetitive. Musically, I enjoyed this (minus the repetitiveness). But the vocals drove me up the frigging wall. Take those away and I would have given this another star.
#74 It's not bad, just not something I would ever listen to.
my kingdom for a guitar
you like bongos? you'll love this! good rhythm and beats, but its repetitive as all hell.
This should be for me. I should like this. But it’s just bongo bongo bongo I don’t wanna leave the Congo over and over! Try a new instrument
Sabu Martinez, commonly known as Sabu, is a percussionist, and that fact is felt throughout this album, with the percussion playing the major role. I can hear a variety of drums and Sabu is truly slapping and striking away, and he does it exceptionally well. However, the percussion alone isn’t enough to keep my interest. The rest of the music feels lacklustre. The singing fails to captivate, and the compositions aren't particularly impressive. And unfortunately, the repetitive drumming also fails to get me into that state of trance that other songs in the genre do. On a positive note, the guitar playing, when it's there, is enjoyable, and I appreciate the album's overall sound. As a result, I think it serves well as background music. But when listening more attentively, I find it falls short in many areas.
not my bag - salsa/south african/cuban something or other
I didn't overly mind it but I don't want to listen to it again Sabu
Bit monotonous, no? I guess it was an exotic curiosity in its day…
Haven’t had one that sucked this hard in awhile
It's like the soundtrack to every Nandos meal I have ever eaten...
Spanish chanting intensifies. It would be a lot better if each song wasn’t the same 10 seconds of music repeated for 5 minutes. 3/10
Hmmm. This is good. But I’m not sure if this is white boy wannabe posing. So it gets two till you can convince me otherwise.
this album was boring as hell but at least it counts towards my spanish log
bad
It's not for me, but it's a bit better than I was expecting. The songs are pleasant enough for the most part and they don't actively irritate me. That said, the bullshit tracks of them screeching can do one. I started to enjoy it way more towards the end, until I realised Spotify had segued into an altogether different album!
Lots of bongos, could have used more cowbell. Everything is hard panned to one ear or the other, its not great when listening with headphones.
Some of Sabu is fun and exciting, most of it is obnoxious and annoying. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone I like.
I’m sorry to say I don’t get it. No melody or narrative to hook me in, just pure rhythm
An entire album of congo music wears out its welcome rather quickly
This just wasn’t for me
This album was enjoyable enough, but it feels like it was pretty inaccessible. Lots of call and response which can get a bit grating. Rhapsodia del Maravilloso was the standout on this album mainly for being a departure from the heavy drum work into guitar work which is splendid. I can't see myself going out of my way to listen to this again, it's pretty repetitive and I found that after Rhapsodia that the album kind of flew by me. On a repeat listen it didn't stick in my head any more than it did the first time. This album for me is a 5/10, wouldn't be upset if I heard it in the background but would probably skip it if I was in charge of the music.
not for me. It's a little too grating. that Simba song felt like an Ice Pic into my brain
I can appreciate the groove but I don't think I'll revisit. Not enough going on. High 2 or low 3.
A couple of good tracks here in an otherwise fun but middling album. 2.5 stars.
I mean, it all kind of sounds the same. I guess that's ok as it's...ok, but just waiting for it to be done. Some hip swinging was had.
A couple of these songs started out good or had good parts but it was just too discordant and yelly for me.
it’s freaky
Palo Congo is interesting, some of the instrumentals are nice but it often goes too long for my liking.
Cool for the first 15 minutes then gets old quick.
Doesn't seem quite as old as it actually is. Not much more to say, too repetitive for me.
Found it quite interesting for a song or 2, but that was plenty. I got the jist of it after that. Nice to have stuff like this on the list, but won't be rushing back
while I can't deny the talents of Sabu, the recording is largely dedicated to long flat examples of some rythyms that dont change and have little or no orchestration so the appeal is very limited. I did find the second to last and last songs to be better because they involved more orchestration.
Kyllä tää oman aikansa piti otteessa, mut pidemmän päälle tuli korvista ulos
I wish I could enjoy this more but something is definitely lost in translation.
Not really my thing. Lot of drums.
It aight. Good energy but too much shouting. 4.5/10
Not my favorite.
What a strange recording to have on this list. Do you like the conga? If not, then this is going to be some rough 40 minutes. Almost impressed with the range going directly from the almost unlistenable 'Simba' to the groovy 'Rhapsodia del Maravilloso'.
Not really for me...
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.
Si t'aimes les congas c'est cool.
No es para mi
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.
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
interesting 50s drum & jazz
Not my jam. Favourite track: Tribilin Cantore.
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
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
Well, I just didn't get a kick out of this. Feels like a token world music inclusion.
Just not my cuppa. A bit too... Hectic?
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
This album does not belong on this list.
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!
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.
Not my bag
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
Good for a certain mood and setting. Not something I could listen to at work, but good for cooking dinner
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.
Meh.
Couldn't get into it. Too repetitive for me.
Lucky to be getting a 2 to be honest. Quite like the guitars at times. Too much conga. 18/100
Interesting but not essential
Messemble que j’aimerais ça théoriquement, mais en réalité ça me tape vite sur les nerfs
Total not my style... mostly anoying
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.
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
Notable tracks: El Cumbanchero, Aggo Elugua, Billumba-Palo Congo, Choferito-Plena, Rhapsodia Del Maraville
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.
Just couldn't get into it.
mmm ok?
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.
Felix called it caveman music. Pretty fun but couldn’t get through entire album
Good but not my bag
I am clearly not the target market for this album.
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!
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
A little boogaloo goes a long way but I bet this blew the roof off of 1957. Added ‘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?
While I appreciate the artistry, I can't say the album hooked me.
congas & bongos, ok.
Eläimellistä menoa
Un album qui a eu pour seul mérite de bousiller une journée de la triste vie d'eltrapeze.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
Je l'ai écouté y'a 2 semaines mais je crois que c'était chiant
Cuban rumba. Me resultan siempre repetitivas las canciones.
Gear: Focal Clear Artwork: 🪘😃🟨 Production: 🔥👌🎯 Music: 😅⁉️🤔 Rating: 🪘🪘/5
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
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!
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.
Niet mijn genre, en niet boeiend
a cultural immersion into some spirited music. Not for my repeated listening but I enjoyed the flavor of the music and percussions.
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.
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
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.
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.
Just not my music
unfortunately mid
No one wants a 40 minute drum solo
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.
Not my style I think. I can appreciate latino music for sure, but this version of it isent very appealing to me
I’m sure this was culturally significant but not quite my cup of tea
Latin bongo music. That’s it really. Thanks.
Some bops are OK, where the guitar is the lead Melody or some singing.
I wanted to like this a lot more, as a drummer, and I'm sure it must have done a lot for the horde. But this was just not a good "album." I guess it's good to hear once and to know his name.
cool?
Very good but too too much for me. I couldn’t listen again.
really not my vibe. long et pénible. que des bruits de congos 3/10
While I do appreciate some great latin music this focus on percussion seems a bit too meandering for me. I can enjoy it in the back but that's about it.
Bingo bongo sur un moyen temps. Du gros jazz latin. Gros style pas commun. Pas deg. Nice découvert though. (2.5)
2.5/5
I actually enjoyed the first song, but the rest of this is pretty shit.
This one didn’t sit well with me. Again it may have to do with my growing up and appreciation of other genres more. I just can’t seem to connect with this type of music, same goes for world music, I just can’t vibe to it. 3 out of 10
Couple of nice songs. Interesting sound.
Starts off wild and free but grinds itself into mediocrity rather quickly. The improvisational spirit is there, but the instrumentation is so sparse and the vocals too annoying to sustain even the short runtime that’s there.
I love the sound. For maybe 5 minutes. Unless I've got some rum in me, I wouldn't be able to listen to a whole lot more of this.
40 minutes of conga drums is way too much.
Dude really likes congos
Meh.
Damn, talk about a u-turn! I've got a bad case of sonic whiplash going from The Lemonheads yesterday to this today. I'm sure this record is revered for a reason but all these fucking bongos and congas are doing my head in. It just sounds like a noisy construction site. Not for me.
Buenos noches senor - the music is non stop congas. Not really made for me but I'm sure is important to the culture.
I started each song. I did not finish each song.
Got a little bored
Not my thing.
Did you know that one who plays the conga is a conguero? That might have been the most interesting thing I discovered from this album. There's a reason why percussionists (i.e., drummers, but congueros too) aren't usually the band leader. Guitars, piano - those are good lead instruments. Percussions are good accompaniment, and good for a nice solo from time to time. I felt like congas and other percussions were the only thing I could hear for the first two songs, except for terrible vocals. Thank god the third one introduced some nice strings. Not as good as that Bongo Rock album, and I thought that was just okay. Like that bongo album, I recognize the novelty here but it gets old fast.
Really not my thing.
I was pretty so so on this one. I just didn't find it terribly interesting and probably missed the whole purpose. the instrumentals were great, and at least in concept I found some resonance with the call and response.
This guy is from Spanish Harlem and was / is still a pretty big deal just not in the U.S. Spotify says that he's got a ton of fans in Colombia, Chile and Mexico City and nearly 300k monthly listeners. Lots of banging percussion and repetition. "Look Kids! Big Ben!" This was a difficult listen but fortunately only 40 mins. long.