Hey Mambo!

Regular readers of this blog (I know you're out there!) will be familiar by now with my high regard for Ry Cooder, who is not just a master guitarist, but a master teacher who regularly exposes his audience to an extraordinary range of music. His work spans virtually all forms of American folk, blues, and popular music as well as taking in the wider world through collaborations with such musicians as Ali Farka Toure – and that’s not even considering the fine musical scores he has written for such movies as The Long Riders and Paris, Texas. As a verified Cooder fan, I usually buy whatever he records, because it’s almost always rewarding in a variety of ways.

One of his best-known efforts in bringing other people’s music to light was producing the Buena Vista Social Club disc, reigniting the careers of a fine group of aging Cuban musicians. On Mambo Sinuendo, he works with Buena Vista guitarist (and member of the popular 60’s Cuban group, Los Zafiros), Manuel Galban. When the set was released, for some obscure reason or other, I decided not to bother with it. Ry and Cuban music – he’d done that, right? Wrong.

I finally got around to Mambo Sinuendo this week, and have been kicking myself ever since for waiting. This is terrific music. It’s Latin-based, of course, with predominantly Mambo beats, but as is usual for Cooder, it’s a lot more. The basic sound, which Galban helped popularize in its original incarnation, is mid to late 50’s Latin crossed with Lounge Exotica. It features lots of percussion, sexy guitar lines, solid bass lines, occasional organ, and Esquivel-style sound effects (including some processed backup vocals) – there are even covers of “Patricia” and the 50’s ballad, “Secret Love”. Now add – courtesy of Cooder – lots of liquid slide guitar with delta and Hawaiian licks stretching the concept. The result is a highly entertaining set that holds up well to repeated listening.

The lesson for me is simple: write “trust Ry Cooder” on the blackboard 100 times.