Music
"Chan Chan", the first song on the album, is a Cuban song composition by Compay Segundo, revolving around two central characters, Juanita and Chan Chan. The song was one of Segundo's last compositions and was written in 1987, already having been recorded by Segundo himself various times.
"El cuarto de Tula" was composed by Gonzales Y Siaba Sergio Eulogio (1916–1989). It is sung by Eliades Ochoa with Ibrahim Ferrer and Manuel "Puntillita" Licea joining Ochoa in an extended descarga (jam) section improvising lyrics. Barbarito Torres plays a frenetic lute solo towards the end of the track. Timbales are played by the 13 year old Julienne Oviedo Sánchez. The song is featured in the film "Training Day" (2001).
"Dos gardenias" is a bolero sung by Ibrahim Ferrer. The song was written by Isolina Carrillo in the 1930s and became a huge success in the 1940s. The song was chosen for the album after Cooder heard Ferrer and Rubén González improvising the melody before a recording session. Ferrer learned the song whilst playing with Cuban bandleader Beny Moré.
"¿Y tú qué has hecho?" was written in the 1920s by Eusebio Delfín and features his friend Compay Segundo on tres and vocals. Segundo was traditionally a "second voice" singer providing a baritone counterpoint harmony. On this recording, he multitracks both voices. The song also features a duet between Segundo on tres and Ry Cooder on guitar.
"Veinte años" is a bolero written by María Teresa Vera and is sung on the Buena Vista album by the only female in the ensemble, Omara Portuondo, with Segundo providing baritone.
"El carretero" is a guajira (country lament) sung by Eliades Ochoa with the full ensemble providing additional instruments and backing vocals.
"Candela" is a popular song written by Faustino Oramas with lyrics rich with sexual innuendo. On the album it is sung by Ibrahim Ferrer who improvises vocal lines throughout the track, and the whole ensemble perform an extended descarga.
The title track, "Buena Vista Social Club", was written by bass player Cachaíto’s father, Orestes López. The song spotlights the piano work of Rubén González. It was recorded after Cooder heard González improvising around the tune's musical theme before a day's recording session. After playing the tune, González explained to Cooder the history of the social club and that the song was the club's "mascot tune". When searching for a name for the overall project, manager Nick Gold chose the song's title. According to Cooder, "It should be the thing that sets it apart. It was a kind of club by then. Everybody was hanging out and we had rum and coffee around two in the afternoon. It felt like a club, so let’s call it that. That’s what gave it a handle."
Read more about this topic: Buena Vista Social Club (album)
Famous quotes containing the word music:
“On the first days, like a piece of music that one will later be mad about, but that one does not yet distinguish, that which I was to love so much in [Bergotte’s] style was not yet clear to me. I could not put down the novel that I was reading, but I thought that I was only interested in the subject, as in the first moments of love when one goes every day to see a woman at some gathering, or some pastime, by the amusements to which one believes to be attracted.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“Nearly all the bands are mustered out of service; ours therefore is a novelty. We marched a few miles yesterday on a road where troops have not before marched. It was funny to see the children. I saw our boys running after the music in many a group of clean, bright-looking, excited little fellows.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“But the dark changed to red, and torches shone,
And deafening music shook the leaves; a troop
Shouldered a litter with a wounded man,
Or smote upon the string and to the sound
Sang of the beast that gave the fatal wound.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)