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	SONEROS DE VERDAD Luis Frank Presents Sonores De verdad - A Buena Vita: Barrio De La Havana. INFO | PRESS | IMAGES | BUY NOW SONORES DE VERDAD A Buena Vista: Barrio De La Habana (Purple Patch Records) What's the sound? A collaboration between several generations of Cuban musicians to record a feast of exotic sounds. What's the best bit? It's difficult to pick a highlight - but it's probably the poignant voice of Luis Frank. Ideal film for Fans of Buena Vista Social Club Star rating **** POP Sonores De verdad A Buena Vista: Barrio De La Habana (Purple Patch) Hot From Cuba My final holiday recommendation is A Buena Vista: Barrio De La Habana, an album of Cuban music in the vein of the multimillion-selling Buena Vista Social Club. The 13 songs here pay homage to the same district of Havana celebrated in Wim Wender's movie and include some of the same local legends. Compiled by singer Luis Frank and recorded in just five days, Barrio De La Habana brings together old and new Cuban musicians under the banner Sonores De Verdad (The real soul singers). The idea is to fuse traditional sounds with new techniques. The result is a joyful, celebratory carnival feel that shows why Cuban music is so hip again. If you can't afford to go somewhere hot and sunny this summer, put this album on and pretend. Extract from "Billboard" - 9/6/01 SPOTLIGHT Soneros De Verdad A Buena Vista: Barrio de la Habana Cuban Singer Luis Frank, best known for his roles in Afro-Cuban All-Stars and Tradicional Habana, gathers a venerable cast of musicians and vocalists to pay tribute to Juan de Marcos Gonzales, the riving force behind the Afro-Cuban All-Stars and the Buena Vista Social Club. Joined by living legends Pio Leyva, Manual Licea, Rudy Calzado, Jose Castaneda and Manuel del Cruz, Frank leads off with this stellar title track, homage to the neighborhood that spawned the Cuban music craze of the past four years. Other highlights include "Linda Alborada" a song celebrating the beauty of the Cuban countryside and the old standby "Longina", performed as a duet between Frank and Gonzalez, who adds a baritone counterpoint and gorgeous tres accompaniment. Like all the releases from the Buena Vista family, this one exudes a sultry passion and a strong sense of heritage. -PV Review from the Sunday Express - Sunday 22nd July 2001 Soneros De Verdad A Buena Vista: Barrio De La Habana (album, Purple Patch) *** (three star review) Cuban son music was largely forgotten by the West after Castro's 1959 revolution. Then Ry Cooder went there, brought together the ageing musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club and released an album that became a worldwide phenomenon in 1999. These new recordings feature singer Luis Frank and several prominent Cuban musicians. Though it lacks the detached sultry romanticism that the old hands brought to Buena Vista, it's uptempo and recommended for summer evenings. Review from Metro Life - Monday 23rd July 2001 AT HOME TONIGHT CD Soneros de verdad: A buena vista - barrio de la habana 3/5 stars Purple Patch Buena Vista Social Club gave an international boost to the moribund Cuban musical community and the benefits have spread outward to younger performers. Buena Vista veterans, such as Juan de Marcos Gonzalez (who gathered and conducted the original BV group) and singer Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, join a host of those performers, including singer Luis Frank, for this collection of songs, many of them new. And it's likely the fault of our five-second culture, rather than their durable talent, if parts of this homage to Havana sound a little tired. NC
Copyright © 2001 Purple Patch