Tracks: El Cayuco//Complicacion//3-D Mambo//Llego Mijan//Cuando Te Vea//Hong Kong Mambo//Mambo Gazon//Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembe//Varsity Drag//Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti//Agua Limpia Todo//Saca Tu Mujer
Review:
Well, the cover more or less sums it up. It’s sexy! It’s cheesy! It’s for dancing! To be honest I know absolutely nothing about Tito Puente. He was in the “Who Shot Mr. Burns” two-parter of The Simpsons, where he performed that mambo about Mr Burns. I know that. And he wrote the oft-covered “Oye Como Va”, which is an OK song in both the original and the Santana version but which, to my mind, reached its peak with Amaral’s Trinidad Cavaliers Steel Orchestra and its bizarre steel-drum break-dance interpretation. So, I guess I know that, too. Um...
Oh! I also know that Tito Puente is considered El Rey, or the King of the Timbales, which is something that seems justified gauging by the contents of this album. I mean, I’m no expert when it comes to the timbales, but Tito Puente clearly knows his way around a drum kit. Which is good, since this is a dance album...
Honestly I don’t have much to say here. It’s a very solid album, but it’s not the sort of thing that demands deep analysis or extended descriptions. Well, maybe it does, but I don’t speak Spanish and as a consequence I can’t give a thorough reading of “Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembe”. According to Google that means “My babe wants Bembe”, but that’s not much help since I don’t really know what a Bembe is. Perhaps it’s some sort of beverage?
So what we have here is a lot of mambo, done very well, all quite danceable and integrated with numerous other styles about which I know nothing. You get extensive deployment of a great brass section, spidery piano and a killer vibraphone - and if there’s one thing I like it’s a vibraphone. Unlike the Machito album, this isn’t all instrumental – most of the songs are actually songs, you know, with singing. And sung well! There’s a lovely melancholy to the vocals that works as a nice counterpoint to the buoyant music. This is especially evident on the very sad-sounding and very pretty “Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti”.
Agh I really am having trouble finding things to say about this. “Hong Kong Mambo” uses the Chinese riff, but it’s pretty cool and very Les Baxter. “Mambo Gazon” is hypnotic and driving, built around layer upon layer of repeating horn figures and some mesmeric chanting that bursts out into a brief instrumental breakdown. It’s certainly the best song here, and maybe the only one that really lodges itself in your mind.
And there is the problem. Dance Mania is a lot of fun to listen to but afterwards I couldn’t really remember much of it. Although after a while, the grooves star to wear themselves into you. I found myself singing along to “Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembe” (which, incidentally, has a marvellous shuffling percussion break in the middle). Each of the songs manages to shift through a few distinct movements, and they’re all quite complex and interesting tunes. But, in the end, it’s just a sunny album to dance along to. You can bop along! It’s not overly confronting! It’s got understated charm. The ditties are catchy!
In the end, I quite like this. It’s not earth-shattering music, but there’s a level of skill and craftsmanship brought to these songs that I really appreciate. They’re really far better mad then they probably had to be. As a guy who owns more than his fair share of “Tango for Lovers” cocktail schmaltz LPs, it’s refreshing to here this done right. It’s actually swank! And I can’t not dance to “Agua Limpia Todo”, what with the little “la la la” chorus and all.
Ok, so final thoughts? It’s pleasant and friendly and it sort of sneaks up on you. I was considering writing this off as sort of vapid, but once you get into the swing of it, it’s a lovely listen. I want to strut about the Caribbean wearing a Panama hat and photographing missile bases. But I don’t know that I’d ever call this a particularly great album. It’s very, very good, however, and exceeds perfectly at being a fun little party record. I will admit, however, that I am a massive dork, and so if you don't count Doris Day among your musical idols you may not get quite as much mileage out of this.
So, yeah, this is pretty good stuff. Unlike my review, for which I apologise profusely. This is what happens when you haven't made-up your mind yet and find yourself listening to the album over as you write your post.
8/10
Download: Tito Puente - Mambo Gazon Mp3
Download: Amral's Trinidad Cavaliers Steel Orchestra - Oye Como Va Mp3
And! Los Simpsons en Espanol:
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