La Colleccion Cubana

AMG Review of La Colleccion Cubana

Chris Nickson
All Music Guide

To those who've come to Ibrahim Ferrer through his excellent work on Buena Vista Social Club and its spin-offs, this might prove a revelation. It collects his recordings from the 1960s and 1970s -- the post-Cuban revolution period when he was entertaining Cubans, not American tourists. And entertain he certainly does, coming at songs with an energy that wasn't present in his later work. Not that he's lacking in sophistication, as "Una Fuerza Immensa" ably shows -- he could be as subtle as anyone. If there's a problem, it's with the instruments. Listeners have become used to an acoustic sound in their classic Cuban music. This brings in some very grating electric piano that simply never gels with the smoothness of the songs. But it has to be said that on every cut the overall band is formidable. They swing with power and create the type of music that's guaranteed to get the feet moving across the floor. The years have obviously brought finesse to Ferrer's style and given him a smoothness of tone he never quite manages here. But it's still recognizably the same person -- just younger and with more bounce.