Buena Vista Social Club

I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before but we spend so much of our lives in a confusing haze: hardly living. Some of us are so severely entangled with bad decisions that each subsequent choice is another step in the wrong direction; other times we’re so heavily depressed that we move with lax undertone, as if nothing else matters. I can speak on both behalves and attest that neither is a way to live, especially when there is 1) So much to grasp and attain and 2) Things could always be so much worse.

But before I get too sentimental in my foolish statements, I can honestly say that if you continue to live life with that aforementioned, apathetic, outlook you will miss out on the greatest of greats. Music is still what unites as people: it’s the sole aesthetic art that can have a close family of twenty people sobbing and crying to “God Bless America” at a funeral and on the opposite side of the spectrum, have hundreds of strangers jumping for joy to “Lost Coastlines.”

When I first came across Buena Vista Social Club’s album, I was floored – to say the least. I remember just entering high school and hearing about this so called ‘special’ album that was recorded and made in Cuba. These musicians gave their entire lives to creating music that would only be heard by those in the Cuban clubs and streets. And they were talented musicians, gifted artists, that played piano, guitars, mandolins and that had voices so gorgeous they felt as if it was heaven speaking directly to you.

An American musician, Ry Cooder, found them and asked them to record their songs with him, on an album that would suit them justice. They would have done it for free but he gladly paid them and the ensuing result was not just the best album of 1997 (yes, the BEST album of 1997, better than Radiohead’s OK Computer) but arguably, one of the finest sets of music in the last decade. You see, these musicians poured their hearts and souls into their music; they gave absolutely everything to create breathtaking music. It covers everything from Cuban son, to soul, to samba, to jazz, to bossa nova, to whatever else they mastered – with a piano solo here and there. It’s a landmark album, one that is exceptionally above all else and as most members of this club have now passed (R.I.P.) they can rest assured that their legacy is set in stone with this prestigious club, the Buena Vista Social Club, don’t let it pass you by. – Bryan