Cuban troubadour Ferrer wasn't on board the Buena Vista Social Club bandwagon, which is good news for anyone looking to hear some different sounds from the island. On this effort, he mixes and matches several styles of Cuban music with a small group of musicians, including his daughter, Lena, on vocals and percussion. The richly melodic songs use a wide variety of cool-sounding, little-used instruments, including Peruvian percussion (the cajon) and the marimbula, a large African thumb piano. The CD booklet translates Ferrer's songs into English, and the social commentary packs a wallop. "I paid for a watermelon with a two-month salary/That's why my heart sometimes bursts," he sings in "Fundamento." The man is square in the tradition, but he's talking the revolutionary blues.