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CD Review
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Log Cabin Democrat, CD Review >>
How do you like your salsa?
Jose Conde y Ola Fresca serve it a number of ways on "(R)evolucion."
Conde, an American brought up in Miami by his Cuban-born parents, has done his time with traditional Cuban music (including 2004's "Ay! Que Rico") and now pursues an alternative-Latin style that slices and dices salsa with other ingredients.
Busting out of regimented structure allows Conde and his band to play with electric guitars and organs and unconventional rhythms. Notations on the CD package indicate the derivations of songs — "Ritmo y Sabor" is funk flavored by son music, for example, while "Cafi Con Sangre" mixes salsa with Puerto Rican bomba and "Probando Nuevos Sabores" blends cumbia, soca and reggae.
But those who rush to wikipedia to look up these terms are totally missing Conde's point: "(R)Evolucion'' is about freedom from definition.
The fluid sound is certainly liberating and inescapable. Any effort to resist the rollicking keyboards and domineering bass of "Ritmo y Sabor" is an exercise in self-denial. Same goes for the cha-cha enticement of "El Titere," the horn-roused "Mi Musica" and the florid jam session "Descarga Inez."
"(R)Evolucion" is a broad international experience, too, featuring an hypnotic New Orleans/funk "Oshiri Pan Pan" that fuses Japanese and Spanish lyrics and a whimsically surreal Haitian compas/son "Pititi y Titi" that is offered in both French and Spanish versions.
Tantalizing rhythms lead "(R)Evolucion," whether they're driven by percussive mayhem or mellow cadence, and charactor generally comes in the form of savory horns and Conde's charismatic vocals. Sometimes the flow's a little too easygoing, making the longer songs feel overextended, and the track "Despelote" shifts tone so often it becomes an awkward experiment in aural anarchy.
However, the unpredictability of the release and its vivacious spirit ultimately win out.
Rating: 3-1/2
07/12/07
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