Various Artists: Here comes … el Son

Latin Beat Magazine, Nov, 2002 by Rudy Mangual

(Panama Music)

This compilation of 16 all-time favorite hit songs from The Beatles--the most famous rock & roll band in the world--not only pays tribute to the timeless music of the British foursome, but also reinvigorates their music by performing it with the percussion-rich beats of traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms. Every selection is arranged in the style of one or two popular Cuban musical forms, such as the guajira, danzón, conga, guaguancó, chachachá, bolero and son. The songs are performed in their original English lyrics, creating a very special effect under the new Cubanized renditions. Recorded entirely in Cuba, the tasks of musical direction, arrangements and assembling the right musicians for the production belonged to Pucho López. Vocal arrangements came under the upervision of Jorge Luis Rojas (Rojitas). Very well executed are the interpretations of We Can Work It Out (done as a son in a traditional septet format), Get Back (a chachachá in a charanga style), Here, There and Everywhere (a bolero/filin with excellent vocals by Marlén Rodríguez), Hello, Goodbye (performed by Los Papines as a guaguancó), Nowhere Man (a capella performed by the group Vocal LT), Drive My Car (a brassy chachachá), and Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End (brilliantiy vocalized by "Rojitas" as a bolero that evolves into a guaguancó and then into a conga, and finally becomes a son/bolero).