 Albita I was pretty surprised to see this CD suddenly show up, unannounced and without any sort of fanfare. It had been awhile since Albita's fine last CD, Una Mujer Como Yo, so it was about time, but I was mainly confused to see that she had apparently been dropped by Sony, as Son is on a tiny indie label. Figure that one out – smack in the middle of the enormous Latin/Cuban explosion, Sony drops its most dynamic and brilliant performer in the genre. Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, et al, are singing in English, true enough. But surely Sony could have marketed Albita to the Buena Vista Social Club fans, to show a more contemporary side of the Cuban thing. Who knows what happened, perhaps Albita left Sony willingly. Perhaps she didn't sell many albums. Whatever it is, though, hear me – her Sony CDs are fucking fantastic, all three of 'em. Get 'em and commence to dancing, gringo. Which brings us to the current release. Son is a bit mellower offering from the Miami-based diva. The production values are notably less slick than on her major label CDs, which usually I'd say would be a good thing, but in Albita's case, it tends to illustrate certain cheesy elements a bit too clearly (synths especially). Albita is caught, too contemporary for the traditionalists, too traditional for the pop fans – what a shame, too 'cause she is the best. This CD finds her doing various styles of son, so it's a bit more acoustic sounding than her usual salsa stuff, which is, like, some of my favorite music ever. Her big, beautiful voice is full of personality and panache, and the band is meticulous yet tremendously warm. You just gots to dance. This one makes you sway more than shake, but any movement caused by Albita is a welcome thing, be it a twitch of the foot or a full-on swingin' booty. "Corazón Adentro," the opener, is another Albita classic to stand beside "El Chico Chevere" and "Solo Porque Vivo." "Ni Tu, Ni Yo" also joins the ranks of the beloved Albita tunes – this one's almost a straight pop song, sort of sounds like a translated OMD song or something. Gorgeous, acoustic ballad with great vocals. Did I mention Albita is the best? The rest of the disc is solid, though not necessarily stellar like Dicen Que (one of the finest CDs ever, in my opinion). It's too bad to see Albita in the equivalent of the minor leagues, but she hasn't lost any bit of her spark or brilliance. Son won't go down as her best release, but it's great contemporary Cuban stuff from an artist that really does not disappoint. Don't make this your first Albita disc, but once you're hooked, dive right on in.
Review by Princess Chickenpox |