VIA PRESS RELEASE | World Circuit Records celebrates the quarter-century anniversary of the landmark Buena Vista Social Club with a collection of 25th Anniversary Editions, out September 17 and comprised of 2LP + 2CD Deluxe Book Pack, 2CD Casebook, 2LP Gatefold Vinyl and Digital formats.
These definitive editions are timed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album’s recording and contain the original album as remastered by Grammy-winning engineer Bernie Grundman as well as previously unheard tracks from the original 1996 session tapes, including “Vicenta,” which debuts today; listen to/share “Vicenta” and pre-order the record HERE. Other features across the formats include new liner notes, previously unseen photography and lyrics, with extended biographies, art prints and a written history of the legendary original Havana club available exclusively within the Deluxe Book Pack format.
“Vicenta” is the first of the previously unheard tracks taken from the 1996 album sessions, which have been selected for these editions by producer Ry Cooder and executive producer Nick Gold. A vocal duet between Buena Vista stars Eliades Ochoa and Compay Segundo, the song is a classic composition by Segundo and follows the story of a well-known fire which, on April 1, 1909, destroyed almost all of the village of La Maya, close to Santiago de Cuba, where Eliades Ochoa was born and lived as a child amongst plantations of banana, coffee and cacao.
The history, authenticity and mystique of Buena Vista Social Club burns as brightly today as ever for fans both new and old. On March 26, 1996, the trio of Cuban bandleader Juan de Marcos González, American producer and guitarist Ry Cooder and British producer and label owner Nick Gold assembled an impromptu group of Cuban musicians at Centro Havana’s historic 1950s EGREM/Areito studios.
The majority of those gathered were celebrated veterans of the golden age of the Cuban music scene of the 1940s and ’50s. None of them had any idea that the recordings they were about to produce would change the lives of many people, themselves included, and would forever change the standing of Cuban music in the world.
Buena Vista Social Club was the name given to both this extraordinary group of musicians and the album, recorded in just seven days. The studio, owned by Cuba’s national label EGREM, was originally installed in the 1940s and is celebrated as a great jewel in recording history. The large single wood-paneled room enabled recording to take place with the full ensemble recorded playing live, which puts the listener right in the room amongst the musicians. There is no doubt that this played a major part in the magical sound of the final recordings.
It was clear from the atmosphere of the recording sessions that something very special was taking place, but no one could have predicted that Buena Vista Social Club would become a worldwide phenomenon, awarded a Grammy in 1997 and, at eight million copies, outselling any other record in the same genre. The impact of those sessions is still felt 25 years later, and the vibrance and seductive allure of Cuba’s rich history and culture shines as brightly as ever in these definitive recordings.
The acclaim of the original album has elevated the artists (including Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa, Compay Segundo, Rubén González & Omara Portuondo) to superstar status, inspired an award-winning film by Wim Wenders and has contributed to popularizing Cuba’s rich musical heritage. Produced by Ry Cooder for World Circuit, the timeless quality of the music and the sheer verve of the veteran performers have ensured that this will go down as one of the landmark recordings of the 20th century.
This new edition includes tracks that were recorded during that famous week in 1996 but never released; some intended as repertoire suggestions, some off-the-cuff improvisations and some fully formed gems that are the equal of anything on the original album. There are also alternate takes of some of the now famous and most well-loved songs from the album. Producer and guitarist Ry Cooder says, “The Buena Vista boys fly high and never lose a feather. If you miss the boat this time, you’ll have the blues forever.”
Juan de Marcos González adds, “Buena Vista Social Club has probably been the most important album of Cuban music in the late 20th century, and definitely the one that reopened the doors of international recognition for ‘Son Cubano.’ 25 years later I can still feel the positive vibes of the studio and, of course, the pleasure of having contributed to some extent to the album that rescued the music of my country and many of its great interpreters from the shadows.” Nick Gold notes, “Buena Vista Social Club is a once in a lifetime recording of Cuban music at its transcendental best. The magic created in that Havana studio sounds as vital and beautiful today as it did 25 years ago.”
And Eliades Ochoa says, “Buena Vista Social Club brought together great musicians from the golden age of Cuban music and successfully took our traditional music to the rest of the world. It allowed me to be recognized internationally by the sones, guarachas and boleros I had been doing since I was young. It also made me reconnect with musicians with great experiences whom I admired. Buena Vista brought us together through music, and we were a well-run family. On this 25th anniversary, we will remember with deserved pride those great legends who will always be present among us. We will celebrate with joy the legacy of the Buena Vista Social Club and the traditional Cuban music.”
25 years after the serendipitous days of recordings, and as legions of new fans continue to discover the album’s enduring and seductive appeal, these 25th Anniversary Editions give us the chance to get closer to the mystique and to relive the sessions from which a global phenomenon was born.
