audible-approval: BVSC and The Clash Live

Buena Vista Social Club performed on the 98 Grammys and I remember being absolutely blown away by them. I was in High School at the time, and Latin/Cuban music was far from what typically interested me musically. But these guys kicked ass. I remember watching a 70 year old(ish) Ibrahim Ferrer working the stage like a champ. Incredible energy. Standing ovation. Right after they finished, the camera panned to the left, and Ricky Martin performed (it was a year Latin music was popular). It was like winning the lottery, but as they hand you the cheque, 23 midgets jump out nowhere, kick your a**, and run off with the money. Dirty.

I picked up the first Buena Vista Social Club album the next day. It was great, incredible even, but it didn't reproduce the energy that I felt watching them live on TV the day before.

The live album (BVSC Live At Carnegie Hall) reproduces that energy.

Sample some of the new albums tracks here.
...or...
Buena Vista Social Club via MySpace


If you're into the live album thing, more than worthy of a mention is the new Clash album "Live at Shea Stadium" (coincidentally also recorded in NY). Strummer does some nice freestyling at one point, and the band does some fun things with some of their tunes. Probably my favourite Clash live performance. This was a time when their loyal Euro fans had labelled them "sell outs" as a result of the band agressively seeking popularity in the U.S.

You can listen to some of the live tracks on their website here.