MAIKEL BLANCO Y SUPREMA LEY
2003 - Ya llegaron los cubanos (Envidia 7017)

Ya llegaron los c ubanos is Maykel Blanco's first release and was recorded with hi s previous group, Suprema Ley. All of the compositions and arrangements are by Maykel and it is hard to find fault with the CD.

I would describe Ya llegaron los cubanos as timba/son. Certain aspects of the arrangements bring to mind classic son/salsa, such as some of the mambos and the harmonies of some of the coros, while the rhythm section is timba. Maykel also mixes occasional moments of jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz and rumba into the arrangements. It gives the CD a somewhat softer feel than Salsa Mayor's Recoge y vete , but it doesn't lack for timba effects or the charateristic Maykel Blanco dance factor.

The CD kicks-off with  the title track, which is up-tempo at about 108 BPM and meant to get the dancers onto the dance floor: "Yo lo canto pa' que Cuba baile". Ya llegaron los cubanos is infectious and I defy anyone to sit still when this song starts.

Maykel brought in his friend Tirso Duarte to sing lead on two of the songs: the laid back Tu experiencia and No juegas con candela . Tembas seem to be a recurring theme with Maykel. Tu esperiencia is a song about a young man with a 40-something girlfriend. The arrangement of No juegas includes moments of afro-cuban jazz triplets and percussion that bring to mind rumba and it a perfect vehicle for Tirso's vocals.

The other temba song happens to be my favorite from the album, El veterano , in this case an older man who has a twenty year old girlfriend. Makel follows the Cuban traditioyn of borrowing phrases from well know songs. For example in El veterano he borrows from Charanga Habanera/Forever, "Me preocupa tu situación por eso un consejo te estoy dando."

One interesting aspect of this CD is that nearly all of the songs fade out during the guía/coro section, which makes it seem as if these songs were really meant for a live show rather than a studio CD. I never saw Suprema Ley live, but Salsa Mayor performs some of the Suprema Ley repertoire on occassion.

If you are looking for a CD that you can dance to from beginning to end don't pass this up. There is not a single song that will disappoint.

Track listing:
Ya llegaron los cubanos
Tu experiencia
Si tú no quieres, no te quiero
Déjala que aprenda
La discordia de las frutas
No juegas con candela
Rumberos
Chico choco
La trompeta
Li siguatera
La que siempre quise tener
El veterano