Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos
Muy Divertido!

There is something cool and wicked about Marc Ribot, I think it's undeniable: he has the air of someone who never "sold out," who has stubbornly gone his own way, successfully bringing together (a luxury reserved for a few) critics and the public.

He's someone who has the "gift", who, even though he is not a hyper-technical virtuoso of the instrument, manages to grab you from the very first note, with that dirty yet precise sound, which feels a bit scrappy and rattling, drunken and tremulous, and yet... When he's not on tour or in the studio with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, or Marianne Faithfull, Ribot also finds time to work on alternative projects, including this excellent album from 2000, where the group that accompanies him has such an ironic name that it reminds me (for some reason) of Elio E Le Storie Tese: Los Cubanos Postizos, including some pieces of Arsenio Rodriguez standards, but played in a decidedly “American” style and sound.

It's an album that has a very “Latin” flavor, but the genius and elegance of Ribot and company (who are all seasoned American jazz musicians except for the percussionists) allow everything to avoid falling into clichés, into the already too heard and chewed up: the keyword here is eccentricity. Between instrumental and sung pieces, the album consists of a series of very successful tracks, starting with the fresh Dame Un Cachito Pa’ Huele, with Ribot and his captivating solos immediately in the spotlight.
It is followed by the languid and somewhat dreamy plot of Las Lomas De New Jersey which, if there was any doubt, suggests that Ribot can also skillfully handle the classical guitar. Then, the track (in my humble opinion) the most successful of the album, El Gaucho Rojo: sensual and devilish, it develops beautifully thanks to Ribot's electric guitar, which commands the stage.

Obsesión is a sort of “suite” repeatedly divided between the usual alternation of electric and acoustic instruments, with great percussion work. Irony and depth in the arrangements characterize the following El Divorcio, Se Formó El Bochinche, Baile Baile Baile. Very touching and evocative is the instrumental No Puedo Frenar. Like a Cuban dance hall are the concluding Jaguey and Carmela dame La Llave, the latter makes you want to drink five rum and cokes and start dancing recklessly.

I told you, this guy seems to have the “gift.” And he never misses a beat.