Buena Vista Social Club – Lost and Found

"We want our music to endure" are the words of singer Omara Portuondo that are unlikely to stop echoing in the critic-sphere. Now the hype surrounding the film of 1999 has dimmed and they just so happen to be mid farewell-tour, it’s pretty good timing to squeeze another album into the discography. A cross-section through the decades showcases the fluid line-up with rediscovered live and studio recordings.

Bruca Manigua opens, boasting gleaming brass to sounds of revelrous crowds during the height of their fame. Insatiably contagious rhythms of Tiene Sabor are totally invigorated by a rarer all-female chorus, but eventually it’s the early creators of the Buena Vista brand that get the most attention, with solo snippets giving the grip. A suite of secretly recorded tracks from Eliades Ochoa breathes a new dimension midway, as does Rubén González’s bonus outro of Cuban-esque skat. It’s a farewell tour, but nobody actually ever mentioned a farewell album. [Luisa Brown]