Havana D´Primera - El Juego de la Vida 2015 by CARLOS DJ, DJ music from Donostia, GIPUZ, ES on ReverbNation.
As any real timbero can guess, the name of this blog was inspired by the song “Me dicen Cuba” by Alexander Abreu & Havana D’Primera. So it seems appropriate that my first post should be about their anxiously awaited third CD “La Vuelta al Mundo”, which contains said song. This is not a review; that will be coming at Timba.com. This is just a summary of the thoughts that passed through my mind as I listened to the CD for the first time.
- La Vuelta al Mundo (feat. Luis Enrique)
Really? Luis Enrique? I could so not have predicted that! OK, this song is salsa not timba. No timba gears but some nice efectos. - Regalito de Dios
Spanish guitar, flamenco? Ah, at 39 seconds it slides into a nice Havana D’Primera romantic hit. - El Juego de la Vida
Not the intro I was expecting after hearing early live versions. Wow, what a major shift when the coro comes in! It went from salsa romantica to timba dura! - Me Dicen Cuba
Ah…love it! The re-recording is a bit smoother than the first version and there is a new coro at the end – “Vengo de La Habana , soy de primera”. This is such a Cuban anthem! - Venenosa
Yes! Love it! Fantastic old style son montuno! Beautiful!
Note to self: sign up for son classes. - Trece
Great hyper-speed HdP start! All these numbers must mean something.
Note to self: ask a Cuban what the numbers in Trece mean: 12, 13, 50 and 96. - Dime Por Qué
Intro reminds me of Adalberto Álvarez. Romantica with an interesting change of harmonies at the second coro. - El Palo Más Duro (feat. Mayito Rivera)
Oh, yes! Mayito and Alexander together on this one! Now this is something like a dream team! And…wait…it sounds like…is that Yeni in the coros? A female voice in the coro anyway, but no credits came with the CDBbay download. - La Mitad
A merengue. I don’t like merengue…but this song makes me feel happy as soon as I hear it. How can a merengue make me happy? It must be Alexander’s touch. I actually like a merengue! - La Peligrosa
Rosa La Peligrosa – now this is heavy timba. Loved it before and love it again! This is one of my all time favorite HdP songs and the new recording is again a little bit smoother than the single. - Después de Mil Lunas
Sweet. A romantic ballad that I could definitely see myself dancing son to with my pareja, although perhaps not likely to be a first choice for DJs. - Conga Pá Cerrar
I saw the video of this at YouTube and loved it. Fun song, great energy!
So to summarize my first impression is that this album is another brilliant HdP project. I think with the salsa and some of the softer songs it has more crossover potential with regular salseros. You can listen and purchase “La Vuelta al Mundo” at CDBaby. A real review will be coming soon at Timba.com.