Eliades Ochoa Estoy Como Nunca (Yerba Buena/Virgin) Rating: NNNN Rating: NNNN
Putting Cuban son maestro Eliades Ochoa and his Cuarteto Patria posse in a Los Angeles studio with the production team of John Wooler and Sally Browder turns out to be not such a horrible mistake after all. Nothing can shake the sweet sound of Santiago de Cuba out of Ochoa and company — not the crooning of Mavericks dabbler Raul Malo nor the trumpet blasts of Anibal Avila — as they passionately tear through a collection of guaracha raves and badass boleros like each note could be their last. At this pace, that may not be far off.
