Compiled by DJ ‘Dr. Jim’ Layne, this Greatest Hits album is the perfect way to introduce the band’s muscular catalogue to newcomers and reinforce the most fervent fan’s belief in one of the most influential modern Cuban bands. If this statement proves a bit grandiose for some tastes, then it is time to review what this group means to Latin music.

Formed by Juan Formell in 1969, Los Van Van recruited some of the island’s youngest talents to let in a breath of fresh air in Cuban dance music which had depended too much on the past glories of charanga. Formell, together with pianist Cesar ‘Pupy’ Peroso and percussionist José Luis ‘Changuito’ Quintana, took son montuno and combined it with American pop music to create songo, introducing electric bass, synthesizers and trombones to the traditional Cuban flutes, violins and African rhythms of the island’s music. This proved to be a hit in Cuba and Latin America, allowing the band to become one of the best known Cuban acts in the world

After three decades of existence, Formell changed the line-up of the band to make way for a more modern ‘timba’ sound, incorporating reggae, hip-hop and funk into their tunes. This reinvention earned them a Grammy and a new lease on life that has allowed them to keep making people dance through the millenium and on.

Havana Sí! chronicles this lengthy career in just two CDs: the first focusing on the songo of the 1970s and 1980s and the second taking on the timba rhythms of the 1990s and 2000s. With the poppy ‘Chirrín Chirrán’ as an opener, Disc one shows us why songo was so popular: its festive combination of call/response vocals, violins and percussion doesn’t sound like anything you’ve heard before, even to this day. Other songs such as ‘El Buena Gente’, ‘La Titimanía’ and ‘Anda, Ven y Muévete’ gives us a hint about the artists that were influenced by the group: contemporary salsa performers such as Willie Colón and Rubén Blades (who covered ‘Anda, Ven…’ in his 1985 album Escenas) all bear some sort of debt to this sound. A more modern Disc two proves that Los Van Van still pack a punch, as shown by the energetic ‘Timpop con Birdland’, with a spitfire vocal delivery that contrasts heavily on what was heard on Disc one.

Unless sifting through the 16-plus records of Los Van Van seems like a pleasant exercise in musical discovery, Havana Sí! successfuly encapsulates in 26 tracks the essence of one of the most dynamic groups in Latin America. There is enough variety in this compilation to avoid tedium and will please all listeners regardless of whether they digest it all in one sitting (a commendable feat) or they enjoy it by bits. It is a great alternative to seeing them live and will help understand why they are considered “the Rolling Stones of Cuba”.

Tracklist

CD1:
1. Chirrín Chirrán
2. Dale Dos
3. Que Palo Es Ése
4. El Buena Gente
5. Anda Ven Y Muévete
6. Sera Que Se Acabó
7. La Habana Sí
8. Recaditos No
9. La Titimanía
10. Hoy Se Cumplen Seis Semanas
11. El Negro No Tiene Ná
12. Disco Azúcar
13. Aquí El Que Baila Gana
14. Que Sorpresa!

CD2:
1. Qué Tiene Van Van?
2. De La Habana A Matanzas
3. Esto Te Pone La Cabeza Mala
4. Soy Todo
5. Ni Bombones Ni Caramelos
6. Regrésamelo Todo
7. Somos Cubanos
8. Permiso Que Llego Van Van
9. La Bomba Soy Yo
10. Timpop Con Birdland
11. La Buena
12. El Montuno