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Well, they have mostly stuck with the successful formula from their debut. Brassy Latin elements and vocals sit surprisingly well on the ska back beat. Take ‘Oye Compay Juan’ for example: fun ska sax solo, that beat, sonero singing in Spanish all thrown together at breakneck speed. Which is not to say that Ska Cubano never abandon their formula. There are variations and additions too.

The most obvious would be their cover of cheesy classic from way back when, ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’. The instantly recognised tune that allowed Hollywood to conjure up the Middle East in the Mid West within five notes, is reworked with a cheeky sense of fun and, if it fails to shed all its novelty factor, it is at least catchy as hell.

If they just about pull that one off, I am afraid the embarrassingly obvious innuendo of ‘Big Bamboo’ should have been left for live gigs as a fun joke and left off the album. It tips the balance from novel to novelty and the rest of the album has to struggle to make up for it. Hilarious as it no doubt was in the 50s, some things don’t age that well.

But Ska Cubano do make it up. This time, the most raided Latin beat is Colombian cumbia and it is used to no better effect than the wonderful ‘Soy Campesino’ — now that is what I call a bass line! Married to the beat and a catchy chorus and you have another big tune. ‘Cumbia en do Menor’ is a crazy cascade of clarinet, jungle trumpet and beefed up Cumbia interspersed with invocations to the band rather than lyrics and it is another monster.

As with the first album, the Orishas are called on and while there is no track quite as memorable as ‘Chango’. ‘Tabú’ — sister tune to the first album’s great ‘Babulu’ — comes close though with its roll call of gods.

The liner notes (which are themselves quite wonderful) make clear just how much humour, research and musicological play goes into a Ska Cubano album and their fine blends of calypso, cumbia, son, ska and merengue are a whirling passage through time raiding the obscenely fertile musical landscape of the Caribbean.

¡Ay Caramba! (CAS20051) is released on 5 July on Casino Sounds

Links:
First album reviewed
Ska Cubano site