B-Side Players – Fire in the Youth
Reviewed by Sadie O., 8/6/07
Brilliant Mexico-Cuban-Reggae brought up to date with bits of Hip Hop and funk and a lot of revolutionary spirit. Produced and abetted by Quetzal Flores of the great LA band Quetzal. No electronica or dub – all human-operated instruments, played (and sung) extremely well. This is GREAT stuff – give it a listen or be DUMB.
No FCCs detected – everything deserves 2 or 3 more stars than I gave them, but I like 6 and 9 best.
1. **a bit uptempo, very lively syncopated shuffle – almost a cumbia. Dance party time! Spanish.
2. **midtempo, rather funky, vocal style reminds me of David Hinds of Steel Pulse. Nice! English
3. ***downtempo cumbia, with just a hint of reggae, swingy and incredibly cool. Spanish.
4. **uptempo updated folklorico – a bit Mexican Hat Dance, a bit Hip Hop. Spanish. Last 30 seconds are very analog traditional.
5. *sweet downtempo and relaxed mambo. Spanish and English.
6. ****horn intro, insanely cool midtempo Spanish Reggae riddim. Cumbiamuffin! Revolution lyrics in Spanish. Hell yeah!
7. **a bit Afro-cuban beat, nice upbeat syncopation. Builds in energy – very danceable. Spanish.
8. **very lovely, relaxed and moody downtempo with a hint of march… Lyrics in English, Reggae rebel attitude. Oh sweet – children’s chorus about fyah burning!
9. ****piano intro, midtempo roots rock Reggae. English.
10. **somewhat uptempo piano-driven Afro-cuban salsa-rumba. Spanish.
11. **smooth jazzy vibe, lots of horns and piano. English, cool culcha lyrics.