Puerto Plata - Casita De Campo

EDITORIAL REVIEWS
Born in 1923, Puerto Plata offers a rare glimpse of the songs that electrified the Dominican Republic in the years of his youth. For 30 years a regime of brutal censorship blocked Dominican musicians from recording and, like so many others, Puerto played in underground clubs, serenading young lovers and energizing dance floors. In this new recording of classic love songs and dance numbers Puerto Plata recalls the melody and spirit of those bygone days.

REVIEW
While we love Dominican pop-bachata superstars Aventura here at Nat Geo Music, sometimes we just want to kick it old school-and nobody does old school Dominican music like Puerto Plata.

For the uninitiated, Puerto Plata is the stage name of veteran sonero José Cobles. At 86 years old, Cobles is living repository of decades of Dominican songcraft, summoning up classic boleros, sones and more from his years performing in the underground cabarets and dancehalls of Santiago's red light districts in the repressive Trujillo era.

But unlike his contemporaries in Cuba's Buena Vista Social Club crew, Cobles never had the opportunity to record in his younger days, and didn't release his debut until 2007 with Mujer de Cabaret on indie label iASO records. That record, and his subsequent Stateside appearances, was a revelation-a gorgeous mix of sweet, romantic melodies and sly, subversive cabaret humor-making Puerto Plata an "overnight" sensation among Latin music cognoscenti.

Cobles' second solo album, Casita De Campo, focuses on classic love songs and dance tunes composed during the years of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic (1930-1960). As always, Puerto Plata brings these decades-old compositions to life with humor, intelligence and soul that puts most contemporary pop to shame. --Tom Pryor, National Geographic Music

Puerto Plata is an 85-year old legend with a twinkle in his eye, stories to tell, and many songs to sing. Working with a superb lineup of veteran players here, he revisits his early heyday, interpreting classic songs with new perspective and undying panache.

As with Puerto Plata's splendid 2007 release Mujer de Cabaret, this is an all-acoustic set that shifts from sultry lyricism to breathless excitement, always graced by fine arranging and superb musicianship. The two lead guitarists are particularly noteworthy. The early songs showcase the extraordinary technique and expressiveness of bachata legend Edilio Paredes. The man invests his all in every note, and is an absolutely delight throughout. The later songs feature a somewhat more experimental guitarist, Pablo Rosario, who plays steel string and alternates between silky smooth passages and spiky, bachata interludes that sound very close to Paredes' percussive, gut-string style. The whole session is a feast for fans of fleet, classy guitar playing. --Banning Eyre, Afropop

Number of Discs: 1

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