This makes me want to dance!
J. Wakefield | SLC, Utah | 09/07/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is all instrumental Latin dance music. I like it! Alex Naar arranged each piece for a ten piece dance band. His arrangements are musically complex and interesting--even if you are not a dancer. His "La Cumparsita" is perhaps too far out-of-the-box for some dance crowds. But everything else works for me. The band has a tight, jazz-like quality as they interpret Naar's vision for Latin dancing. If there is a negative here, it is that some of the tracks are just too long for many dancers.
Here are the titles, durations, suggested dance, and (additional comments) for each track:
Mujer Latina, 3:49, Merengue (Not samba as suggested above)
Historia de un amor, 3:32, Rumba (This is too slow for cha cha, as suggested above)
Light my fire, 3:26, Rumba
Tango d'amour, 3:42, Tango
Sabor a mi, 3:51, Rumba or Bolero
Oye como va, 3:31, Cha cha
Beautiful Maria of my soul, 3:57, Rumba or Bolero
Sobe Son, 3:19, Samba
Cumparsita, La, 4:13, Tango (Musically interesting, but an odd arrangement for dancing)
Besame mucho, 4:42, Rumba
Autumn leaves, 4:29, Cha cha
Espana Cani, 4:41, Paso doble
Summer samba, 3:48, Samba
Hernando's Hideaway, 2:27, Tango"
I give it an 8 out of 10
Dan Branscum | Whidbey Island - WA | 10/24/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I liked it as music to dance to, which is what I hoped for when I bought it. Every song IS DANCEABLE, except maybe La Cumparsita. I didn't agree with the producers choice of best dance on a couple of tunes but I'll grant that choice is often in the ear of the dancer. I give it an "8"!"