Gracias (Cuba)

This CD has the feel of an autobiography. The music, along with photos of Omara at different ages, has the feel of being transported to the times and places in which she lived. There is a sentimental quality to this music but the lyrics and rhythms carry you from place to place so that it never feels saccharine or contrived. It would help if you spoke Spanish, or, if you don't you might be motivated to learn just so that you could totally wallow in these songs -- that are sure to have more appeal for people of a 'certain age.' If she had written a book about her life in Cuba and listed all her stage performances and gossiped about every detail one could read it, enjoy it, and then put it away or pass it on, but you can play this CD over and over and marvel at what it must have been like to be Ms. Portuondo at every beautiful age.

This great artist has realized a very sublime album; I Strongly suggest to buy it.

I must confess that when I bought the Buena Vista Social Club album and its many spinoff discs more than ten years ago, Omara Portuondo was the musician that interested me the least in the group. Sure I loved her voice, but I suppose my taste was more timbale than torch song. Similarly, when I saw her live in concert with Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzalez in Washington, DC in 2001, my eyes were usually glued on the pianist and her male vocal counterpart instead of the Cuban diva. I also must say that her CDs, both on World Circuit/Nonesuch and the "Cuban Essentials" series (see my review of the latter), have made it into my 5-disc changer much less over the years than those of her compadres.

With that being said, I am now happy to report that listening to "Gracias" multiple times over the past two weeks has been one of the best musical experiences of my life! You have to realize (if you don't already know from reading any of my more than 1300 reviews on Amazon), I have nearly 5000 CDs and I feel like I never get the chance to listen to anything anymore, let alone the time to slowly savor something like I have done this past fortnight with "Gracias." In many ways this album reminds me of Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Around" -- I know, you're saying Richman's really lost it now! In the same way that Rick Rubin captured Cash's essence by having him take a musical walk down memory lane, on "Gracias" Omara constantly revisits old topics, her past and her island home, in multiple tributes and thank yous. And even what is lost in translation (I speak limited Spanish) doesn't matter because her presentation is so passionate and direct, and the music so gorgeous, that it transcends any barriers and offers true universal enjoyment. From the heart-aching piano introduction and her delicate vocal entry on "Adios Felicidad," to the brilliant Brazilian beats of "O Que Sera," to the adorable pairing with her granddaughter on "Cachita," to the grand guitar work on the title track, "Gracias" is an absolute masterpiece. I know that this may end up being Portuondo's swan song (the majority of her Buena Vista collaborators are now dead), but here's hoping that Omara can thank us all again with another collection of songs like this in the future. And if this is it, then Omara, "Gracias" a ti.

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