Una vez más... por Amor 
by Paulo FG!
ProMusic Elite

CD Reviewed by
(Local SalsaPower Correspondent for the Bahamas)

The latest album by Paulo F. G. reminds me of an Oreo cookie - crisp and crunchy on the outside, with a soft, creamy center. Like the cookie, Una Vez Más . . . Por Amor sandwiches a soft center of boleros and lighter style salsa between the hard-edged timba sounds for which this band is so well known. This is an album to listen to, to dance to, and to enjoy. The up-tempo pieces live up to the usual standard of Paulo y su Elite (in other words, the timba cuts are excellent), and while I don't think he is the world's greatest ballad singer, Paolo manages to acquit himself fairly well on the slower, more romantic songs. In taking a closer look I found that several elements contribute to the quality of the CD.

Vital to this album's musical success is the arranging of the eleven songs. Seven of the eleven, including "Una Vez Más", "Por la acera" and "El vivo y el bobo", were co-arranged by Paulo Fernandez Gallo and Juan Manuel Ceruto, and the sophisticated musical structure of these songs fully demonstrate the combined strengths of their arrangers. Paulo's tasteful arrangement of the two ballads, "Hablando de amor" and "El día que me quieres", illustrate his ability in this area. In general, the arrangements showcase the contributions of individual instruments while preserving the unified vigor and intensity of the group.

The overall musicianship of this album is one of its greatest strengths. On piano, for example, Rolando Luna is quite simply masterful. He has some fantastic montunos in "Por Amor", "Enredadera de amor" and "La ultima bala" (where you can hear him really well). His energetic playing in " Son de un amigo" and his piano solo halfway through help to elevate what some might view as a run of the mill traditional son to a higher level. I particularly like the duet between piano and voice on "El día que me quieres ", but on all the slower pieces the piano work adds a sensitive, rather pensive quality. 

Percussively, we have yet another example of the superior quality of the musicians in this fine band. The playing of Mauricio Herrera Tamayo (on drumset and timbales) and Jorge Castillo Hernández (on Congas) provide a rhythmic platform for the rest of the music and propel many of the songs towards the heights we have come to expect of Paulo's Elite.

Another thing I particularly like is what the bass and keyboard players contribute to the songs, regardless of style. Listen to "Una Vez Más" (la ultima bala), and you will hear some of the funkiest, coolest bass riffs in timba. Talk about tumbao! In "El vivo y el bobo", the other timba song where the syncopated tumbao really caught my attention, the rolling, sometimes sliding sound of the bass and keyboard seems to drive the song forward, impelling the listener to dance. Even on the slower songs the bass line is pretty funky. One of the positive qualities of "El día que me quieres", Paulo's rendition of the tango by Carlos Gardel and Alfredo LaPera, is the relaxed jazziness of the bass.

One interesting facet of Una Vez Más . . . Por Amor is the horn section and the way it was recorded. Not only does it feature the fine trumpet playing of Alexander Abreu along with Carlos L. Pérez on trombone, but due to the overdubbing process you get to hear them twice, playing both horn parts. In "Por amor", "Macumba" and "Yo contento", you can hear the way this affects the phrasing and intonation of the horns, creating an even more highly polished effect than usual - and polished is usual for this band. The well-known Juan M. Ceruto, co-arranger of most of the songs, can be heard on tenor sax, and guest artist Roberto García adds a tasteful flugelhorn to two of the compositions.

If you recall that until quite recently Paulo did not feature as one of my artists of choice (check out the concert review to see what changed my mind) you will understand what a pleasure it was to find Paulo's singing on most of the songs to be quite effective. Admittedly, Paulo is at his best in the faster numbers (like "Yo contento", "Son de un amigo" and "Enredadera de amor") where he amply projects the force of his personality into his singing. However the occasional unevenness of pitch is not enough to detract from the other positive qualities present in each of the songs. Support vocals on this album (provided by Ana Alaida López Gallo, Yosbel Bernal Pina) are lively and forceful. In fact, across the album the vocals hold up pretty well.

All in all, Una Vez Más . . . Por Amor provides an experience that is pleasing to different palates. With his latest effort, Paulo continues to provide interesting, danceable music at a high level of musicianship.

-- March 04, 2001

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This page was last updated on 22-Jan-2005