Van Van has a no-pretensions, gutsy trombone-plus-charanga sound. This set is a compilation covering 1984-1990, plus a cut recorded live in Havana by QBADisc's
Ned Sublette. All the numbers stretch out, and the live one is a monumentally cooking 12-plus minutes. Background notes on the band and the style would have been a vast improvement on the translations of fairly undistinguished lyrics, but the music is superb -- and blessedly plentiful. ~ John Storm Roberts, Original Music