Part of a two-CD set (alongside
Chau) recorded in concert in Argentina,
Hola, the first live album from
los Fabulosos Cadillacs, stakes the band's claim as one of the finest live acts anywhere. For one thing, the set list is superbly chosen. Rather than relying on the most recent album the band was touring to support (
La Marcha de Golazo Solitario), the set list reaches all the way back to their first album, Bares y Fondas, and picks many classic tracks from all the albums in between (although it's hard to tell how much of this is due to the fact that
La Marcha de Golazo Solitario is a softer, more introspective album that may not translate well on-stage). Some tracks already were tailor-made for a live audience and are predictably superlative (such as "El Satanico Dr. Cadillac" and "Mal Bicho"), but others reveal added power in concert. "Calaveras y Diablitos," already first-rate, becomes downright sublime when accompanied by an audience, while "Yo Quiero Morirme Aca," which sounded thin and tentative in its original studio version, becomes muscular and fierce on-stage. It's not quite the same as actually being there (and it's inconceivable to get
Hola without its companion piece,
Chau), but
Hola is one of
los Fabulosos Cadillacs' most vital recordings. ~ Victor W. Valdivia