The millions of people who bought and enjoyed the Buena Vista Social Club album owe thanks to Ry Cooder - it was the eminent rock guitarist, after all, whose musicological expeditions to Cuba made the whole project possible. Now, thanks to a permit granted by Bill Clinton in his last days in the White House, Cooder has returned to that troubled island to record more albums with some of the local musicians. Mambo Sinuendo is the latest release to come out of these sessions, a largely instrumental record of old Cuban standards made with the celebrated Havana guitarist and arranger Manuel Galban. This is not exactly an album designed to win over the non-believers; there's an improvised feel to many of the recordings and some of the arrangements feel less than fully thought-out. But there's an infectious joy about the playing that's impossible to fake, and the twang of Galban's electric guitar is unlike virtually anything else you'll hear in the already saturated Cuban music market. Cooder, incidentally, is once again barred from visiting the island - which may or may not be good politics, but from an artistic point of view is certainly a bit of a scandal.
