2007 Cubismo - Autobus Calypso {Aquarius 160-07} [CD]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubismo
https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubismo
http://www.cubismo.com/index_en.php

Latin covers of Croatian pop songs from '50s to '80s.
Veselo, veselo, veselo! Ako planirate popodnevno druženje na plaži, feštu s ekipom u vrtu uz roštilj ili ste dogovorili kartanje za večeras, Autobus Calypso morate imati. Kad bi se dobar album mjerio količinom "sretnih" melodija, Cubismo bi sa svojim "Autobusom" imao najbolji album u 2007.
Cubismo are multi-international group that faithfully follows tropical rhythms but majority of members are Croatian - I heard them around the world and always found amusing that local audiences in Amsterdam or London were not even aware of my croatians,everyone just assumed this is some cuban pop group.
Even with high standards of their playing and contagious happiness of their music,"Cubismo" always relied on gimmicks for hits - they could play up a storm and drive concert audiences wild,but when it came to charts,it was always some unexpected special guest as a duet partner that would make a difference. It became something of tradition that "Cubismo" would add extra touch from say,gypsy singer (Šaban Bajramović) or rock diva (Josipa Lisac) and than hit would follow.
Knowing this, it is not a surprise that this time around "Cubismo" opted for a full-blown duet-album where on almost every song they would have celebrated guest. The concept behind this album was a collection of classic pop ditties from early 1960s (see title song) when music was still cheerful and happy enough to easy fit into cuban rhythms + guest vocalist (preferably some veteran from the time when songs were originally performed) would join for a chorus or two.
At the end,it doesn't sound so perfect simply because each vocalist have less than two minutes to sing - impression is that Gabi Novak or Jimmy Stanić passed by by accident. These two still sound dignified, which cannot be said for Tereza Kesovija who sounds, well, hysterical and Ibrica Jusić whose particular slow drawl sounds completely out of place with happy tropical rhythms. Oliver Dragojević actually came along a good decade after these 1960s ditties (he was catapulted into stardom in 1970s) but his "Picaferaj" is not half bad. The biggest surprise is of course, old pop classic "Devojko mala" from the other side of the border - it was celebrated hit for Serbian artists - with Vlada Divljan as a special guest,again he got his minute and half.
When you think how much care "Cubismo" took to collect all these guest artists,it comes as surprise that the best track is actually instrumental - "Motorin" (in original "U Nedilju Ane" from an ancient pop festival, Opatija '60 with Marko Novosel) that shakes the earth with real explosion that would not be out of place on some carnival in Rio de Janeiro. It makes you think that special guests were not really a necessity since even without them "Cubismo" could simply record instrumental versions of old classics and still sounds great.