Dig Deep: Mirtha & Raul – Mirtha Y Raul – Arieto (1968)

Mirtha y Raul – Ya No Habran Raices
Mirtha y Raul – Rosas De Algodon
Mirtha y Raul – El Gran Sol Como Testigo Se Quedo

For our first Dig Deep of year #3 I wanted to REALLY dig deep and present one of my favorite gems, Mirtha y Raul’s self-titled record on the Cuban label Arieto. I first heard this on volume 2 of Waxing Deep’s excellent series, Si, Para Usted which has shined a light on the far too obscured, though really quite fabulous, Cuban music scene of the 1970s. The Waxing Deep folks had the great sense to include “El Sueno De Andria” on that compilation, a swirling bit of tasty psychedelica that features a fantastic breakdown that reminds me quite a bit of the break on McDonald & Giles “Tomorrow’s People” (Which given the fact I’m pretty sure this record came out 2 years prior to that one, I wonder if M & G sampled M & R…). Because of the really very silly, at this point particularly, embargo of Cuba, records like these are very very very difficult to run across in the States (though I’ve never been to Miami, perhaps they turn up there in the center of all things Cuban-American). I tracked this one down by sheer luck from a dealer in Japan.

Mirtha Y Raul were in some ways kind of like Sonny & Cher, with the heights reversed and a much funkier backing group. They even hosted a youth program called “Buenas Tardes” and seem to have been very instrumental in spreading this brand of rock/pop in Cuba. On this album the duo is backed up primarily by a Cuban rock group, Los Bucaneros. I really hope that group was able to record an album by themselves, cause they are really fantastic, rocking when they need to be with shades of psych, soul, tropicalia and that unique style that is Cuba. For me, there are times where the poppy nature of the vocals gets in the way of really taut 1960s rock & soul music, but at the same time, part of the appeal of songs like “Rosas De Algodon” and “El Gran Sol” is the way the vocals interplay with the music. Some of that may also be that they’re singing in Spanish, I can imagine that if they’d been a standard bubblegum pop group from the US in that same period I wouldn’t even bother. Then again, when you’ve got such great punchy drums and layers of rhythm from bass, piano and psychedelic sitar-like guitars, as you do on “Ya No Habran Raices” it’s hard not just to go with it all and nod your head. When the horns are added, as they are on the other two tracks I’ve posted here, it’s late 1960s rhythmic heaven for me and likely you too.

Cheers,

Michael

Here’s a clip from the Cuban TV show “Buenas Tardes” that uses the break from “Sueno” as intro music and gives a better sense of the duo’s style. Plus, there’s a really swanky “performance” of “Rosas De Algodon”…Way Groovy:

And just because I do seriously love this song, here’s “El Sueno De Andria” which is on this record and Si, Para Usted Vol. 2: