Vasos Vacíos cover

Vasos Vacíos

Released

This Argentinian ska-punk-Latin-funk band’s biggest hit, “Matador,” was one of the few new tracks on this 1993 album, which mostly consisted of tracks from their six previous full-lengths, some re-recorded or remixed. But “Matador,” with its thunderous samba-inspired drums, punchy horns, and football-stadium chants, as well as its lyrics decrying the suppression of dissent by military dictatorships in Argentina and Chile, is a cri de coeur disguised as a fist-pumping anthem. “Quinto Centenario,” the other new song, blends twitchy ska with an interpolation of “America,” from West Side Story, then launches into a hardcore punk sprint. Meanwhile, older songs like “El Satánico Dr. Cadillac,” “Vasos Vacíos” (featuring guest vocals from salsa legend Celia Cruz), and their cover of “Revolution Rock” (a cover of a reggae song by Danny Ray that the Clash also covered, on London Calling) throw elements of funk and even Hawaiian guitar into the mix.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Mundell cover

Mundell

Hugh Mundell
Dangerous Dub cover

Dangerous Dub

King Tubby, Roots Radics
Making History cover

Making History

Linton Kwesi Johnson
Dale Aborigen cover

Dale Aborigen

Todos Tus Muertos
Glory to God cover

Glory to God

Ras Michael
Dub Terror Exhaust cover

Dub Terror Exhaust

Bill Laswell, Automaton
Only a Woman cover

Only a Woman

Judy Mowatt
Super Ape cover

Super Ape

The Upsetters, Lee "Scratch" Perry