Feb

28

ROBERTO DELGADO Caramba LP

February 28, 2008 |

1965’s ‘Caramba’, suitably subtitled ‘Hot Rhythms From South America’, was a huge break-through record for Roberto Delgado and his ensemble, selling millions of copies world-wide and establishing them as a force in the marketplace. Neither as passionate as Prado or sweet as Cugat, ‘Caramba’ and its hot rhythms stake out a happy middle ground, where beautiful couples dance on the beach in front of a blazing fire, before retiring, aroused and happy, to their air-conditioned hotel rooms.

It still sounds fresh today, a superbly-produced collection of rhumba-inspired melodies that can still fill a dancefloor. Wende uses all his musicians terrifically on this one; the horn section is bright and articulate, while drummer Rolf Ahrens steps up repeatedly to provide suitable polyrhythmic support. Most noticeable is the brilliant guitar work of quiet superstar session man Ladi Geisler, who repeatedly steps in with impeccable leads and perfect timing. Geisler also plays the bass, his distinctive ‘knackbass’ style giving all the songs a real feel of immediacy, guaranteeing listeners will feel an impulsive thrill in the urge to jump up and dance. Still in print, ‘Caramba’ is a perfect party platter and a great start for anyone curious as to why Delgado remains an iconic figure in the world of schlager and world music.


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  1. Russ on May 26, 2008 9:14 pm

    I’ve often thought that this album had an influence on the sound of James Last’s Trumpet a gogo series: trumpets to the fore with lots of reverb. Re. the Knackbass: that may actually be Franz Rasch, who played both acoustic bass and bass guitar and had been in the Horst Wende Quartet along with Geisler, and also played bass on Geisler’s solo recordings. On many early Wende/Delgado albums, you can hear an acoustic bass on most tracks, while one of two tracks include an electric bass instead of acoustic (not both at the same time, as was done on Bert Kaempfert and early James Last recordings). Most likely that was Franz Rasch alternating between the two. There was another Hamburg session bassist named Fiete Wacker who also played Knackbass style, mainly on James Last’s early records, and may or may not have played Delgado sessions as well.

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