Colombian folk-pop singer Carlos Vives generally turns out pretty good stuff -- upbeat, tropically infused songs of sparkling execution -- but his 1995 album La Tierra del Olvido stands above most of his other work. Usually I'm torn between rating either it or 2001's Déjame Entrar as his best album, but in the end I generally come down on the side of La Tierra del Olvido.

I remember reading somewhere that just as Elvis the fresh-faced white-boy had taken the musical styles of America's black underclass and transformed them into something that the white American mainstream couldn't get enough of, Carlos Vives was doing the the same with the vallenato of Colombia's Caribbean coast. Born from a blend of European, African, and Indian influences, vallenato would seem the perfect musical representation of Colombia's diverse ethnic mix. Yet the the style was long held guilty by association (in the eyes of the socially dominant urban population) with it's poor (and, thus, less than respectable) costeño creators. Carlos Vives himself, though having originally made his name as a soap opera star in Colombia's capital and looking more like the vaguely prodigal son of a respectable Bogotá family, originally hails from Santa Marta, the home of vallenato. The pull of these roots eventually led Vives to switch from acting to singing, though his existing fame doubtless aided him in putting together the top-notch backing essemble La Provincia who lift their appellation from the traditional name for the vallenato heartland. Vives's first major label release in 1993, Clasicos de la Provincia, spawned a huge pan-Latin-American hit in "La Gota Fria" whose rocked-up vallenato simultaneously won legions of new fans and shocked traditional vallenato purists. That's always a sign that you're doing something right :) But Vives really hit his stride two years later on La Tierra del Olvido.

The first track, "Pa Mayte", immediately stakes out the album's territory, blasting off with fresh, punchy rhythms that could make a dead Pope want to pour a bottle of rum down his throat and dance on the beach all night long. The accordion and guacharaca of traditional vallenato are joined by reedy Andean flutes, sinuous electric guitars, and a full-on Latin Rock rhythm section to create a rich fusion that is not just pan-Colombian but (more importantly) really kicks ass. The same instrumentation changes pace on the beautifully lyrical title track, an ode to (and lament for) the "forgotten land" of Colombia. Two more groove-laden hoppers are "Rosa" and "Ella", but there's no doubt in my mind that the album's stand-out track is "Agua". Its message, roughly paraphrased in translation is: "I've been around, the whole world's my home, and though people say I'm crazy, I'm living a life of love worth more than any material wealth." Yet this simple bohemian cliché, once Vives sets it in a joyous accordion-driven melody, is transformed into a wholly convincing, soul satisfying anthem that should have shrinks and Prozac manufacturers shaking in their boots.

The whole feel of the music and the message on La Tierra del Olvido gives me (rather strangely, since the scene is unknown outside the US) a very "jam band" vibe. Not in terms of actual improv or sonic exporation, but just ... that vibe. Maybe sort of Dave Matthews plus Santana with a touch of Paul Simon or something. I don't know. And though I'm pretty sure Vive's band doesn't lead the audience too far from the familiarity of the studio versions in concert, you get the feeling they could. I'd love to put these guys on stage at Bonnaroo :) and see them jamming with Trey Anastasio or something. It'll never happen, of course, but somehow that would just be so right ....

Meanwhile, La Tierra del Olvido is vibrantly realized blend of tradition and modernity whose tropical rhythms demand a response from your heart and your body. We need more of these :)