Folk Songs and Ballads from Mexico is a collection of Latin American pieces from one of London's better Mexican cultural groups. The bulk of the performances is indeed Mexican, though there are a couple of pieces clearly in the Cuban vein, or even in a Central American tone. With such a mix, the album title may be a bit misleading, but nonetheless, it's not such a travesty as to cause one not to listen. The performers in
Trio Azteca, buttressed by a cohort of additional instrumentalists, provide a decent set here. The vocals go well off-key from time to time, and the harmonies fall apart once in a while, but when they're on, it's quite good. If the vocals can be forgiven, the instrumental aspects can make up for it. The performances on guitar and requinto are excellent. For Cuban music, there are countless better examples, but for more traditional Mexican music, this really isn't a bad compilation as a starting point. ~ Adam Greenberg