| Rumba Baby Rumba! | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Bio Ritmo |
| Cover: | Rumba Baby Rumba!.jpg |
| Released: | 1998 |
| Genre: | Rumba, salsa |
| Label: | Triloka/Mercury[1] |
| Producer: | Jeffrey Lesser |
| Prev Title: | Salsa Galactica |
| Prev Year: | 1997 |
| Next Title: | Bio Ritmo |
| Next Year: | 2004 |
Rumba Baby Rumba! is an album by the American band Bio Ritmo, released in 1998.[2] [3] The band supported the album by touring with Squirrel Nut Zippers.[4]
Recorded at Sound of Music, in Richmond, Virginia, the album was produced by Jeffrey Lesser.[5] [6] The music was written and arranged by band leader Rene Herrera in four weeks.[7] [8] The band's record company encouraged them to incorporate more pop elements.[9] "Tequila" is a cover of the Champs' song.[5] "Night Music" is an interpretation of Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik.[10]
Orlando Weekly wrote that, "like the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Bio Ritmo transcends rote revivalism by allowing their natural eccentricities and modern inclinations to strut."[11] Newsday stated: "Tongue well in cheek, Rumba Baby Rumba! is a joy... Bio Ritmo ably combines the energy of swing with the percussive flavor of salsa and son."[12] The Morning Call considered the album "loaded with lively, catchy numbers that sound as if they're coming straight out of Havana."[13]
The Orlando Sentinel thought that "original Herrera compositions such as 'Yo Soy la Rumba' and 'Sientate Ahi' are fine contributions to the Afro-Cuban repertoire."[14] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette determined that, "despite the Bio Ritmo's largely inauthentic origins, the band seems to have passed the credibility test."[15] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that "the band's own humor-inflected, bilingual tunes mark the high point of its salsa madness."[16]
AllMusic called the album a "sensual and kinetic collection of contemporary Latin rhythms."