''Cuba'' is the second album by the American band

the Silos The Silos is an American rock band formed by Walter Salas-Humara and Bob Rupe in New York City, United States in 1985. History Prior to starting the Silos, Salas-Humara had been a member of The Vulgar Boatmen, and Bob Rupe was in Florida band ...

, released in 1987. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

Parts of ''Cuba'' were recorded in

Deerfield Beach, Florida Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County line. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the Broward County# ...

. Although incorrectly credited on some pressings of the album, lead guitarist Bob Rupe re-recorded all of Rick Wagner's bass parts after Wagner left the band. A video was made for "Tennessee Fire", which became a hit on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. "For Always" is about marital bliss.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote that the album "finds Mary Rowell’s violin emerging as an integral element in the Silos’ sound." The ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

'' thought that "there's a sober, even slightly ominous undercurrent to these matter-of-factly domestic songs." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' opined that "

alter Alter may refer to: Computing and technology * ALTER, a command in older implementations of COBOL * Alter (SQL), a command in a data definition language within SQL Music * ''Alter'' (album), 2002 album by Floater * ''Alter'', a 2006 remix alb ...

Salas-Humara takes a longer view of relationships than most pop songwriters ... from low-key stories, the Silos draw rock epiphanies." The ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' declared the album to be "the finest independently released rock album in '87."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the album "something of a low-flying classic," writing that "lyrics like 'Margaret goes to bed around eight/I go to bed around one' capture something elusive with small, everyday details." '' The Pitch'' deemed it a "masterwork," writing that it "is thought by some to be the holy grail of the alt-country movement."

Track listing

Personnel

*John Galway - drums *

Mary Rowell Mary Rowell is an American violinist based in New York City. In 1998 Rowell co-founded the string quartet ETHEL. She retired from the group in 2011 but continues to be very active in the downtown New York music community, where she is known as an ...

- violin *Bob Rupe - guitar, bass * Walter Salas-Humara - guitar, vocals

References

{{authority control The Silos albums 1987 albums