*** LOS PAPINES, “Encuentro de Tambores,” Ore Cuma.

Los Papines, one of the most spirited and infectious concert attractions in Latin tropical music, was formed in the ‘60s by four Cuban brothers, the Abreus. On stage, they dance, sing, make jokes and play percolating rhythms on a heavenly concoction of three sets of congas and a caja de musica, or “music box,” an actual box loaded with cowbells and mini-drums.

This live album serves as a souvenir of their 33rd anniversary concert in Puerto Rico in 1996, and its only flaw is that the sound alone cannot duplicate the amazing experience of seeing these guys live.

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).