¡Canta con Venezuela!

Formed in 1971 by four college friends, Serenata Guayanesa have become a cultural institution in their native Venezuela. The band's roots lie in the steamy Orinoco region, but they embrace musical styles from much further afield – from waltzes and calypsos to merengues. Their lyrical themes touch on the lives of those who dwell in the teeming cities, cowboy-ruled llanos (plains) and the high sierras. This compilation gathers together some of the best-loved songs performed over the decades by the band, which has incorporated new, younger musicians over the years, and clearly demonstrates the bittersweet lyrical strain that runs through their work. ‘El Sapo’ (The Toad) is a jolly golpe – a country-dance genre popular in their home region. ‘El Norte es una Quimera’ (The North is a Fantasy) is a tricky Caracas-style merengue – written in distinctive 5/8 time – which concerns those who travel to the US to seek their fortune and wind up flipping burgers in snack bars. ‘Desesperanza’ (Despair) is a plangent bolero.

Throughout the album, male voices harmonise effortlessly and the plain rhythms of the cuatro provide the main pulse of the music. Given Venezuela's years of political turmoil, it's easy to see why such guileless, happy music might be a balm for long-suffering citizens; to the rest of us, this is a superb introduction to the musical heart and soul of the interior.