Cien Anos, Cien Canciones [With CD] = One Hundred Years, One Hundred Songs

Lara is one of the Latin America's greatest composers of the bolero, or Spanish-language ballad. Although his date of birth is disputed (1897 or 1900), this collection is billed as a centennial collection of 100 of his songs, arranged alphabetically from ""El adios del marino"" (""The Seaman's Good-bye"") to ""Zumba"" (""Leap""). Hailing from the Veracruz region of Mexico (""I was born with the heart of a pirate,"" he says in the song,""Veracruz"") Lara absorbed the hot rhythms and wanderlust of the Caribbean. His songs are said to be directly taken from his life experience ""Maria Bonita"" was composed in honor of his love for the famous actress Maria F lix. On the printed page, his lyrics work as simple poetry, at times recalling the lovelorn verse of Pablo Neruda. An accompanying CD features 20 of his songs, including the early hit ""Imposible"" (""Impossible""), and ""Piensa en mi"" (""Think of Me"") shows up on the soundtrack to Pedro Almodovar's film High Heels. Also included are four b&w photos of the great songwriter at work. (But be prepared for the low-quality, grey pages in this thin, softcover book.) Though there are plenty of CDs of Lara's music available, this songbook and CD set is rare. Highly recommended for all bookstores and music libraries. Ed Morales, Brooklyn, NY