Eliades Ochoa review – subtlety in short supply but Buena Vista veteran is still remarkable

Eliades Ochoa will always be best known for his role with the Buena Vista Social Club, the extraordinary band of Cuban veterans to which he brought energy, instrumental and vocal skill – and comparative youth (he was a mere 51 when their bestselling album was released in 1997). Tonight, making his solo debut at the Royal Albert Hall, he proved he is still a remarkable guitarist, switching with ease between tight, rhythmic strumming and rousing solos on his heavily amplified acoustic tres guitar.

As ever, he sported his trademark cowboy hat as a reminder of his roots in the countryside. In a varied set, he was keen to balance the expected Buena Vista songs with reminders of his other projects. But he seemed so determined to get the crowd to their feet – which he finally achieved with El Cuarto de Tula, a long-time favourite he famously re-recorded with Buena Vista – that he failed to display the subtlety evident in so many of his recordings.

He wasn’t helped by his efficient, respectful six-piece band, which included two slick but overused trumpeters. The evening started with a beefed-up treatment of the guajira country lament El Carretero, moved on to the Haitian-influenced A La Luna Yo Me Voy, which he recorded with Malian celebrities including Toumani Diabaté on the AfroCubism album, and then switched to songs from his solo albums. His voice improved throughout the evening, and his guitar work was at times outstanding – as with the rousing, fluid solos on Pintate Los Labios, Maria.

Rather less impressive was his new treatment of Chan Chan, the Compay Segundo composition that became arguably Buena Vista’s most famous song. The opening trumpet lines sounded brash compared to their gloriously slinky version, and this country-style son classic lost much of its delicacy and charm.