MP3.com - 8 April 2003 - Glenn Astarita (full review here ») Uruguayan composer/vocalist Raimondo Vayo sings about the essence of nocturnal life via tango and other related idioms as stated within the liners. Backed by a supporting cast, featuring guest vocalists, drums, bass, and Toto Damario's bandoneon performances, the singer's melodramatic sense of lyricism shines radiantly here. And while he sings in his native language, Vayo vocalizes in English on occasion. The majority of these works are framed around small ensemble interplay. Yet it's the leader of this session who transforms the darkness of night into serenading tone poems, teeming with romantic outpourings. However, he also conveys the self-assurance and disposition of an operatic star. Many pieces boast a folksy and somewhat organic groove, as Vayo's silky smooth baritone delivery is augmented by his ability to float through multiple octaves. Essentially, the singer is a storyteller who can toggle between a cabaret-type atmosphere or spin a love yarn atop a sequence of lilting themes and subtle shifts in tempo.

All Media Guide (allmusic) - Alex Anderson (full review here ») When Latin music lovers think of tango, the first country that comes to mind is Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina's largest city, is widely regarded as the tango capital of the world; that was true during tango's pre-Astor Piazzolla era, and it was true after the revolutionary, innovative Piazzolla (who is arguably to tango what alto saxophonist Charlie Parker is to jazz) pointed tango in a darker, more jazz-influenced direction. But veteran tango singer Vayo Raimondo isn't from Argentina; he is a native of Montevideo, Uruguay, and his recordings are not a carbon copy of Argentinean tango. Like the tango one associates with Argentina, Raimondo's work is smooth, polished, sophisticated, refined, elegant, and urbane — in other words, he lives up to all of the adjectives that describe Piazzolla and the Argentinean tangueros who were popular before him (such as Carlos Gardel, Aníbal Troilo, Carlos Di Sarli, and Hugo del Carril). And like his Argentinean counterparts, Raimondo uses the bandoneon (the accordion-like instrument that Piazzolla played) on his albums and has a strong appreciation of European classical music.

Pop Matters - 25 February 2004 - Barbara Flaska (full review here ») Vayo (he is publicly known by only his first name) is a tango singer in Montevideo, and his Al Filo de La Noche is an ambitious offering of 21 vocal tangos the likes of which you may not hear anywhere else. Vayo's tango is another distinct form popular in Uruguay, perhaps a little closer to the original which is often heavier and sadder in delivery and modeled from classical music. Now that the prospective listener has become acquainted with the existence of this sub-genre, Vayo's rich baritone with his operatic inflections and dramatic flourishes now sounds apropos. The content he selects and mood he creates are undeniably "tango", singing as he does of the longing for intimacy as inspired by the tango and poetic tales serenading its nocturnal lives.