FROM COMMON TO THE FANIA ALL-STARS

While I am a fan of salsa and of the Fania All-Stars more specifically, I’m not such an aficionado as to be a completionist of their catalog. As a result, I never bothered to pick up Cross Over since I assumed (both rightly and wrongly) that it wouldn’t be my cup of tea, especially coming so late in the 1970s. However, I recently came across it while sample-hunting for the source of this track:

Thanks to the sleuths at Soulstrut, it turned out to be this song:

Fania All-Stars: Prepara
From Cross Over (Fania, 1979)

It’s the hardest salsa dura song I’ve ever heard but there’s a lot to like here, especially that string opening that Common’s song loops up. But while it becomes a refrain throughout, the song adds a bonus around the six minute mark with a whole new montuno that sounds great as well.