MAMBO MONDAY CON LA PLAYA posted by Captain Planet

La Playa Sextet : Hong Kong, Hunca Munca, Olaya & El Chico Boogaloo
taken from the album Bailando El Boogaloo on Musicor (1967)

La Playa Sextet : Le-Lo-Lai & Sugar's Delight
taken from the album Vaya Means Go! on United Artists (196?)

La Playa Sextet : Coco Seco/Anabacca & Mambo Inn
taken from the album The Exciting New La Playa Sound
on United Artists (196?)

I felt inspired to give La Playa (even THEY have a myspace page!) their due respect for several reasons. The first is selfish: I've been carrying these records in my crate consistently, week-in week-out, for probably a year now, and before I wear out the grooves on my favorite tunes, I wanted to retire the vinyl properly and let the music itself live on forever in digitally-preserved mp3/serato heaven. The second reason is because I'd also like to start doing a regular feature on somewhat overlooked latin groups. "Dura Obscura" or something like that. If I highlight a big name artist like Tito Puente or Eddie Palmieri, I'll pick out something that is a bit lesser-known from their catalogue. La Playa seemed like as good a place as any to start. Chronologically, they rose to popularity on the Latin tidal wave that crashed in 1968 with the death of the Boogaloo and the subsequent birth of "Salsa" superpower Fania. Cha-cha, Charanga, Mambo, Bomba, Bolero all got branded conveniently under one banner, and La Playa somehow didn't make the grade.

Most of what little I know about La Playa I picked up here and here. But without knowing about all the players and particulars, one of the major aspects of the group's sound that stood out to me from the start, and caused me to seek out other titles, is the killer electric guitar playing by Payo Alicea. Beyond simply taking over the montuno parts traditionally played on piano, Payo really steered the sound of the group in a latin-rock direction (pre-Santana). "Hunca Munca" has that classic bluesy rock progression that sounds pretty dated today (maybe even tacky to some), but back then I imagine this was some pretty progressive stuff. I'm not sure what happened to the group after "Bailando.." was released, but their music is still heating up dancefloors here in Brooklyn on a weekly basis.

BACK FROM THE CRAZY HORSE posted by O.W.

As noted, I went to go see Joe Bataan play the Crazy Horse in West Covina. It was cool insofar as there were a lot of older, hardcore fans of his who rolled through and that's always great to see. But for once, I'd like to see him play a venue where the average age isn't 42 - he deserves a wider audience but so far, promoters out here in Los Angeles seem to only book him in places where things skew considerably older. If someone wants to help me work on this, holler.

A small, unexpected, very pleasant surprise: at the beginning of the show, Joe came into the audience and was handing out photocopies of this. It reminds me: I really should scan the original in since the issue is sold out.

In the meantime, enjoy these:

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(EXTRA)ORDINARY: JOE BATAAN posted by O.W.

First off, for my Angelinos, Joe Bataan is playing at the Crazy Horse in West Covina on Sunday. See you there!

I recently finished up a set of liner notes for an upcoming anthology on Joe's rich recording catalog for the Fania label. As folks probably know, I'm a huge fan of Joe and it's been a genuine honor to be able to interview him over the years and bring attention to his remarkable career.

This post is part of the boogaloo series (and I'll do some more closer to the date the comp drops) but was really inspired by what is Joe's best-known song, "Ordinary Guy." It's not just a fan favorite - he's recorded it five times (and released it six) - but it's also a song integral to his own sense of self; he may be a star but in his own mind, he's still just a regular Joe (you saw that coming, right?) From the man himself: "While in prison, we did a lot of experimenting with songs. I had first heard the title “Ordinary Guy” in prison in Coxsackie, so I eventually rewrote the words, came back home, put ‘em to music. The song makes me cry sometimes when I see the reaction of people. In New York, it is so popular. People just love that song, and I guess the words mean a lot. “Hey, I’m just an ordinary guy, don’t expect anything else. That’s me” and I’ve always been that way. Having sung the song and how I have endeared a lot of people, how they felt about it, only influenced me more [to] give more of my heart than almost any other song. It describes me."

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Joe Bataan: Ordinary Guy
From Gypsy Woman (Fania, 1967)

The original version of "Ordinary Guy" was recorded for Gypsy Woman, Joe's debut album for Fania. He and his band, the Latin Swingers, recorded the album in one single studio session, a relatively unusual practice. By the end of the day, Joe had this - his last song - left to record but his voice was starting to give out. Session engineer (and Fania co-founder) Johnny Pacheco asked, "'Don’t you want to come back tomorrow?’ and I said no," said Joe. "Actually, my fear was that they were going to change their mind and not use it." So, even with his voice at the point of breaking, they recorded this and completed the entire album that day.

Ordinary Guy
From 7" (Fania, 1967)

For reasons not entirely clear, Fania decided to re-record the song to release on single. For the most part, this 7" version isn't wildly different from the LP except that Fania brought in pianist Richard Tee. Tee changes the opening to the song, giving it a stronger presence, especially with a striking arrangement that sounds very much like the beginning of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Precious Love." This is probably my favorite version of the song, precisely for that intro which gives the tune such a rich, soulful feel to it. (Thanks to Reynaldo for digitizing).

Interestingly, at the Crazy Horse show, when Joe sang "Ordinary Guy", he opened it with that same Tee melody.
Ordinary Guy
From Riot! (Fania, 1968)

By Joe's third album, the gold-selling Riot!, Fania convinced him to record the song again, but this time with a dramatic makeover as the song was given a new arrangement by Broadway's Harold Wheeler. Joe admits, "I didn't particularly like it...I love it now but at the time, I just thought he was altering my music because he gave it this jazzy feel. It had to grow on me because I thought it was too fast." This new version, in my opinion, is lovely and a great change-up from the original. Wheeler adds in some vibes, speeds up the tempo a bit, and has Joe open with some soaring vocals and well-timed drum hits.

It's worth noting, Fania put this same recording - albeit longer by a few seconds - onto Joe's Singin' Some Soul album. I'm guessing it's because they thought it'd fit well with the concept of that album. That would be the last time Joe recorded "Ordinary Guy" for Fania.

Muchacho Ordinario
From Salsoul (Mericana, 1973)

The next incarnation of the song is perhaps the most unique: a Spanish-language version that appeared on Joe's first post-Fania album, Salsoul. The arrangement is completely different too - here, the song isn't really in the R&B vein, it's much more like a son montuno. Bueno!

Ordinary Guy
From Afrofilipino (Salsoul, 1975)

The final version of the song came on the next album, Afrofilipino. This is a version I know a lot of Soul Sides folks are familiar with - I comped it for Soul Sides Vol. 1. I like to think of it as a bridge version between the Latin-fied flavor of "Muchacho Ordinario" and the more R&B stylings of the earlier versions. The song is more in a soul vein in the beginning but at the end, he yells, "salsa!" and the ballad then transforms into a whirling dance tune.

AY AY AY! MICAELA X QUATRO posted by O.W.

Pete Rodriguez: Micaela
From I Like It Like That (Alegre, 1967)

Pedrito Ramirez y su Combo: Micaela
From 7" (Popo, 196?)

Los Cinco De Oro: Micaela
From 7" (Philips, 196?)

Tone Done's Hollywood Quintent: Micaela
From 7" (Vance, 196?)

As promised, here's the first in hopefully many boogaloo-themed posts in honor of the new Soul Sides Boxset #2.

In general, I've found that Latin soul/boogaloo songs are not always given to covers very well. I'm still not sure why this is - whether it's a failing on the groups covering or something inherent to the genre but, for example, covers of Joe Cuba's "Bang Bang" never sound as good as the original (in contrast, "El Pito" seems to go over better). However, it dawned on me recently that there's another boogaloo classic that might disprove my casual theory: Pete Rodriguez's "Micaela." Not only is the song well-covered - possibly the most of his several hits - but many of the other versions are done competently, often on par with the original. I think that says something important about said original: that it's one of those magical songs that lends itself to multiple permutations, all of which excel simply be referencing back to the original (for another example, see variations on Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" - a song that can be covered any which way and still sound great).

I genuinely love this song and how it sounds and have made it a pet project to track down other versions of "Micaela" in hopes of finding yet another charmer. I have to admit though, until very recently, I barely understood it since my Spanish lexicon is limited to, um, counting 1-10 and ordering from taco trucks. That great if I ever need to order "dos tacos, carne asada," not so good for deciphering even basic songwriting en español.

CONTINUE READING...

Luckily, I had some friends help me out and what they came up with is a translation that suggests that Rodriguez was singing about how Micaela blew him away on the dancefloor, which seems apropos for a boogaloo song. If someone has a more elaborate translation, feel free to share in the comments.

In any case, I start with Rodriguez's original, featured on his best-selling I Like It Like That LP for Alegre. The "ooh aah" intro is just a touch too forced but it's all about that piano montuno. Hands-down, one of the best riffs of its kind in Latin. (I'm curious if it has an antecedent...songwriters borrowed from each other all the time in this era). And then there's the hook, "ay ay ay, Micaela se boto" - so catchy.

The Pedrito Ramirez y su Combo version is out of the Bay Area of all places, making it one of the rare West Coast Latin boogaloo cuts I know of (see below). I really like this version - it's livelier and brighter, especially with the addition of the piccolo and greater use of coro-pregón (call-and-response). You can also hear the obvious Joe Cuba influence with the "ah ha, beep beep" chorus that opens. A great party cut and one that I play out at Boogaloo[L.A.] with much pleasure. If you like it, the one dealer I know who has copies is selling one now.

The Los Cinco De Oro version comes from PeruColombia and is notable for at least two reasons: one, it feels much faster than the original. Had I not known better, I would have thought it was a 33 record that I accidentally put in 45 but nope, it's supposed to be that fast. Second, it's a very stripped down version: all piano and hand-claps and that's practically it (save for a lil flute)! I made the mistake of playing this out at the club only to remember: oh yeah, there's no low end to this at all. Can't say this is my favorite but even sped-up, stripped down, with no bass...the song is still catchy.

Lastly, we come to what may be my favorite version and - damn - wouldn't you know, it's also the rarest of the batch? Let's give credit where it's due: I first read/heard this at Office Naps, which included it as part of their West Coast boogaloo series. It's an L.A. record in fact, but one that is uber-obscure and thus, this sound file is likely the closest I'm going to come to it.

What I like about it is how it's also stripped down but not as sparsely as the Los Cinco version - instead, Done's Quintet keeps it to piano and some percussion and really, the song doesn't need any more than that essence. The Ramirez is more lively but Done's just nails what I think is the essence of the song.

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By the way, congrats to Asid and Dan who won the Truth and Soul/Fallin' Off the Reel Vol. 2 contest.

The correct answer to the mini-mix selection was: Tom Scott ("Today"), Sylvia Striplin ("You Can't Turn Me Away"), Wild Sugar ("Bring It Here") and the one that caught most folks: S.O.U.L. ("Peace of Mind"). Get familiar!

SOUL SIDES BOXSET #2 - NOW AVAILABLE! posted by O.W.

It took a while but the second Soul Sides boxset is finally available. The first one was an in-depth look at Aretha Franklin and this latest tackles one of my favorite genres: Latin boogaloo.

Included are a full, downloaable playlist of songs, a selection of compilations, a small set of videos and recommended other reading. All annotated in an edutainment tradition by yours truly. Now that this boxset is finally launched, I'll use it as an excuse to get back to a few boogaloo themed posts here on Soul Sides.

What I need from ya'll is to help support the Boxset series by posting comments there (not here!). The more interactivity I can generate, the more I can justify my future work for Uber on the Boxset series.

BOOGA-LOO NIGHTS posted by O.W.

I have my first piece for The Nation available on newsstands now: "Boogaloo Nights," looking at - you guessed it - Latin boogaloo in all its splendor. This essay serves as a primer on not just boogaloo's history but its import in understanding the intertwined complexity of American cultural exchange.

A few "additions" - mostly things that were cut from the article for space. First of all, I tried, in the original drafts of the piece, to acknowledge the immense contribution to the public knowledge about boogaloo thanks to Juan Flores and the late Max Salazar. Much of my historical retelling of boogaloo depended on their research and I didn't realize the final copy had excised my attempt to credit them as such.

Second, the article tends to focus on Fania as a "bad guy" figure in the death of boogaloo and that's probably largely earned but what's missing is how ironic it is that Fania (or really, Emusica) is taking such a leading role in reviving the genre. I think that's a fascinating story in and of itself but I wasn't able to get that deep into it here. Moreover, I also want to note that Fania is far, far, far from the only label in town in regards to the boogaloo. It was arguably the biggest player but one of many.

Third, a note on spelling...in the piece, I refer to the Latin boogaloo as bugalú as a form of shorthand so I don't confuse people between the R&B boogaloo and the Latin boogaloo. This said, on most Latin records, boogaloo is spelled "boogaloo," not bugalú.

Fourth, and this actually very important and something raised by someone in the comments: the piece is based around the idea of boogaloo being a cross-cultural bridge, between Latin America and African America but I couch it, at times, in the language of "Brown and Black" and I realize this is a faulty shorthand. After all, the notion of race within Latino communities is much more complex than a label like "Brown." The primary personnel behind the boogaloo revolution - Puerto Ricans - can be Black, Brown or White if we're talking about skin tone and so it's not that useful to deploy "Brown" as a catch-all category.

I also wrote a sidebar on five boogaloo compilations worth picking up for the neophyte.

Fear not, much more on boogaloo to come. I've been asked - and gratefully accepted - the opportunity to write liner notes for an upcoming anthology of Joe Bataan's Fania output that will be coming out around April.

BAG THAT BOOGALOO posted by O.W.

Latin Blues Band: I'll Be a Happy Man
From Take a Trip Pussycat (Speed, 196?). Also on Big Ol' Bag O' Boogaloo Vol. 1

Willy Baby: Hot Buns
From 7" (Ding Dong, 196/7?). Also on Big Ol' Bag O' Boogaloo Vol. 2

Bruce Cloud: Soul Mambo
From 7" (Motif, 196/7?). Also on Big Ol' Bag O' Boogaloo Vol. 3

This isn't letting the cat out of the bag, but volume 2 of the Soul Sides Boxsets series will be boogaloo-themed. That's probably overdue on my part - I've done a few boogaloo-themed posts in the past, including a few podcast-style, but considering that it's one of those genres that I've focused an intense amount of attention on, that interest isn't necessarily reflected on this site. That's why I wanted to do a huge post on it for Uber but even then, it won't cover everything (btw, it should go live in early January).

In the meantime, I wanted to fill people in on a few titles worth checking out, especially this intriguing "Big Ol' Bag O' Boogaloo" series that came out earlier this year. Unfortunately, it's vinyl only which won't help non-turntabled folks but for any DJ with an inkling of interest in Latin soul/boogaloo, the entire series is highly recommended. I got mine through Dusty Groove but it looks like they're out right now - but I think Andale has them.

The deal with the BOBOB series is that most of the songs on here do NOT come from the usual suspects, i.e. Tico, Cotique, Alegre or Fania. Instead, they draw mostly on the smaller Speed label, one of those boutique Latin labels that collectors jones for. (The series claims to have titles from Ghetto Records, Joe Bataan's one-time project, but it's just one song (by Joe Acosta) so I consider the claim to be a bit suspect. There are, however, many songs not on Speed or the major Latin imprints, but these obscure one-offs (the Cloud 45, for example, is a $500+ piece). The series does repeat artists often - usually milking two songs off a single LP in order to stretch things out but the quality, overall, is very, very good, especially for beginning boogaloo fans.

"I'll Be a Happy Man" is an interesting cut insofar as the Latin Blues Band uses the identical backing track as two other Latin titles: the Moon People's "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut" and Dave Cortez's "Happy Soul With a Hook." Out of the batch, if you like vocals, this Latin Blues Band is the version you want (if you prefer an instrumental, then the Moon People track is pretty great...it appears on Vol. 1 as well).

"Soul Mambo" is a slick, classic-style boogaloo though, from what I understand, the track is also a hit in Northern Soul circles. Can't say I know much about Bruce Cloud at all but had this appeared on, say, a Cotique album, I wouldn't have blinked an eye; it just sounds so "of that era."

"Hot Buns" by Willy Baby (another artist I know nothing about) is in Spanish, making me wonder if it originated in Puerto Rico though the sound is incredibly New York. The track is very raucous and the prominence of the guitar is unusual and a welcome surprise.

All in all, the entire BOBOB series is nicely assembled; reminds me of those great Latin soul comps that came out on the UK's Harmless back in the early '00s (but have gone out of print since). Keep 'em coming....

DJ Rumor: Fania Live 01 posted by O.W.

DJ Rumor: Mix Excerpt
From Fania Live 01: From The Meat Market (Fania, 2007)

Includes:

Ray Barretto: Teacher of Love from Acid.
Joe Cuba: Gimme Some Love from My Man Speedy.
Tito Puente: Pata Pata from King Tito Puente.

The beautiful thing about having a love affair with music is that no matter how many good songs you already know, you can always be humbled by the infinite number of great songs you don't know. Case in point: this mix commissioned by Fania (or Emusica), mixed by DJ Rumor includes a bevy of kick ass Latin dance songs, many of which I already knew but a few I had never heard before and a few that I just plain slept on. The Joe Cuba Sextet's "Gimme Some Love" is a perfect example: I never picked up My Man Speedy before so I never heard this tune but once this boogaloo shifts midway through to bring in some classic piano vamps, I was hooked. Likewise, Acid is possibly my favorite Latin album ever...but I usually skipped past "Teacher of Love" and failed to appreciate how it was yet another excellent Latin soul cooker from Barretto (whose catalog only gets better to me with age). And likewise, I had heard "Pata Pata" before but never really listened to it, if you know what I mean.

And just in general, I love the idea behind this mix series especially since it's not purely Fania-oriented but can include many of the other Latin labels that Fania has swallowed up over the years like Tico and Alegre. Definitely looking forward to the next volume.

Ricardo Ray: Back to the Boogaloo posted by O.W.

Ricardo Ray: Danzon Bugaloo + Lookie Lookie
From Se Soltó/On the Loose (Alegre, 1966)

It's been a while since I wrote anything about the boogaloo but I've recently been researching it again for a paper I'm presenting in April. In the process of doing that, I realized that I had totally slept on one of the best resources ever written in regards to boogaloo history: Juan Flores' "Cha Cha With a Backbeat" which appears in his 2000 book on Puerto Rican American culture, From Bomba to Hip-Hop. I cannot overstate this: the essay is excellent and is a must-read for anyone with an abiding interest in the history of boogaloo.

What's funny is that, in doing my own research, I ended up simply duplicating the work Flores had already done (just goes to show - it pays to read up on other people's work before embarking on your own sometimes), namely in identifying the "first" boogaloo song as coming off this Ricardo Ray album from 1966.

Technically speaking, this is probably the first song labeled as a boogaloo but that doesn't mean that it's the first boogaloo song in terms of style. As Flores also notes, there's no shortage of antecedents to the boogaloo from the worlds of cha cha and guajiras and other proto-Latin soul styles. However, Ray was the first artist - it seems - to have consciously labeled what he was doing as a new Latin dance/rhythm known as "bugaloo" (interestingly, some people would go on to spell it "bugalu" or "boogaloo" but Ray's contraction of the two seems relatively unique.

What's interesting about "Danzon Bugaloo" is how it doesn't quite conform to the musical "norms" we associate with boogaloo but perhaps that's the "danzon" influence. It may also be the fact that the song is a cover of "Whipped Cream" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. You have to admit there is a deep, rich web of connections when a White musician trying to capture the sound of Mexico at the border would get covered by a Nuyorican, fusing Cuban dance with Black R&B lyrics and rhythms.

However, though "Danzon Bugaloo" has its own eccentricities, there's no denying that "Lookie Lookie" lays down what would become a classic template for the boogaloo: a repeating piano muntono riff, English lyrics, an anchored, measured sense of percussion plus an added bonus of having the song swing into a higher tempo mid-way through. It's not the most scintillating boogaloo ever recorded but for the first attempt, it's more than laudable.

Se Soltó, overall, is a great Latin album. I'm a little surprised if only because I didn't find Ray's next album, the better known Jala Jala Boogaloo to be quite as interesting or adventurous as Se Soltó.

MANNY CORCHADO: SWING HARD posted by DJ Little Danny

Manny Corchado: Pow Wow + Up and Down
From Aprovecha El Tiempo (Swing While You Can) (Decca, 1967).

Barely had early boogaloos like Joe Cuba’s “Bang Bang,” Pete Rodriguez’s “I Like It Like That,” and Ray Barretto’s “El Watusi” become bona fide commercial hits than young Latino combos were coalescing to perform it, savvy older bandleaders were adding it their repertoire, and homegrown New York City record labels were there to package, promote, and, naturally, sell it. This is part of what’s exciting about the boogaloo: for a few years in the ‘60s, there was this great rush to capitalize upon its ephemeral success, and forty years later it makes for a lot of hip, fascinating music. It’s also what’s vaguely disappointing about the boogaloo. After hearing what sounds like your thirty fourth derivation of “Watermelon Man” for the day, you’ll start looking around, exhausted - wondering if maybe there isn’t something a bit formulaic about it all.

Then - heralded as though with a chorus of miniskirt-ed angels - you’ll catch something like 1967’s “Pow Wow.” From its long, soul clapping introduction, “Pow Wow” sails forth in a brilliant burst of percussion, piano, horns, and pure Nuyorican dance floor bravura potent enough - unlike possibly any other boogaloo - to transcend its embarrassing Tonto wampum and “pipa de la paz” chatter.

Sometimes I’ll hear that note perfect nugget of 1970s harmony soul - or, say, some blissed out ’68 pop production - and I’ll scratch my head, amazed that, in its time, the release in question went absolutely nowhere commercially. Not so with Corchado’s “Pow Wow.” It’s obvious why it wasn’t a hit: it’s just too heavy, too booming, too wild. Too everything. Which, of course, is why we love it today.

Loyal Soul Sides readers may already know “Pow Wow” from its recent reissue as part of the fabulous Jazzman 45 series. Less familiar, possibly, is Corchado’s “Up and Down,” a storming jazz mambo with a bottomless bassline, which, even more than “Pow Wow,” showcases the heart stopping power of a full Latin orquesta.

Corchado’s name turns up occasionally in the context of the ‘60s NYC Latin scene (primarily as timbalero for the same Joe Quijano ensemble that recorded an early version of “Up and Down”), though Aprovecha El Tiempo - a sublime mix of mambo, boogaloo, bolero, and Latin jazz - was, alas, his only album as a band leader. This album was part of Decca’s brief lived and forward thinking Latin series, which also included slick releases by Chano Martinez, Joe Panama, Johnny Zamot, and Ozzie Torrens.

--Little Danny (Office Naps)

A MAN, A PLAN, PANAMA posted by O.W.

Los Exagerados: Panama Esta Bueno Y...Ma
Los Fabulosos Festivals: El Mensaje
Both from Panama! Latin, Calypso and Funk on the Isthmus 1965-75 (Soundway, 2006)

This is going to sound odd coming from someone who put out a compilation but I usually don't like comps because I don't like knowing what I don't have. Yeah, record avarice is an ugly beast and I'm no less susceptible to it than the next vinyl dork. (Despite what people seem to think, I don't actually own every album and 45 ever made).

That said, there are "hard to find" records and then there are near-impossible records and when people comp the latter, I'm actually quite appreciative because it brings into the light great recordings that would have otherwise flown under the radar because they're so obscure. This is precisely why I was very happy to see this compilation of Panamanian soul/Latin come out: most of these recordings are songs that I, barring a trip to Panama, would never, ever have heard/found on my own. For that reason, I'm glad that someone went through the trouble to make these available to a larger public (myself included within that) and share some great sounds with a fascinating back story.

What makes Panama special in terms of its musical history has much also to do with its economic and political history. The building of the Panama Canal not only brought in a mix of laborers from throughout South and Central American, the Caribbean and elsewhere, but just geographically, Panama is a nexus point between multiple musical cultures. Panama! reflects that vibrant set of styles with a 15 song collection of everything from frenetic descargas, to Calypso soul, to funky jazz, etc.

The two picks above don't do justice to that diversity but they're still, you know, great songs regardless. I wanted to make sure the Latin sabor of the comp got some shine so I went with the Los Exagerados' catchy descarga "Panama Esta Bueno Y...Ma." Not only is this a great example of this popular Latin dance rhythm but you gotta dig the name: "it's good in Panama...and then some." I tend to be more of a boogaloo kind of guy but its songs like this that make me appreciate how kick ass a good descarga can be.

As for the Los Fabulosos Festivals...if you know anything about me, there's no way I could pass up a Panamanian soul cover of "The Message" by Cymande. I have a Spanish language version of this song from a Mexican group but I have to say - this is killer too despite its lo-fi sound. I like how they switch up the lyrics especially - nice way for them to put their own stamp on this. If someone's got a copy of this 45 for sale or trade, holla!

RAY BARRETTO: HARD HANDS CON SOUL posted by O.W.

Ray Barretto: El Watusi
From Charanga Moderna (Tico, 1962)

Boogaloo Con Soul
From Latino Con Soul (United Artists, 1967)

Acid + A Deeper Shade of Soul
From Acid (Fania, 1967)

Together
From Together (Fania, 1969)

Cocinando
From Our Latin Thing (Fania, 1972)

Slo Flo
From Barretto Live: Tomorrow (Atlantic, 1976)

(Editor's Note: Jeff Chang and I collaborated on the following post. I write the following:)

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...

Ray Barretto passed away on Friday from heart failure, at age 76.

With his signature, thick-rimmed glasses, Barretto never looked like what'd you expect from a king of Latin percussion: he seemed more like, well, your accountant maybe. Yet even if he never became as famous as his fellow conguero Mongo Santamaria, for many Latin music aficionados, he was just as revered, if not more, especially given a late career resurgence in the last five years. Barretto was also part of a larger wave of great percussionists to come out of New York, alongside Tito Puente, Willie Bobo and Sabu Martinez and of that bunch, none was as influential as Barretto in helping to push the Latin soul sound in the 1960s and '70s.

Barretto's early influences came out of the Latin jazz experimentations of the 1950s, specifically Dizzy Gillespie's "Manteca" which became one of Barretto's early hits during his years as a studio sessionist and sideman, recording for Blue Note, Riverside and Prestige. His emergence as a bandleader came with Riverside but it was his move over to George Goldner's Tico Records (the king of Latin labels until Fania came along) that yielded Barretto's first huge hit: "El Watusi".

"El Watusi" was a charanga, one of the precursors to the boogaloo - you can hear on "Watusi" how boogaloo would build on the same basic elements as the charanga: piano-lead rhythm section, hand claps, and an irresistible dance groove (albeit at a much slower tempo).

Barretto rode the success of "El Watusi" for years: his next album for Tico was called El Watusi Man, two years later he released, Viva Watusi!. By 1967 however, Barretto had moved onto trying to capitalize on the boogaloo craze, recording his Latino Con Soul (a simple but rather genius title) for United Artists. "Boogaloo Con Soul" comes from that LP (the title is a bit redundant since, technically speaking, the "con soul" part is implicit in boogaloo songs). It's a cool tune, one of the slower boogaloos out there, especially in comparison to Joe Cuba or Pete Rodriguez's hits of the same era. It's also longer than most, clocking in just over five minutes and in that respect, many of Barretto's boogaloos nodded to his background in jazz and the longer compositions of the genre.

After Latino Con Soul, Barretto moved over to Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacecho's Fania imprint - then still a fledging label - and then released Acid which is, hands-down, the greatest Latin soul album ever recorded. I say this not simply because it had some of the best songs in the genre, but it was also a surprisingly consistent album. Many Latin LPs in the mid/late '60s (and really, Acid is more of a post-boogaloo LP, especially in how it pushed the genre forward) tended to try to touch one at least three or four different dance rhythms: so you'd have a boogaloo or two here, a mambo there, a shing-a-ling there, etc. Acid, in comparison, was one of the rare albums of the era that embraced Latin soul (and jazz) wholeheartedly, not afraid to play the crossover card with songs that were clearly a meeting point between the Brown and Black musical cultures of New York. Barretto wasn't alone in this regard - Joe Bataan would be another obvious example - but Acid ranks as the album that did it best.

The title track is a monster, blending both soul, Latin and jazz. I remember the first time I heard this: Chairman Mao was playing it at the Saturday night weekly he and Citizen Kane used to share at APT in Manhattan. I usually don't try to sweat the DJ but when this came on, I had to ask Mao what the hell it was. Believe me, over a club system, the song is amazing.

The track wasn't alone: other notable songs were the epic "Espiritu Libre," the raucous "Soul Drummers," fairly straight forward boogaloos like "Mercy, Mercy, Baby" and "Teacher of Love" and a personal favorite: "A Deeper Shade of Soul" (which became the source for a song by the same name in the late '80s by a European group called the Urban Dance Sqaud).

Following Acid, Barretto put together several more Latin soul themed albums including Hard Hands, the compilation Head Sounds (which was basically a few key cuts from Acid plus a handful of new songs including "Drum Poem" and a version of "Tin Tin Deo", and Together. The title song, "Together" is a stunner, not only for its fiery rhythm (which seriously kick ass) but listen to the song content: it's a definitive post-Civil Rights Era anthem that I'll put up against anything from James Brown.

(Jeff takes over from here):

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Barretto's records for Fania were some of the label's firsts, and paved the way for the experimental, probing, but always relentlessly dance-able records to follow. Barretto found the groove and then opened it wide.

Fania Records ushered in the "Golden Age of Salsa", and the historical parallels to what happened in hip-hop during the late 80s are striking. Salsa was a conscious effort to frame a particular world-view in sound: an Afrocentric brown-power music, if you will. Barretto's contribution was key. Album manifestos like Que Viva La Musica and Barretto Power made him the KRS-One of salsa, to Eddie Palmieri's Chuck D.

(You might even think of Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe as the Ice Cube and Dr. Dre of salsa. The very existence of the Fania All-Stars was extraordinary—as if the Stop the Violence Movement wasn't just a one-off but a central, ongoing project!)

Just as importantly, Barretto helped shape Fania's seminal sound, which was essentially a Puerto Rican update of classic Cuban music, extended into descargas or jams. To extend Oliver's observation above, the sound was meant to move past the fast cycle of dance crazes into something more capital-I "Important", something that was literally art for the people, in exactly the same way that P.E. set out to end an era characterized by fads like the Wop, the Cabbage Patch, and the Robocop with a conscious nod to a tradition of Black music and political struggle. Salsa took it black to the future.

One of Barretto's biggest hits, "Cocinando", alludes to Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" and Celia Cruz and La Sonora Matancera's "Cha Cha Guere", but extends the themes into a nice long solo vehicle. At once, the music is meant to be more contemplative and virtuousic. The version here by the Fania All-Stars—where I've edited in a brief interview with him at the beginning—is from the label's biggest sound-and-vision statement, the movie feature Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa).

In the mid-70s, now feeling stifled by salsa, Barretto left Fania. In a sense he was right on time. Groups like Santana, El Chicano, Malo, War, Earth, Wind & Fire, and War had taken Latin rhythms into the pop mainstream. And this was also the heyday of what would become known as the breakbeat—with Latinized, globalized funk coming from the Jimmy Castor Bunch, the Incredible Bongo Band, and Babe Ruth. The time had finally come for the sounds Barretto had pioneered during the 60s. In the liner notes to the classic 1976 live album Tomorrow, he wrote, "Gracias to la gente, the people who came out and kept us alive while they waited for the rest of the world to catch up!"

"Slo Flo" is a monster jam from that album. Barretto's playing is masterful throughout, and this is an all-but-forgotten gem of the era, known mainly to serious Latin music heads and breakbeat fans. Like a lot of other Latin musicians, he migrated toward disco. It was simply the latest dance thing. A hustle anthem, "Stargazer", is from 1978, and Barretto's precision breakdowns would be imitated by house bands who played behind the earliest hip-hop records between 1979 and 1982.

Though he never got the credit, it's hard to conceive of hip-hop's backbeat these days without Hard Hands. He laid it down, and people followed, improvised on over it, whether with their sampling machines or their hips. He never asked for much more.

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Be sure also to visit Captain Crate's Barretto tribute.

JOE BATAAN: ORDINARY GUY posted by O.W.

Joe Bataan: Subway Joe
From Subway Joe (Fania, 1968). Also available on Latin Funk Brother.

Joe Bataan: Ordinary Guy
From Gypsy Woman (Fania, 1967). Also available on Young, Gifted and Brown.

Joe Bataan: Call My Name
From Call My Name (Vampi Soul, 2004)

Over on my pop/politics blog, Poplicks, I've been neck-deep in the social, political issues raised by the Hurriance Katrina in New Orleans. I admit, it's been emotionally and intellectually exhausting, and at times, a little despairing.

That's why I'm really glad Joe Bataan came to town this weekend to play what was really and amazing, amazing show at Herbst Theater in S.F. It wasn't sold out but it felt like a capacity show and it wasn't just that the music was soul-satisfying and rousing (which it was). It was also that Bataan has incredible presence as a performer and as my friend who went with me put it: "he's like your uncle. He just makes you feel like family," and the rest of the audience clearly agreed. I'm used to hip-hop shows where everyone is mad stand-offish at times, including the performer, but here, Bataan went into the audience to hand out photos, to lead a conga line, to bring up a 12 year old girl, to kiss women and shake hands, etc. It's not that he reinvented a stage show but rather, he knew exactly how to connect to the audience and brought it to us in a way that felt real, you know? That's rare these days but at 62, with 40 years in the music business, Bataan knows how to make that real for you. It was, without doubt, one of the best live shows I've been to in years and I hope, as Bataan is back on the touring circuit, others go out and see him.

I could get into why I find Bataan's music and career so special but I already do that in my story on Joe from this week's SF Bay Guardian. The short version is that he's had a really remarkable career and that he's an undersung but pivotal innovator in music since the mid-1960s. I'll be writing more about Joe in the future, don't you worry. I was also honored to sit in on his rehearsals last night (that's where the above photo comes from) and just see him work, up close and personal.

But ok, onto the songs. I start with one of his first big boogaloo hits, "Subway Joe," off the Fania album by the same name. Bataan wasn't the first boogaloo master - he followed in the footsteps of folks like Joe Cuba, Pete Rodriguez, and others - but what he brought into the genre was a real soulfulness that wasn't always present in the more party-song style of other key boogaloo figures. You also was very much into storytelling and "Subway Joe" is a perfect example of such.

"Ordinary Guy," has been Joe's trademark for years - he's recorded at least four versions of it, in different styles, over the years and it bespeaks his modesty and humility. It's also a superb sweet soul song - a signature track that is a great entry point into appreciating how he really innovated the entire Latin Soul genre.

Last but not least, Joe disappeared from recording for about 20 years but when he came back to it, he really blew a lot of folks minds on his Call My Name album, released by Spain's Vampi Soul and about to be put back out in U.S. rotation by Seattle's Light in the Attic. Imagine Bataan singing over smartly produced funk and soul tracks that both nod to his legacy but give it a different twist and that's what Call My Name is about. I personally really like the title track so I included it here.

Joe's got another album due out by winter called The Message which is coming out on his own label, JoBa Records. Keep an eye out for it or just keep an eye here. I'll certainly be talking about in the months to come.

CHARLIE PALMIERI, CAL TJADER + RAY BARRETTO: SAMBA TOGETHER posted by O.W.

Eddie Palmieri and Cal Tjader: Samba de Sueno
From Bamboleate (Tico, 1967)

Ray Barretto: Together
From Together (Fania, 1971)

A Latin Sides post has been long overdue. "Samba de Sueno" is a gorgeous, mellow piece of Latin jazz put together by two giants: vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist Eddie Palmieri. Tjader gets more shine here - his vibes give the song its heart and spirit; this is such a beautiful piece of music, perfect for the waning days of summer, no?

With Ray Barretto's "Together," I'm boosting up the energy level with an adrenaline shot through the chest. This is one of Barretto's most fiery and exciting post-boogaloo tracks. His percussion section is locked deep in a fierce groove and Barretto scorches his way through this with vocals promoting social unity. That's the win-win.

DEEPER SHADES OF SOUL (2 of 3) posted by O.W.

Soul Sides Podcast - Boogaloo Special (Part 2 of 3)

Included songs:

Tito Puente: Fat Mama
From 20th Anniversary (Tico, 1967)

Celia Cruz: Tumbaloflesicodelicomicoso
From Serenata Guajira (Tico, 1968)

Ray Barretto: Deeper Shade of Soul
From Acid (Fania, 1968)

Bobby Valentin: Batman's Boogaloo
From Young Man With a Horn (LP/CD) (Fania, 1965)

Gilberto Sextet: Good Lovin'
From The Groovy Sounds of the Gilberto Sextet (Cotique, 196?)

All above songs available on The Rough Guide to Boogaloo (2005)

Part 2 of the Soul Sides Boogaloo Podcasts looks at the spread of boogaloos from the mid-to-late 1960s, especially how it took off amongst more established Latin artists (many of whom initially dismissed the boogaloo as a passing fad).

*There's one factual error on this Podcast that I wasn't able to correct since I caught it while I'm currently out of town...Barretto's Acid was from 1968, not 1972.

BOOGALOO BANG (1 of 3) posted by O.W.

Soul Sides Podcast - Boogaloo Special (Part 1 of 3)

Included songs:

Joe Cuba Sextet: Bang Bang
From Bang! Bang! Push! Push! Push! (LP/CD) (Tico, 1966).

Pete Rodriguez: I Like It Like That
From I Like It Like That (LP/CD) (Alegre, 1966). Also available on Latin Soul - New York Barrio Grooves (1966-1972)

El Gran Combo: Chua Chua Boogaloo
From Boogaloos con El Gran Combo (Gema, 196?). Also available on Big Bad Boogaloo

I initially discovered boogaloo about five years ago when a DJ friend of mine played me some songs by Monguito Santamaria. From there, I was hooked on the genre and have spent the last few years patiently collecting boogaloo albums and compilations when possible.

It's a genre that, for long time, didn't get much respect. Latin purists treated it as a pop fad - beneath the majesty of the mambo and older, more classic Laitn dances. Certainly, the boogaloo was a fad-driven music - blazing hot in 1966 and then tapering into oblivion by the late '60s. However, that doesn't automatically make it bad. The reason why boogaloos were so popular was because dancers loved the easy accessibility of the boogaloo rhythm - usually a simple 4/4 dressed up with tasty piano and brass riffs.

I recently reviewed the new Rough Guide to Boogaloo for NPR and wanted to expand on it vis a vis a few podcasts that call attention to the genre and its legacy. Today's podcast is an introduction to the boogaloo, its history and sound. Next time, I'll discuss the evolution of the boogaloo and its phenomenal growth in the mid-1960s. My third podcast will examine the lingering influence of the boogaloo as was as showcase a few of my favorites.