PANAMA 2 MIX posted by O.W.

Radio @ Soundway Records

My man Beto drops a mix of some of the songs off the new Panama 2 comp. Fire!

Bonus beats: Video trailer + an interview with Beto.

NY TO PANAMA posted by O.W.

Cheo Feliciano: Pa Que Afinquen
From Cheo (Vaya, 1971). Also on El Señor Sentimiento.

Al Gonzalez: El Rumbon
From 12" (Disco International, 1977)

The Exciters: Ese Muerto No Lo Cargo Yo
Papi Brandao Y Su Conjunto Aires Tablenos: La Murga De Panama
From Panama! 2: Latin, Calypso & Funk On The Isthmus 1967-77 (Soundway, 2009)

It's been way too long since I put together a Latin post for ya'll (strange too, considering how much Latin I've been adding to the library of late). Some great tunes in this batch, including a sneak peek at two songs from the upcoming Panama 2 anthology due out next week in the U.S.

I had the honor of interviewing Cheo Feliciano the other month for the currently-on-hold Fania Newsletter (the article still hasn't run) and that encouraged me to revisit his absolutely seminal 1971 album, Cheo. It wasn't just one of the best selling salsa albums of all time but the album caps one of the greatest comeback stories in Latin music (or just pop music) history. Cheo was a legend already for his work with the Joe Cuba Sextet, the Palmieris and other Latin luminaries but a severe heroin habit took him out of the game for the latter half of the 1960s. Cheo was a make it/break it album and turned out to revitalize his career, not to mention fill Fania's coffers (Vaya was a Fania subsidiary). This whole album is clásico and I could have pulled out any song (the boleros are especially great) but I find myself continually coming back to "Pa QUe Afinquen," a beautiful little son montuno whose Cuban roots are so lovingly on display in the guitar work. The whole song is the embodiment of "lyrical."

I first became familiar with "El Rumbon" years ago when my friend Chris and Vinnie released it on their Rejoint label. The original version of this comes from the El Rumbon Jam Session, Guito y su Conjunto album where it was a stunning, 5 minute descarga mixing a dark, infectious blend of Afro-Cuban percussion, bass, piano and flute. The song was eventually remixed into an 8 minute monster - one of the many extended Latin mixes that ended up on the Disco Int'l label towards the latter '70s. It is ridiculously good and a great cut for the Latin beginner and devotee alike.

The last two songs (streaming only) are from the upcoming Panama 2 anthology. My man Beto wrote the liner notes for this one too and the selections are choice. What I really appreciate about this volume is that they move into new territory from its predecessor. That one was filled with great examples of soul and funk-flavored tunes from Panama's diverse musical community but on this album, they move more into salsa and especially cumbias, no doubt tapping into Panama's close proximity to the equally rich Colombian music scene.

The Exciters tune is one I've had in the crates for a minute - a slick cumbia with a cavalcade of percussion rumbling beneath those piercing horns and that powerful 2/4 rhythm. And heck, you know I couldn't pass up putting some shine on a cover of Willie Colon's great classic, "La Murga De Panama," especially one that replaces the signature trombone with an accordion. So dope.

MUSICA DEL ALMA: JAM TO THIS posted by O.W.

The potential for this site is so proper.

(The old site).

TASTE OF HONEY MIX + A TRIBUTE TO ISAAC HAYES + TWEE FUNK REDUX posted by O.W.

Big City's Jared Boxx puts together a nice little Latin mix for the UK's Jazzman Records. Recommended!

Tracklisting:
1. El Green Hornet ~ Mauricio Smith (Mainstream) (Latin Jazz)
2. Cat Fish Bag ~ Johnny Zamot (Grande) (Latin Jazz)
3. Mia's Boogaloo ~ Ozzie Torrens (Decca) (Boogaloo)
4. Going Nowhere ~ Freddie Rodriguez (UA Latino) (Latin Soul)
5. Drag Sway ~ Jarito y Su Combo (True) (Shing-a-Ling)
6. Kush ~ Antonio (Chocolate) Diaz Mena (Audio Fidelity) (Latin Jazz)
7. De'se Mismo Trago ~ Pete Bonet & Louie Ramirez (Fania) (Salsa)
8. La Banda Llego ~ Orlando Marin (Fiesta) (Mambo)
9. Echa Pa' Aca ~ Gilberto Sextet (Ansonia) (Descarga)
10. Oh That's Nice ~ Pete Rodriguez (Alegre) (Boogaloo)
11. You've Been Talking About Me Baby ~ The Latin Souls (Kapp) (Latin Soul)
12. La Bruja Negra ~ Joe Torres (World Pacific) (Latin Jazz)
13. Wild Horses ~ Joe Cain (Time) (Latin Jazz)
14. Quiere ~ Jack Costanza (Clarion) (Mambo)
15. Congas Callejeras ~ Conjunto Sensacion (Tropical) (Conga)
16. Descarga A & J ~ Johnny Rodriguez & Angel Rene Orq. (Mardi Gras) (Descarga)
17. Cacumen ~ George Guzman (Fania) (Descarga)
18. Taste of Honey ~ Willie Rosario (Atco) (Boogaloo)

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Also, the folks at Truth and Soul have a special Tribute to Isaac Hayes EP they put together, with the El Michels Affair covering songs such as "Shaft," "Walk on By" and "Hung Up On My Baby." Check for it!

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And just to complete a trio - Matthew Africa has re-uppped his awesome "Twee Funk" mix of children's soul/funk records again. Don't sleep!

Matthew also links to this killer performance of "Hot Pants" by Jimmy Briscoe and the Beavers which has to be seen to be believed. Straight from Soul! (damn, that show was good).

5 YEAR REWIND: JOE BATAAN posted by O.W.

(As part of our 5th year anniversary, we're revisiting 20 key songs. This post was originally published on May 2, 2008).

Joe Bataan: Ordinary Guy
From 7" (Fania, 1967)

(From the original post:) "Joe Bataan's "Ordinary Guy" is 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.""

"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."

THE NEW FANIA NEWSLETTER posted by O.W.

So this is a personal plug but I also thought it'd be of interest to folks here. I'm the editor for Fania's new newsletter that goes out every two weeks. Each issue includes:

*A feature story on Fania-related releases
*A short CD highlight
*A DJ playlist (Issue #1 has DJ Cucumber Slice, aka Bobbito)
*A free download out of Fania's catalog

Given that Fania/Emusica are making a major push to really tap into the label's insanely huge catalog holdings (which also includes Tico, Alegre, etc.) there's going to be a ton of material coming through.

You can read Issue 1.

And more importantly, you can sign up for the newsletter via email.

P.S. I'm finally back from my East Coast trip with a backlog of posts to get up and some new goodies to share. Stay tuned.

TIMELESS III: ARTHUR VEROCAI THIS SUNDAY posted by O.W.

You know how we do!

Soul Sides has three pairs of tickets to give away. If you slept on the previous two Timeless shows...you wack! Don't make it a hat trick and miss out on Arthur Verocai.

Emails drawn at random at the end of Friday. Email us with the subject line "Verocai giveaway". Make sure to include your full name.

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I confess, I don't know a ton about Verocai except that I always associate him, rightly or wrongly, with Brazil's Tropicalia movement of the late 1960s which was both an intense period of both cultural and political collisions and musical evolution (check out Brutality Garden if you're really interested).

Verocai's 1972 album on Continental is a straight up Brazilian holy grail LP and personally, if you listen to how intricate his arrangements are, how brilliant his fusions of Brazilian and American styles come together here, you can understand why people jones for this album so badly.

And he's going to be playing in LA with a 30 piece orchestra? No brainer.

Arthur Verocai: Caboclo
Arthur Verocai: Na Boca Do Sol
From S/T (Continental, 1972)

5 YEAR REWIND: HARVEY AVERNE posted by O.W.

(As part of our 5th year anniversary, we're revisiting 20 key songs. This post was originally published on April 30, 2004).

The Harvey Averne Dozen: You're No Good
From Viva Soul (Atlantic, 1968)

""You're No Good" kicks off the Harvey Averne Dozen's Viva Soul and the song is so good, so sublime in its affect, so remarkably not like anything else on the album that you wish Averne had pressed this up on 45 so you could have the song without the clutter of the rest of the LP to deal with. Don't get me wrong, Viva Soul is a decent Latin album in its own right and had "You're No Good" not appeared on here, I would still have found pleasure in songs like the mid-tempo mambo, "The Micro Mini." But "You're No Good" opens the album on such a stupendous note that the desperate desire for the rest of the LP to sound the same can only be met by consecutive waves of disappointment as you skip tracks to realize that "You're No Good" is some kind of aberration - lucky to exist but still alone in the world, at least the world of Viva Soul.

Averne himself isn't a great vocalist here - he belts out a passable but unremarkable performance that reminded me of a Tony Bennett knock-off in a Vegas bar. That's not quite as bad as it sounds but Averne isn't about to topple Otis Redding or Al Green off the top of the canon. What makes "You're No Good" so damn good is the chorus of female singers, sounding like the latter-day Ronettes or similar girl group. Averne sings against them in a call and response between himself and what sounds like a bevy of girlfriends he's cheated on. We hear their grievances first as the song opens on a brassy opening of horns and vibes that gives way to a funky, walking bassline and jabbing piano chords. They sing: "I don't trust you when you're out of sight/like you were last night.

On Averne's reply - "I don't want to hear anymore/enough of that jive/I know the score..." - the song brings the horns back in and the arrangement switches from soul into pop, only to swing back to soul when the women come back: "If you love me/like you say do/then make up your mind". It's a great exchange, not quite as tit-for-tat as, say, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas' "Tramp" but like that classic, "You're No Good," is light and playful in its attitude too.

It's those moments, when the women are seeking their revenge that every element in this song: the arrangement, production and vocals, all come together beautifully. There is something both incredibly soulful and funky about these women's singing and it creates that moment of pop brilliance that so many songs hope for but few attain. I don't know what Averne was thinking in writing this song, insofar as the rest of the album doesn't sound much like this cut, but whatever inspired him is our blessing as well."

JOE BATAAN: KING OF LATIN SOUL posted by O.W.

Joe Bataan: Subway Joe
Joe Bataan: The Bottle (snippet)
Joe Bataan: Puerto Rico Me Llama (snippet)
All from King of Latin Soul (Vampisoul, 2009)

A few months back, Joe mentioned that he was working on some new projects, including an album with the Barcelona band, Los Fulanos. The album is finally here - King of Latin Soul and like Joe's last album, Call My Name, it's coming out on the Spanish label, Vampisoul.

(Contrary to rumor, this new album was not recorded with the same folks who worked on Call My Name).

The album are all updated versions of Joe's classic catalog, spanning from his boogaloo years ("Subway Joe", "Gipsy [sic] Woman" and "It's a Good Feeling" to some of his straight up Latin jams ("Puerto Rico Me Llama"), salsoul era material ("The Bottle"), ballads ("The Prayer"), even an update on "Rap-O Clap-O 2008."

Take a peek and let us know what you think.

(By the way, I think it should get American distribution in a matter of weeks).

SOUL: THE TV SHOW posted by O.W.

My thanks to reader Chris "Zeke" Hand for putting me up on this...

I learned about the old NY public television show Soul! from my friend and colleague Gayle Wald (she of that great Sister Rosetta Tharpe book). Her new book is focused on the history of Soul! which was broadcast beginning in the late 1960s through the early 1970s, first on NY public TV and it had a brief national run too. It was one of the first African American variety shows of its kind, during, arguably, one of the richest eras for Black culture and politics and amazingly, hosted by Ellis Haizlip, an openly gay television and theatre producer.

The performances and interviews from Soul! are incredible; their shows are such a profound archive but for many years, they simply languished in the vaults...until now.

This new site from WNET looks like it's going to start sharing clips and full episodes from the Soul! archive. I can't tell you how incredibly exciting this is (though I did note everything they have up right now is from 1972 and '73...I hope they get permission for stuff from earlier in the show's run. Haizlip has a mind-blowing interview with Louis Farrakhan and asks him, point blank, what the role of gays are in the Black Nationalist movement.

I'm real happy they put up the November 15, 1972 episode, featuring Tito Puente playing salsa and Felipe Luciano breaking down the evolution of Afro-Cuban music in New York City.

JOE CUBA: STEPPING OUT posted by O.W.

Joe Cuba Sextette: A La Seis
Joe Cuba Sextette: To Be With You
From Steppin' Out (Seeco, 1963)

Joe Cuba Sextette: Siempre Sea
From Diggin' the Most (Seeco, 1964)

Joe Cuba Sextette: Chichon (Juan Ramon)
Joe Cuba Sextette: Tremendo Coco
From Comin' At You (Seeco, 1965)

First off, be sure to check out my NPR.com piece on Joe Cuba's musical legacy since there's five other songs to take a listen to there.

Joe Cuba will forever - and rightfully - be associated as one of the pioneering forefathers of Latin boogaloo. With the remarkable success of his "Bang Bang" in 1966, Cuba helped usher in the incandescent popularity of the boogaloo style in New York's Latin scene first, then watched it go worldwide as the boogaloo caught on with the greater Afro-Cuban community.

Notably though, Cuba was unusually modest in his total amount of boogaloo recordings - really just two albums worth between Bang! Bang! Push! Push! Push! and My Man Speedy. This stands in contrast to someone like Pete Rodriguez, another one of the main people in the scene, who recorded at least four-five boogaloo albums during the style's 1966-68 reign in NYC. I don't really know why Cuba wasn't recording more, especially since he could capitalize on the immense success of "Bang Bang" (or perhaps that single's success allowed him to be more laid back than his peers).

This is all the more significant in noting how Cuba's pre and post-boogaloo careers were far more prolific yet their respective legacies are less recognized. Cuba formed his first band in the mid-1950s, when New York was still in the throes of the mambo era and the slower cha-cha-cha was also coming into vogue. Cuba's albums of the Mardi Gras imprint - which I personally haven't heard - seemingly focused heavily on cha-cha-chas (which may explain his comfort with adapting those rhythms into boogaloo a decade later) but by the time he signed with Seeco in the early 1960s, he was also working with the then-popular pachanga style as well as early Latin soul boleros, the best known being "To Be With You," originally written by former Cuba bandmate Willie Torres but sung on Cuba's Steppin' Out album by one of his two main vocal partners, Jimmy Sabater.

I actually didn't discover Cuba's Seeco output until the last year or so despite having been quite familiar with his boogaloo albums for many years.
Those early '60s albums of his were a small revelation in showcasing how deep Cuba's career ran and how capable he was as a Latin bandleader. It certainly helped that Cuba's Sextet was one of the best small bands in the business, blessed with serious songwriting talent in the form of Jose "Cheo" Feliciano, Nick Jiminez, Jimmy Sabater, Willie Torres and others. It also helped that all three of his Seeco album were produced by Joe Cain, one of the best Latin producers in the game.

This post highlights songs from that period, starting with "A La Seis," a fun, catchy little pachanga from Steppin' Out, Cuba's first album on Seeco. I don't know a ton about pachangas...except that I've yet to find one I didn't like. It was a huge hit in the New York Latin scene in the late 1950s through early '60s; it's hard to find many Latin albums of that era without a few pachangas and on Steppin' Out, Cuba balances the album with an equal number of mambos, pachangas, cha-cha-chas and boleros.

On that note, I had to also post "To Be With You," which would become Jimmy Sabater's signature song throughout his career (including up through his disco era). You can hear how Latin soul got its origins - the subtle blend of Afro-Cuban instrumentation with vocals that wouldn't have been out of place on a Jimmy Hartman or Sinatra LP.

"Siempre Sea" is from Cuba's second Seeco album, Diggin' the Most and right with how the song opens with what sounds like a I-IV-V progression, you can already make the linkages between this mambo and the future boogaloo sound. What makes that even more striking is the fantastic use of call-and-response on the song here (another staple of the boogaloo sound).

Lastly, we come to Comin' At You, the best of Cuba's Seeco albums by far (in my opinion). I'm not sure if it's just luck of the draw or if Cain and Cuba just hit a real stride here but song-for-song, Comin' At You is a monster, with some of Cuba's best guaguancos ("Pancho Foo" and "Tremendo Coco"), mambos ("So What?") and cha chas ("Stuff 'N Things"). I was seriously torn as to what to pick off of here and so I just went with two favorites: another pachanga - "Chichon (Juan Ramon)" - and "Tremendo Coco." As I wrote in my NPR.com piece, the latter song would get remade nearly 10 years later into "Salsa Ahi Na' Ma'" and since I highlight that song for NPR, I thought I'd give Soul Sides' listeners a taste of the original. It is quite interesting that even at this early point (1964), Cuba is deploying "salsa" in a musical context even though it'd still be at least half a decade before the salsa movement swept over NYC.

As for "Chicon (Juan Ramon)" there's more of that call-and-response that I can't get enough of plus I'm feeling the piano montuno that anchors the song.

In the next installment, I'll move into Cuba's years with Tico Records and how the blueprint for boogaloo came together.

JOE CUBA: RIP posted by O.W.

Update (2/17): I wrote a short piece for NPR.com on Cuba's music, including a five song playlist of some of his key recordings. Check it out here.

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Update (2/17): (from Beto) "Joe Cuba will be viewed at the R&G Ortiz Funeral Home.

Wednesday & Thursday, February 18th & 19th from 2 to 10 p.m.

A funeral mass service will be held Friday morning at 11 a.m. at St. Paul's
Church located @ 213 E. 117th Street, between Park & Lexington."

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This one really hurts; Joe Cuba is one of the main reasons I ever developed an interest in Latin boogaloo and now he's gone.

Cuba had a tremendous career in the New York Latin scene, easily one of the most important figures in the post-mambo era as both one of the pioneers in Latin soul and boogaloo and then transitioning into the salsa era.

I had been meaning to do a post on the "best of" Joe Cuba and I'll try to get that in gear sometime this week. In the meantime, enjoy this:

Joe Cuba: Hey Joe
From My Man Speedy (Tico, 1967)

JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE'S DAY posted by O.W.

My man Beto puts together a small V-Day Latin mix: 8 Canciones Del Amor (songs of love).

BY REQUEST: SALSA WITH A SIDE OF FRUKO posted by O.W.

Wayne Gorbea Y Su Conjunto Salsa: Dejame Un Lado
Fruko Y Sus Tesos: Fruko A Lo Compadre
From The Rough Guide to Salsa Gold (World Music Network, 2008)

Fruko Y Sus Tesos: Fruko Que Banda Tiene Usted
From Fruko El Bueno (Fuentes, 1975)

Another two-requests-with-one-post...post. We had someone asking for "salsa songs for beginners" and someone else wanted "more Fruko!" and I'm happy to oblige both ways. I should include the disclaimer: given that I've had about one or two salsa lessons, max, in my lifetime, I'm not actually sure what songs are good for beginners but I took my best swing.

As it happens, I recently received a copy of the Rough Guide to Salsa Gold which is part of the Rough Guide's larger series of salsa-related comps (including decent ones on Salsa Dura and Salsa Colombia)) and the idea behind the Salsa Gold series was songs and artists off the beaten path - in other words, don't expect the Fania All-Stars.

I picked two cuts to highlight. The first is "Dejame Un Lado" (leave me aside? My Spanish is terrible) by Wayne Gorbea Y Su Conjunto Salsa. Gorbea was one of the many post-war Nuyorican musicians to come of age in New York, coming of age right around the birth of the salsa movement. "Dejame Un Lado" originally came out in 1978 and what I liked about this cut is the dark but slick feel of the piano and horns and a relatively easy rhythm to fall into.

And since someone wanted to Fruko, this comp actually includes one of this songs, "Fruko A Lo Compadre" (Fruko the Godfather?), which has that classic Fruko/Latin Brothers/Fuentes sound - think prominent piano montunos, a heavy brass section and those shattering timbales. I decided to pair that with another song - coincidentally - off the same original Fuentes LP, Fruko El Bueno - which has an even more infectious piano riff, not to mention those handclaps (which you wish they kept longer into the song). I got to say too - a lot of these Fruko LPs have had songs off of them comped like crazy but strangely, the albums themselves are rarely reissued. Track for track, I'd put El Bueno up there with El Grande in terms of the most consistent of Fruko's 1970s Fuentes albums.

BY REQUEST: SWEET SOUL JAMS posted by O.W.

Soul Children: Move Over
From S/T (Stax, 1969)

Bob and Gene: You Gave Me Love
From If This World Were Mine (Daptone, 2007)

Chuito and the Latin Uniques: Wish I Could
From From the Street (Speed, 1968)


Someone asked for more sweet soul in the vein of Eddie Holman's "This Can't Be True" AND someone else asked for more Soul Children so I figured I'd knock down two requests with one post. I originally was going to do a whole post on the Soul Children but when Isaac Hayes passed, I used that as an excuse to put up a song he penned for them, "The Sweeter He Is" but that left "Move Over," the other song I was going to pair it with, languishing.

First off, yeah, it's been sampled.

Second, man, that piano really is great isn't it? Just the drama of the chord and then how it blends into the incoming horns. I'm assuming that Norman West on the vocals, pouring his heart out before one of his brothers come in to take the reigns (listen to how Norman even tells him, "sing it brother!!!!" around 1:18).

The thing is though: this doesn't really sound like Holman's brand of sweet soul, which is less produced and more haunting - a lonely voice piercing the silence. And if that's the gold standard, then we got to bring back Bob and Gene's "You Gave Me Love," which Daptone Records released in 2007. I mentioned it back then since I wrote about the song for NPR but never did a formal post on Soul Sides for it so...hey, here you go! The backstory of the group is well-worth reading and I won't repeat it at length (it's in that NPR link) but I'll quote this much (from myself): ""You Gave Me Love" conveys all the innocence and yearning of a high-school love letter, and whatever it lacks in gloss, it makes up for in heart."

Both of these songs are also tunes I'd pick to end a gig with which made me look through my "slow jams" section to see what else I could pull out to complete a trio and I went with the song that I ended this past Boogaloo[la] with: "Wish I Could" by Chuito and the Latin Uniques. I have to write a post on Chuito at some point - it's really one of the best Latin soul albums ever recorded, definitely up there with anything from Joe Bataan or Ralfi Pagan's work (in the meantime, read up on it here). The vocalist on this particular song (the album had several English vocalists, including Tony Middleton) is Danny Agosta, who croons with a longing quaking with teenage innocence and earnestness.

By the way, you will have noticed that I've switched using direct links to the songs; I'm doing so because I'm anticipating the forthcoming transfer of Soul Sides from one host to another and it made sense to start putting new songs someplace where they will be "safe" during that transition. Hopefully, it's not an inconvenience for ya'll.

GREENWOOD RHYTHM COLLECTIVE: GIMME MUCHO posted by O.W.

Greenwood Rhythm Collective: Guajira 78
From 7" (NYC Trust, 200?)

Greenwood Rhythm Collective: Salsa Verde (snippet)
From 7" (NYC Trust, 2008)

Orquesta International: Mucho Control
From El Barrio: Back on The Streets of Spanish Harlem (Fania, 2008)

Damn, I need a late pass for not realizing that the great Monk One - NY DJ and Wax Poetics contributor - helps run a label alongside E's E, NYC Trust. It's new become one of my favorite sites to peruse - there's a wealth of good-goodies here, including custom mixes by folks like Jared Boxxx (look for "Big City Soul") and Prince Paul ("6 Yrs. High and Rising") and a slew of free tracks by Monk, E and Oneman (look on the right column, especially Monk One's "Got To Give It Up" reggae remix).

Monk and E have two different bands (so far) that they've put together on the label - the more downtempo Midnight Lab Band and the Latin-flavored Greenwood Rhythm Coalition. The GRC's last two 7"s have been exceptionally strong - the "Guajira 78" is especially caliente fuego, a fast-paced, charanga style dance track with a darting flute.

The group's new "Salsa Verde" is equally infectious, built around the distinctive riff that originates with Orquesta International's popular "Mucho Control" hit (also covered by Ismael Quinones). I could be wrong, but I also pick up a distinctive Colombian salsa flavor off this but I'm still a neophyte in the genre. Regardless: it sounds fantastic. I can't wait to play this one out at Boogaloo[la].

For kicks, I also threw in the aforementioned "Mucho Control" which seems to embody so much of the aggressive, brassy style of '70s salsa that's been recently reborn into the so-called salsa dura movement. This was featured as part of Fania's new El Barrio series which includes excellent compilations on classic salsa, Latin soul, boogaloo and a recent Latin funk edition. (I'll be writing more about these in the weeks to come).

QUANTIC/FLOWERING INFERNO: DUBADELICA posted by O.W.

Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno: Westbound Train
Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno: Make Dub Not War
From Death of the Revolution (Tru Thoughts, 2008)

Should have been on top of this back in the summer when it first dropped but consider the new Flowering Inferno album to be good, warm listening for the chilliness of winter. This is Quantic's latest incarnation, a close kin to the Quantic Soul Orchestra's Tropidelico album from 2007 except here, it's Quantic himself handling all of the musical duties.

The sound this time is out notably influenced by reggae and dub - the Latin touch still trails in the background but most songs are unmistakably built on dub's viscous rhythmic signature. I was originally thinking this new album would be packed with tracks to play out and there are some more uptempo cumbias, such as the title track, but instead, I was pleased to find that where the album excels is really in the downtempo tracks that Quantic builds around drizzles of melody and druggy rhythms. "Make Dub Not War" for example, is a masterpiece of simplicity in contrasting the bright drops of acoustic piano against the echoing slap of snares. With "Westbound Train," Quantic is working with any number of different samples in here - the most obvious to me was the pygmy flutes from Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man," and a guitar melody borrowed from Al Green's "Love and Happiness." It reminded me of some of the remix/edit tracks from the early '90s (just minus the Fatman Scoop style shout outs)..

With "Westbound Train," Quantic remakes the Dennis Brown song by the same name (thanks to DRev for schooling me) which, as most should note, picks its guitar line from Al Green's "Love and Happiness". From there, Q throws in a bit of the pygmy flute melody from Herbie Hancock's groundbreaking "Watermelon Man" and builds another winning slow-tempo track for you to get grind on to.



If you really want to get hardcore, there are three different 7"s available from the album.

THE YEAR IN MUSIC: PART 1 (THE OLD) posted by O.W.

(from l-r, Alton Ellis, Edwin Starr, Labi Siffre, The Impressions
Joe Bataan, Stevie Wonder, the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band
Bobby Matos, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Skye 7")

(This post began life on Side Dishes and has "evolved" since).

I had a strange realization the other week: 2008 might be the first year where I spent more time listening to older music than new music. This hasn't been out of nowhere - it's been a long-term shift but it hit me, when I was trying to come up with the standard "Top 10" list that I'm not even sure if I actually listened to 10 new albums in '08.

Not just that: even the new music I did like tended to overwhelmingly be music that sounded like it was from another era - Raphael Saadiq, Solange Knowles, Mayer Hawthorne, etc. For real - if there was one big presence in my 2008 year-in-review, it was Motown! Not only do quite a few Motown artists fill up my "old music I discovered this year list," amongst the new artists, several of them ride off the Motown sound and one of them (Q-Tip) is actually signed to Motown.
I turned 36 this year but why do I feel like my tastes are that of a 66 year old?


KEEP READING:


On one hand, your tastes are your tastes and if that's the direction I'm leaning, maybe I should just shrug and enjoy it. I don't have the professional pressure to have to stay as current as my colleagues do but as I said last year, I also don't want to be a born-again baby boomer (even though my fascinating with the 1960s has only grown this past year).

So here's my New Year's Resolution For 2009: I shall listen to more new music and ideally, not new music that sounds like old music. (We'll check back a year from now and see where I'm at).

This all said, here's Part 1 of my year-in-review, beginning with old music I (re)discovered.

Edwin Starr: Running Back and Forth
From War & Peace (Gordy, 1970)

I get music recommendations from all sorts but no one is more influential than my friend Hua who has probably put me up on more of my more recent "new favorite songs" than any other single source I know. It helps that he has kick ass taste as well as a circle of friends in NY who have equally good taste and so I get some of these recommendation second, even third hand but heck - I ain't too proud!

Case in point: this lesser known single off Starr's big selling War and Peace album. It's easy enough to forget that there was any other songs from that LP given how successful and iconic the "War" single became but when I first heard "Running Back and Forth," I had a proverbial jaw-drop over how good it was and that it'd be from the same album. This song oozes with classic Motown production strengths of its era (RIP Norman Whitfield!), especially in its brass and the driving push of the sound bed. Seriously, try to piece apart all the little bits of the music; it is dense yet comes off sounding clean and simple. In contrast to Starr's forceful polemicizing on "War," here, he's in classic love man mode, trying to kick some game. (Bonus points for the Sam Cooke nod on the bridge).

Labi Siffre: A Little More Line
From S/T (Pye, 1970)

This British singer, songwriter and poet has a voice you can't soon forget - it's not the most powerful, nor the most dynamic - but it is so distinctive and soothing, it stays with you long after the song's end. I especially love how this song builds from an almost hymnal opening only to swell in size and sound with the string orchestration and some killer work on the drums. Siffre's entire catalog from the '70s is classic material (even if many of you probably have never heard of him). This was from his debut album and it's just as good of a place to start as any to enjoy his gifts.

Alton Ellis: What Does It Take To Win Your Love
From Sunday Coming (Coxsone, 1971)

There is something humbling discovering this song the year of Ellis' death. My awareness of him preceded his passing but I had been giving Ellis' cover of Jr. Walker's hit much spin in the first part of the year that when Ellis passed away in October, I found myself coming back to his catalog again and again. Ellis was arguably reggae's finest soul man, not just with his covers but also original compositions.

The Impressions: I'm Loving Nothing
From This Is My Country (Curtom, 1968)

In a year of Obama's ascendency, there are no doubt more apropos songs from the Impressions' catalog but the song of theirs that will haunt me is "I'm Loving Nothing." Its beauty seems almost profane given that this is all about the death of love. Not something you'd want as a first dance at your wedding but doesn't it sound like an embrace rather than slow turn away?

Bonnie and Shelia: You Keep Me Hanging On
From 7" (King, 1971). Also on New Orleans Funk Vol. 2.

King is best known as the home of James Brown for many of his pivotal funk productions of the late 60s but at least for this single, the Cincinnati-based label picked up a slice of NOLA funk thanks to this excellently produced tune from Wardell Quezerque. One of my new favorite femme funk tracks, "You Keep Me Hanging On" reminds me a lot of the snap and sass of Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff." Hang with it.

Ray Barretto: Pastime Paradise (Good Parts Edit)
From La Cuna (CTI, 1981)

Gotta thank my man Rani D for hepping me to this Barretto song. As big of a fan I am of the late master's work, I had never listened to anything he did past the early '70s and I was mightily drawn to how good this cover of Stevie Wonder's song is. The sound of this song is just so gorgeous, especially the first few minutes but I did have to admit I wasn't quite as enamored with the vocals...and cheesy sex...and bad, Santana-wannabe rock guitar. So I just cut all that out and left you with a 1/3rd length "best of" edit from the song. Like Bobby B. - it's my prerogative.

Joe Bataan: Ordinary Guy (7" version)
From 7" (Fania, 1967)

"Ordinary Guy" has been Joe Bataan's enduring hit for over 40 years but this version, which only appeared on 7" single, isn't well known and when I first heard it, I was instantly enamored. It's not entirely clear what Fania's thinking was but they brought in pianist Richard Tee to give the song a a subtle new dynamic, most obviously heard in how different the new intro is. Tee's piano has a strong presence, especially with an 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.

Bobby Matos: Nadie Baila Como Yo
From My Latin Soul (Phillips, 1968)

I've owned Bobby Matos and Combo Conquistadores' incredible My Latin Soul album for years, but I had somehow totally overlooked the incredible charm of "Nadie Baila Como Yo" (nobody dances like me). It wasn't until I heard the Boogaloo Assassins play it at their shows that I was reminded of how damn good it is; it's since become, easily, one of my favorite Latin songs ever. Love how it changes up from a guanguanco into a son montuno and has those beautiful keyboard chords anchoring.

Skye: Ain't No Need (Unity Mix)
From 7" (Ananda, 1976)

When I was out in New York earlier this year, Jared at Big City Records slipped a reissue of this 45 into my hand and I was hooked (and then later, managed to procure an original from the Groove Merchant). Sometimes all you need is a good groove and this obscure disco single from the mid-70s delivers a one helluva great groove that just goes on and on and on. Under other circumstances, I'd find the whole thing repetitious but somehow, I don't tire of it. Ever. (I created this "Unity Mix" which combines the original mix and disco mix in a simple edit).

Stevie Wonder: Send Me Some Lovin'
From I Was Made to Love Her (Motown, 1967)

Heck, I could have filled this list with Stevie Wonder songs I've been rediscovering but "Send Me Some Lovin'" has stood in front of that line. I love the small touches of funk to the arrangement, especially those pianos at the very beginning. This has a fantastic groove to it and you put Stevie's distinctive vocals on top of that and you have an unbeatable combination.

Songs that are technically new (i.e. that just came out) but are based on older recordings:

Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band: Express Yourself (alternate version)
From Puckey Puckey: Jams and Outtakes, 1970-71 (Rhino Handmade, 2008)

This was a real gem from the Puckey Puckey anthology that I wrote the liner notes for. It's a completely alternate recording of the Watts 103rd's big hit, "Express Yourself." Compared to the original, this one is far more languid, like the group was nearing the end of their recording day and just wanted to something to chill out to, maybe smoke a bowl to (as they were known to).

Final Solution: I Don't Care
From Brotherman (Numero Group, 2008)

Provided - their name was terrible. No one wants to think of the Holocaust while groovin' to sweet soul - but even if the Chicago band formerly known as the Kaldirons probably could have chosen a better name for themselves, at least the music speaks for itself. The album - a soundtrack for a blaxploitation film never made - has an interesting backstory all its own but for now, all you need to know is how damn good "I Don't Care" is. Especially when paired with that melancholy but heavy guitar melody by newcomer Carl Wolfolk, there's something sublime about how the group's falsetto voices come coasting in on top of the track. It's a mix of slow-building drama with an angelic set of voices, lending a gospel-like quality to the music's otherwise dark undertones.

Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (DJ Day Edit)
From 7" single (MPM, 2008)

This single just came out a week or so ago and it finds California's DJ Day reworking an alternative version of Marvin Gaye's classic "What's Going On" in a way so clean and organic that even Motown fanatics would swear it was a lost tape from the label's vaults. I don't know why it sounds so perfect with the season but there's something warm and comforting about this that makes you want to wrap yourself in it.

Nina Simone: Gimme Some (Mike Mangini Remix)
V/A: Verve Remixed 4 (Verve, 2008)

Frankly, this song had three killer remixes that I found almost equally commendable including Diplo's remix of Marlena Shaw's "California Soul" and the smoky Chris Shaw remix of Sarah Vaughn's "Tea For Two". But if I had to pick amongst that trio, this Nina Simone reworking took the slimmest of leads, possibly because it's so damn happy (which is not an adjective I often associate with Her High Priestess. Seriously though, this whole album is nice.

Honorable Mentions:
1. Patti Drew: Stop and Listen
2. Joubert Singers: Stand On the Word
3. Ceil Miner: Stardust
4. Aaron Neville: She Took You For a Ride
5. New Holidays: Maybe So, Maybe No
6. Nick and Valerie: I'll Find You
7. Pedrito Ramirez y su Combo: Micaela
8. Bobby Reed: The Time is Right
9. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: If You Can Want
10. Tammi Terrell: What a Good Man He Is

PART 2: NEW(ISH) MUSIC (to follow soon!)

FACE-MELTERS posted by O.W.

Perhaps the only thing as humbling as incredible music are people who share incredible music. That's why I'm always thankful that people like Matthew Africa have gotten into blogging - his "I Wish You Would" is a must-read; if you're not looking at his site at least as often as you check this one, you're missing out. After all, Matthew is dropping that AAA grade butter tracks like Michael Sardaby's "Welcome New Worth" and Frankie Beverly and the Butlers' "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" on the regular. If folks knew how hard it is to come by songs like that, you'd understand where the humbling comes in.

Along these lines: a truly, devastatingly humbling song is what some call face-melters:



It requires more of a song than to be merely "good" to qualify as a face-melter. It has to be something so unexpectedly awesome that its inherent greatness is enough to slough flesh off your skull (metaphorically speaking). Here's a trio of my favorites:

Black Rock: Yeah Yeah
From 7" (Selectohits, 197?)

Los Amaya: Caramelo A Kilo
From 7" (Sabor, 1972)

New Hope: Godofallofus
From Godofallofus (Light, 197?). Also on Strange Breaks and Mr. Thing.

Most people were introduced to Black Rock's thunderous "Yeah Yeah" thanks to the now-legendary Chains and Black Exhaust mix-CD from 2002 and I had been put up on it a couple years earlier by DJ Om. The face-melt part comes partly from how the song opens so enigmatically, with its deep, booming "Blaaaaaaaack Rooooooooock" and those strings that build towards the unexpected hammer drop of piano, guitar and drums that come crashing in at about 30 seconds in. Hold ya head! This is still one of the best funk instrumentals I've ever heard (in fact, if you got ones that top it, comment please and share the wealth of knowledge).

"Caramelo A Kilo" is a bit of flamenco funk from a pair of Barcelona brothers. I can't quite tell if "Caramelo A Kilo's" origins are Spanish or Afro-Cuban (I'm inclined to say the latter) but regardless, Los Amaya give the song the rumba catalana make-over with those wicked gypsy guitars, heavy bongo beats and a swinging set of vocals: the sonic embodiment of caliente. Way too short at less than two minutes!

As for "Godofallofus"...*whistle* I've heard plenty of excellent gospel funk but New Hope finds some next level with a song that sounds like it was made for hip-hop use, just 30 years ahead of time. Those drums! That tuba! Those horns! Those crazy, Hair-era arrangements and ARP synths. As DJ Format and Mr. Thing knew to call it: Holy. Sh--. This whole song is one long mind-blower. (Props to Young Einstein for the hook-up on this LP).

You feel the heat yet?

FOLLOW THE TRAIL posted by O.W.

Bennet, Roger, and Josh Kun. And You Shall Know Us By the Trail of Our Vinyl (Crown, 2008)

I should have blogged about this prior to last night, when there was an event and book signing in Santa Monica around the above book but hey, you still have a few days to Hanukkah/Xmas/Kwanzaa to cop this tome.

I should first include the following disclaimer: Josh Kun, one of the co-authors, is one of my mentors and a good friend and I also appear in the book, having contribute a short essay on David Axelrod's The Auction (see below). That conflict-of-interest alert aside, here's some thoughts on this.

Trail of Our Vinyl is a different kind of album cover book. On the surface, it would seem to share much in common with books like Cocinando! or The Book of Hip Hop Cover Art - hundreds of album covers, interspersed with contextual essays. However, the point of divergence comes with the core purpose of the book, revealed in its subtitle: "The Jewish Past as Told by the Records We Have Loved and Lost." This book is all about collective memories as encoded in records and thus the range of themes are sprawling and complex (like memories are). In essence, this is less a book about music than it is a book about Jewish American identity as told through music, and more specifically, made material in the form of LPs and their evocative covers.

Thematically then, the book has a very loose chronological organization but is far more based around particular areas of Jewish-ness, ranging from "Men's Warehouse: The Changing Sartorial Styles of the Great Cantors" to "Go Down Moses: The Music of Black-Jewish Relations" to "The Sound of Suffering: Holocaust, Soviet Jewry, and Martyrdom on Vinyl" to "Stop Singing Our Songs: Non-Jewish Masters of the Jewish Melody."

Each accompanying essay is less about the album covers depicted after and more about discussing slices of Jewish American history and/or cultural/community dynamics, all "documented" by the 400 or so album covers included therein. It's a level of thought and engagement that's considerably more sophisticated - but still quite readable - compared to similar books which tend to be more about chronicling music genres rather than the communities behind them.

However, like many album cover books, there isn't as much discussion about album covers. The artwork is the obvious visual draw but though we get a few in-depth essays about specific albums or artists (such as what I contributed), a lot of these images lack context and that's one thing I personally have always wanted more of - a discussion about how artists (or their labels) choose certain images or styles (this is something, for example, the Blue Note books do better, but again, not really on an LP by LP basis.

The grand thing about our internet age though is that the limitations a book places on that kind of in-depth discussions can be, instead, moved online and indeed, on the Trail of Our Vinyl blog, Bennett and Kun add those deeper anecdotes. (Be sure to check out the interview with Johnny Yune, Koraen American performer of Ose Shalom fame.

As you may guess, my two favorite sections were about cross-cultural adventures in Jewish music, namely the chapters on Black-Jewish relations and "Me Llamo Steinberg: The Jewish Latin Craze." Part of me is just drawn to the long-standing kind of inter-ethnic/racial dialogues that are created through music and certainly, for Jewish American musicians, there is no shortage of examples to point to.

Orchestra Harlow: Horsin' Up
From Presenta A Ismael Miranda (Fania, 1968)

Harvey Averne: You're No Good
From Viva Soul Atlantic, 1968)

David Axelrod: The Auction
From The Auction (Decca, 1972)

We start with the El Judio Maravilloso, the "marvelous jew" Larry Harlow whom I wrote about a few months back. Undoubtedly the most influential Latin artist of Jewish descent in the NY Latin scene of the '60s and '70s, Harlow seemed to be one of those born-again Puerto Ricans who were such a vital part of the Nuyorican Latin scene (you can put Joe Bataan and possibly Jimmy Castor in that same category). "Horsin' Up" seemed like an apt selection given its own cross-cultural references - the song is a boogaloo-ed mash-up between Archie Bell's "Tighten Up" and Cliff Nobles' "The Horse". I should add: this is a strange album too since it was recorded in 1968, right in the middle of Harlow's (reluctant) boogaloo period but Fania didn't release the album until 1972 (go figure).

Apart from Harlow, the other major Jewish artist in the same circles was smooth singing Harvey Averne who found modest success recording for Atlantic, Fania and Averne's own Coco label. Averne's Viva Soul has long been a favorite of mine (and his self-titled LP on Fania is another one for a later post), especially "You're No Good" (which I blogged about way back in 2004) which benefits beautifully from the use of the female back-up singers and Averne's own rich vocals.

Lastly, I included the title song from David Axelrod's The Auction, which, like almost all of Axelrod's 70s albums, was a concept LP. This one was in reference to American slavery (the "auction was not in reference to eBay) and this is what I had to say about it in Trail of Our Vinyl:

"the slick, funky sound of Adderley's band gives way to the gravely voice of lead Billie Barnum who sings of "young girls...helpless in their shame" while soloist Gwendolyn Owens speaks of "little children sold...while masters traded them for gold." It's a heavy, bleak sentiment - oddly contrasted against Adderley's gliding grooves - but it's also the kind of eclectic and provocative work that Axelrod excelled at."

And since this is a book of album covers, I picked out a few of my favorites:


I went for images that appealed to me visually and/or had an intriguing comment to make on visuals alone. For example, The Immortals album by Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson is very striking for its simple but unambiguous reference of blackface - a popular convention amongst the group of vaudeville singers that included Cantor and Jolson and a practice whose inherent racism was also complicated by its popularity amongst immigrant Europeans.

Speaking of duality, the cover of Two Sides of Pinchik captures the cantor's crossed identities perfectly - one as the religious figure, one as a quasi-pop hopeful. As Kun joked at this week's talk, which identity Pinchik chose came with its own hat.

The Star of David housing a raised fist is the sole image on Rabbi Meir Kahane's minimalist spoken word album, a stark but loaded exercise in saying less with more, design-wise.

Lastly, how can you not like the groovy cover for Israel Hit Parade 2? Party on dude!

JAMES BROWN AND JOE BATAAN: DOCUMENTED posted by O.W.

I Got The Feelin': James Brown in the '60s (Shout Factory, 2008)

Joe Bataan: Mr. New York Is Back (Vampisoul, 2008)

Finally took some time recently to look at two music-related DVDs.

The first is I Got the Feelin': James Brown In the '60s, a 3-DVD set comprised of two concerts (Boston Gardens, 4/5/68 & the Apollo Theater, 3/68), plus a documentary, The Night James Brown Saved Boston.

The latter is in reference to one of the astounding cultural moments of the turbulent late '60s: the day after MLK's assassination, Brown came to Boston and it was decided that not only would the show go on, but WGBH would broadcast the show throughout the city as a way to "keep the peace." To that degree, it was successful as Boston did not suffer the same levels of rioting or arrests as other major American cities.

Here's some video from one of the tensest moments from that evening:


The doc is by director David Leaf (same guy who made John Lennon vs. the U.S.) and I have to say; it's worth the price of the box-set itself. I thought the film did an excellent job of not just framing the events leading up to and following the April 5th show, but more importantly, it contextualizes the complexities and contradictions of James Brown as a civic, cultural and political leader of the time. I think there's a conventional wisdom that Brown was a shrewd opportunist - which he was - but in an era of such remarkable strife in America, Brown also tried to step up in the social realm as well and while he certainly wasn't the most consistent of activists (see: endorsing Nixon, oof!), is complexities help make him a richer character study; something this documentary drives how very, very well. To boot, it has superior production values and some incredible footage of the time.

So good in fact that I wasn't as invested in watching the actual show itself though, at some later point, I'll probably go back to it. The Live at the Apollo '68 footage was compelling as well, especially since it's intercut with segments of James Brown reflecting on the state of America while being filmed, walking around uptown New York. It's not, in my opinion, his most scintillating concert (you need to find his Olympia, 1971 show, holy mother of god) but it's shot and recorded well. The extra bonus footage of him performing with the Famous Flames from 1964 is especially killer. For one, his performance presence was well-honed from early on and second, his performance of "Out of Sight" is such a clear predictor of his future funk innovations.

---

The other DVD I watched was Joe Bataan: Mr. New York Is Back from Vampisoul, the Spanish label that released Joe's comeback album, Call My Name. I have to confess, much as I wanted to really like this - and I'm obviously a big fan of Joe - it does feel kind of slapped together. For one, the video relies on a single interview done with Joe with poor lighting and apparently, no boom mic so the sound isn't great. It's not unwatchable but it also doesn't feel particularly professional. Overall, the documentary has its moments, especially with all the vintage photographs that they dug up for it but especially having just seen The Night James Brown Saved Boston, the difference in production is easily seen.

Here's a trailer for the doc:


Second, the English version hires someone for whom English isn't his first language and while he's intelligible, his sense of English's spoken cadence and pronunciations is off enough that it proves to be a distraction.

Third, among the bonus material, there's a discography that's full of wrong dates and albums that aren't actually part of Joe's formal discography; sloppy stuff.

Ok: the good stuff? Also on the bonus material are two different videos, filmed in Europe I believe, for "Rap O Clap O," Joe's big hip-hop hit from 1979. Just as time capsule, both are great and can be enjoyed both genuinely and ironically. The bonus material also includes a somewhat poor recording of a 1995 show at S.O.B.s but also has better footage from a 2005 show in Spain (though again, the audio quality is notably thin).

Here's a bonus video (not one of the ones on the DVD) of one of Joe's European appearances:


In short, I'm glad something like this is out there but it also suggests that there's room for improvement for a future Joe Bataan documentary to tackle.

THE SOUL SIDES' "UNDER COVERS" MIX FOR DUBLAB.COM posted by O.W.

I recorded this mix for Dublab.com back in June and is now available on their website archive. I originally created it as a promo mix for Deep Covers 2 (though the timing was off since Dublab was back-logged over the summer). Still, I put in a nice selection of different cover songs here - some you've heard, some you haven't. Here's the tracklisting:

Simply Red - I Know You Got Soul - You’ve Got It - WEA

James Brown: Your Cheatin’ Heart - Soul On Top - King

Jimmy McGriff - Ain’t It Funky Now - SOul Sugar - Groove Merchant

Bo Diddley - Bad Side of the Moon - Another Dimension - Chess

The Gimmicks - California Soul - Em Las Brisas - Swedisc

Klaus Wunderlich - Summertime - Hammond Fur Millionen - Telefunken

The Professionals - Theme From Godfather - On Tour - CES

Dutch Rhythm Steel and Show Band - Down By the River - Soul, Steel and Show - Negram

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires - Express Yourself - Reggay Splashdown! - Dynamic

Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Movin’ On Up - Live at the Haunted House - Rhino Handmade

Hielo Ardiente - Mensaje (The Message) - Ritmo Ardiente - Dicesa

Al Escobar - Tighten Up - The Modern SOunds of Al Escobar - Tico

El Freddy Flaco - K-Jee - La Fiesta Vol. 2 - FTA

Manny Bolone and His Latin Boys - Micaela - Boogaloo - Boogaloo

Conjunto Universal - Que Se Sepa - Que Se Sepa - Velvet

Enrique Lynch - Viva Tirado - Sexympacto - Sono Radio

Wganda Kenya - El Abanico - COmo Se Hace Ah - Fuentes

Alton Ellis - What Does It Take To Win Your Love - Sunday Coming - Coxsone

Sparrow’s Troubadours - Soulful Strut - Hot and Sweet - Hilary

Joe Bataan - More Love - Singin’ Some Soul - Fania

Margie Joseph - Let’s Stay Together - S/T - Atlantic

Rhetta Hughes - Light My Fire - Re-Light My Fire - Tetragammon

West Coast Revival - Feelin’ Alright - S/T - LAX

Hodges, James, Smith and Crawford - Nobody - 7″ - Mpingo

El Alamo - Candy - Malos Pensamientos - Decibel

Donovan Carless - Be Thankful FOr What You Got - 7″ - Impact

Nancy Holloway - Never Can Say GOodbye - 7″ - N/A

Mark Holder - Sweet Caroline - Where THere’s a Will, There’s a Way - Deriva

And just because I wanted to be a good egg - I created a downloadable version of the mix, split into individual tracks (but no IDs written; I'm lazy - deal).

Enjoy! Hopefully I'll be rolling back to Dublab to do another mix soon.

LATIN PARTY STARTERS posted by O.W.

Someone recently wrote to ask: "You've eluded[sic] to a few of your [Latin music] favourites a couple of times, I was hoping you'd share more of your all time best with us."

That seemed like a perfectly fair request so I set out to think how I'd approach answering it. For one thing, I've actually posted up a few of them over the years and I went back to a few old posts and reattached missing sound files. That will get you these three basic - but essential - Latin dance tunes:

Joe Cuba: Bang Bang

Ray Barretto: Acid

Willie Colon: La Murga

As noted - these are basic insofar as they're well-known but not having them in your crate is like professing a love for funk and having no James Brown.

I had also written about these next two songs in the past but by past, I mean as far back as four, even five years ago and I thought it was worth coming back to them here, just to refresh people's memories.

Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound: Que Se Sepa
From 5 (Fania, 1975)

Quite possibly my favorite Latin track ever. It's such an amazing mix of styles here, opening with that fantastically funky rhythm before shifting into a stripped down rumba which then turns into an incredible guaguanco section. This is as pure a dancefloor track as you could wish for. Not surprisingly, of all of Roena's many songs (and he has a ton), this is probably his best known by far.

Mauricio Smith: Viva Guajira
From Bitter Acid (Mainstream, 1967)

I'd put this up as one of the best produced Latin albums Joe Cain ever laid hands on (and that's saying a lot given Cain's track record). It's not often you see a saxophonist heading up a Latin album but Mauricio Smith does excellent work here, especially on "Viva Guajira" which is one of the more upbeat and joyful guajiras you're likely to lay ears on. The way this song opens - with the piano progression and antiphonal chicken-scratch guitars - never grows old for me.

Ok, onward to songs not previously spoken about...

Monguito Santamaria: Groovetime
From Hey Sister (Fania, 1968)

I'm genuinely amazed I never put this on Soul Sides before; must have been my oversight in thinking I already had. This was probably the song that got me interested in boogaloo and hence, Latin music writ large. It's that bassline - it'd catch your attention in any genre - and the the swing and swagger of Monguito on here sells how deliciously groovy and funky the whole affair is. Monguito was Mongo's son though he never came close to enjoying the same popularity. He could, at least, lay claim to being one of Fania's best boogaloo artists during the era and the way he pulls "Groovetime" together suggests why.

One more boogaloo banger:

Orchestra Harlow: Freak Off
From El Exigente (Fania, 1967)

Larry Harlow has to be one of the most interesting players in the New York Latin scene. He was hardly the only Jewish player in the mix but he was the most visible bandleader and overall talent. Heck, his nickname was "El Judio Maravilloso," (the marvelous Jew). Harlow's catalog in the '60s/'70s era runs deep but despite an impressive catalog of songs, you'd be hard pressed to find one more incredible than "Freak Off." I was trying to think of boogaloo songs with this level of energy and outside of some of Ray Barretto's material, I'm not sure there is one.

Fruko Y Sus Tesos: Confundido
From El Grande (Fuentes, 1975). Also on Grandes Exitos de Salsa Vol. 2

My fondness for Fruko's Colombian take on salsa is well-known and there's no way I could come up with a list of my favorite Latin tracks and not have him on here at least once. I cycle through which song of his I'm into the most at any given time and this isn't necessarily the best song in terms of the vocals but for musical content, "Confundido" kills with that powerful, rolling piano riff that opens the song (that and the brass section which lights up the track too).

Pedro Miguel y sus Maracaibos: Descarga Maracaibo
From La Paila (Lider, 196?)

The last track I'll include here is from one of the bigger names in Peruvian Latin music and while this more of a "listening" cut than something to blow up the dancefloor, I'm feeling how it begins with its folksy vocals that then give into this nimble guitar treatment that's brisk without being overpowering. These days, this is the kind of Latin that I've found most appealing. Hope you do too.

GUANTANAMERA: THE GUAJIRA THAT KEEPS ON GIVING posted by O.W.

I've been reading Jerry Wexler's excellent, engrossing - but alas, out of print - autobiography, Rhythm and the Blues since I wanted to learn more about his life (catalyzed to do so by his death). Wexler talks about one of his protegés, Bert Berns, the songwriter and producer best known for his work with the Drifters, Van Morrison, Solomon Burke and a slew of others. One of the sources of Bern's inspiration was Latin music and Wexler shares how some of Bern's greatest hits, including the Isley Bros. "Twist and Shout" and "My Girl Sloopy" (better known as "Hang On Sloopy") were all based on the chord progression Bern learned from the best known Cuban guajira of all time: "Guantanamera."

Here's the thing about guajiras: they're a distinctly Cuban style, the term itself refers to a girl from the country and the sound of it is meant to invoke a kind of folksy, romantic and nostalgic mood. It can be a bit confusing though since guajira can refer to either a girl or the song style, therefore when some artists entitle their song, "Mi Guajira," it's not always obvious if they're talking about "my girl" or talking about "my song."

In any case, when I first started to research the boogaloo and its evolution out of the Afro-Cuban tradition, my mentors like Vinnie Esparza and Chris Veltri tried to explain that a boogaloo rhythm was, in essence, a variation on both cha-cha-chá and guajira and that's absolutely true. If you listen to either cha-cha-chás or guajiras from earlier in the 1960s, it's very easy to hear within them the basic structure of boogaloo rhythms as well. As a result, I've been a big fan of guajiras because they have that appealing sound I associate with boogaloo, primarily a strong, central montuno riff, often on piano.

What I couldn't quite figure out though is what exactly separated cha-cha-chás from guajiras and as it was, I was recently hanging out with Joe Bataan and he broke it down (I'm paraphrasing): "the cha cha is upbeat and its usually played in a major key which makes them sound happy. Guajiras, on the other hand, tend to be a little slower but more importantly, the montuno is usually in a minor key, giving it a sadder sound. It's like blues for Latin." And suddenly, that totally made sense to me though, given my musicological ignorance, it wouldn't have occurred to me to think about it in that way.

Back to "Guantanamera." The basic chord progression here is a I-IV-V; an incredibly common progression that, once you pick up on it, you'll begin to hear in countless songs, across many different genres. Mathematically, I'm sure there's an explanation to why the I-IV-V is so pleasing to the ear (at least in a Western context) but it most certainly is part of what gives "Guantanamera" its distinctive melody.

The best known version of the song to most Americans is probably one of Celia Cruz's versions, especially given her and Wyclef's collabo from the '90s. However, the song is attributed to Cuban songwriter Joseíto Fernández (who would have turned 100 this year), who supposedly originally wrote it back in the late '20s.

Joseito Fernandez: Guajira Guantanamera
From 75 Years of Cuban Music (Pimienta, 2003)

In terms of evidence of how "Guantanamera" has returned through popular music, the examples are legion.

Richie Valens: La Bamba
From 7" (Del-Fi, 1958). Also on The Very Best Of.

I can't say this for certain but "La Bamba" was likely one of the earliest examples of a pop song interpolating the "Guantanamera" chord progression and with this massive hit by the young Richie Valens, songwriters were off to the races...

The Drifters: Sweets For My Sweet
From 7" (Atlantic, 1961). Also on The Very Best Of.

The Isley Brothers: Twist and Shout
From 7" (Wand, 1962). Also on The Definitive Collection.

The Vibrations: My Girl Sloopy
From 7" (Atlantic, 1964). Also The Very Best Of.

This trio suggests how powerfully resonant that progression would become, sticking itself into some of the big pop hits of the time. "Sweets For My Sweet" wasn't a huge song compared to some of the Drifters later material but "Twist and Shout" (originally recorded by the Top Notes in a version that few would likely recognize) would become gold in the hands of first the Isley Brothers and then, of course, The Beatles. (The song is credited to "Bert Russell" which was a nom de plume of Bert Berns).

As for "My Girl Sloopy," the world knows it better as "Hang On Sloopy" by the McCoys but Berns brought the "Guantanamera" chords back again when he originally recorded the song for the Vibrations.

The Righteous Brothers: You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
From 7" (Philies, 1964). Also on Very Best Of.

And hell, for good measure, Phil Spector built it into the bridge for one of the biggest pop hits of the 20th century, the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."

Bonus: Jack Costanzo: Guantanamera
From Viva Tirado (GNP, 1971)

The actual song itself has gone through countless versions - this one's a personal favorite, off of Jack Costanzo's excellent Viva Tirado album (feat. singer Gerri Woo). Costanzo, aka Mr. Bongo, gives the song a funkier feel but it's still true to its Cuban roots all the same.

END OF THE SUMMER OF 08 (O-DUB'S REWIND) posted by O.W.

Soul II Soul: Back To Life (acapella mix)
From 12" (Virgin, 1989)

Bonnie and Shelia: You Keep Me Hanging On
From 7" (King, 1971). Also on New Orleans Funk Vol. 2.

Patti Drew: Stop and Listen
From Tell Him (Capitol, 1967). Also on Workin' On a Groovy Thing.

Bobby Matos: Nadie Baila Como Yo
From My Latin Soul (Phillips, 1968)

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: If You Can Want
From Special Occasion (Motown, 1968)

Menahan Street Band: Home Again
From Make the Road By Walking (Dunham/Daptone, forthcoming 10/14/08)

Final Solution: I Don't Care
From Brotherman soundtrack (Numero Group, 2008)

Freeway: Let the Beat Build freestyle
From ? (?, 2008)

Q-Tip: Gettin' Up
From The Renaissance (Motown, forthcoming 2008)

Black Ivory: You and I
From Don't Turn Around (Today, 1972)

It's the end of another summer, alas.

Looking back over the summer songs season, I wanted to do the last post on the songs that ended up forming my personal soundtrack the last few months. To be honest, I thought this list would be a lot longer than it ended up being but I wanted to keep it to songs that I kept returning to over and over rather than something I found merely "good."

Soul II Soul's acapella mix of "Back to Life" came at me three different ways: Murphy's Law dropped it at Boogaloo[la] and reminded me how cotdamn fresh it was, Greg Tate's Summer Songs post made me revisit the Soul II Soul catalog and I finally saw Belly which makes incredible use of the song to open the movie. Personally, I grew impatient to actually get to where the beat drops so I edited my version down to about a 30 second teaser before the "Impeach the President" drums kick in. As ML showed me, it's always a fun cut to play out.

The Bonnie and Sheila, I have to admit, I learned about first through a quirky youtube video[1] and I wondered how the hell I didn't know about this earlier. Great little slice of New Orleans funk produced by the great Wardell Quezergue and released on King (the Cincinnati label most associated with James Brown). Words are insufficient to explain to you how much I love this song.

The Patti Drew I owe to Chairman Mao. When I interviewed him for Asia Pacific Arts, he mentioned "Stop and Listen" as an example of a great soul tune that doesn't cost and arm and a leg yet sounds like a million bucks (not his exact words but you catch the meaning). I couldn't agree more. Don't sleep on the equally excellent ballad, "Tell Him" on the same album.

I had totally forgotten about the Bobby Matos and Combo Conquistadores song, "Nadie Baila Como Yo" (nobody dances like me) off the incredible My Latin Soul album until I heard the Boogaloo Assassins play it at their shows. This may very well elevate itself to my top 10 Latin soul songs given how it changes up chord progressions and tepos not once but twice - it's like getting three songs in one; one of the marks of a superior son montuno. I can't believe I slept on this track all these years.

I found the Smokey Robinson and Miracles song during my search through Motown's catalog to find tracks to play out that wasn't part of their Big Chill/Greatest Hits collection and I never failed to be amazed at the generosity of greatness that Motown provided over the years. For those who think Smokey is all droopy ballads, "If You Can Want" is a loud, proud wake-up call of funky power. How has no one ever done a 12" edit of this?

I already wrote about the Menahan Street Band and Brotherman songs already but they're so nice, I had to list 'em twice.

Freeway's freestyle over "Let the Beat Build" goes well with my official, beginning of the summer post where I nodded at Lil Wayne's original. Free, who had one of the best albums of last year that few seemed to notice, murders over Kanye's beat here. After, uh, a million subpar "A Milli" freestyles, I was happy to hear someone pick a different track to rip.

The last song is one I should have started the summer with. Late pass. Q-Tip's had a rough, um, decade so far in terms of being able to get this music to the masses but I'm hoping "Gettin' Up" does it right for him in preparation for his Renaissance album. This is, by far, the best thing I've heard from 'Tip since this and without getting all misty-eyed for my halcyon teens and 20s, listening to Tribe, this song just f---ing sounds good in the way the best Tribe songs just sounded f---ing good. (No doubt, it helps that the sample source is also f---ng good: "You and I" by Black Ivory. Read more here.).

By the way, if I had to pick my absolute favorite song of the summer...surprisingly, it'd end up being Solange Knowles' "I Decided." Don't ask me why but this has stuck with me the entire time through without ever ceasing to be pleasurable.

And with that...I bid all you adieu until next May but hope you keep the memory of summer in your mind alive until then.[2]

[1] Don't laugh - he dances better than you.

[2] Unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere.

LOU PEREZ: TWO-TIMING posted by O.W.

Lou Perez and His NY Sound: Caribbean Woman
From S/T (Parnaso, 1972)

Lou Perez y su Orquesta Barrio: Antillana
From Barrio (Parnaso, 1972)

I always find it interesting when artists cover their own songs. It's hardly an unusual practice but you sometimes wonder how much of it is dissatisfaction with the original version and how much of it is trying to capitalize on an already successful song by flipping a variation on it.

The Lou Perez, to me, is especially notable since, from far as I can tell, these two songs are probably, at most, a year or so apart. "Caribbean Woman" has been a favorite at Boogaloo[la] - dancers seem to dig its combo of Latin rock/funk rhythms with that whiff of island flavor. It's always reminded me something that Santana's cousin might have whipped together - not deep but sweetly satisfying.

When I picked up Perez's Barrio LP, I was surprised to hear him, in essence, remake the song in a charanga style. That means here a faster tempo, a strong acoustic piano montuno and most charanga-ish, the string accompaniment. That plus he flips the lyrics into español.

I've never had a chance to play out both songs to a Latin-friendly crowd but I'd be mightily curious to see which of the two goes over better.

Unfortunately, Perez passed away just a few years ago at the age of 78. He wasn't a household name to casual Latin fans even though his career was rich and long-lasting, having risen with the charanga fad of early 1960s not to mention a prolific songwriter to boot.

JOE BATAAN GIVEAWAY! (UPDATED) posted by O.W.

Common feat. Bilal: Play Your Cards Right
From Smokin' Aces soundtrack (Lakeshore, 2007)

Joe Bataan: Under the Street Lamp
Available on Under the Streetlamps: The Joe Bataan Anthology 1967 - 1972 (Fania/Emusica, 2008)

Joe Bataan was just here in Los Angeles the last week or so (and I feel stupid for not posting up links to his performances) and we caught up twice during that time, including one meeting where he broke down the entire history behind "Rap-O, Clap-O". Fascinating stuff and I'll have to try to write that up sometime.

Anyways, the other time we met, he was asking me if I knew anything about this Common song that sampled one of his songs. Joe had gotten a check for the clearance but hadn't heard the actual use of the song yet. Not having really followed the sampling game that closely of late, I couldn't think of anything off the top so we sat down and googled it and sure enough, it was Common's "Play Your Cards Right" from last year's Smokin' Aces soundtrack. And once you hear it, it's plain as day that producer Kareem Riggins had looped up Joe's great "Under the Street Lamp" (from his Singin' Some Soul album originally). (Joe got a kick out of hearing his song sampled).

He was also gracious enough to sign a copy of his anthology that I did the liner notes for and I'm going to give this away to one lucky (and informed) reader.
DETAILS AFTER THE JUMP


To be eligible, send an email to soulsides AT gmail.com with the subject line "Joe Bataan giveaway." You need to answer the following:

1) What Latin producer of Alegre fame did Joe Bataan record with prior to signing with Fania?

2) How many original albums (not including compilations or reissued content) did Joe record for Fania (this is a trick question of sorts so think it through carefully)?

3) Some of Joe's most successful songs have been covers: "Gypsy Woman, "Shaft," "The Bottle." Name the original artists behind these other Joe Bataan songs:
a. "It's a Good Feeling (Riot)"
b. "I'm No Stranger"
c. "Make Me Smile"

4) What Ismael Miranda boogaloo mash-up/cover of "Tighten Up" does Joe Bataan make a cameo on? Name the song and album.

5) What pseudonym did Joe take on when he recorded for Bobby Marin's Dynamite label?

6) Two different songs that Joe recorded earlier in his career ended up re-released on later albums in their intact (i.e. non-rerecorded) form. One was "Ordinary Guy" - the same version appears on both Riot and Singin' Some Soul. What is the other song and which two albums did it appear on?

7) What classic from Joe's repertoire appears on his Salsoul album, but with a different name?

8) What's different about the 7" version of "Woman Don't Want to Love Me" compared to the LP version from Afrofilipino (be specific)?

9) What old school rap duo was supposed to appear on "Rap-O, Clap-O" instead of Joe rapping himself?

10) What martial art are Joe's children all masters of?

I'll select a winner at random from those with the most correct answers. Deadline: next Monday.

I also have a second (unsigned) copy of the anthology to give away, randomly, to those who buy Deep Covers 2 in the next week. (Physical CD orders only, digital downloads don't apply, sorry).

SOUL SIDES ASKS posted by O.W.

So let me turn the tables around and ask a question of the SS massive, especially anyone out there with either/both a carpentry or/and mechanical engineering background:

I want to build a custom record file cabinet...in other words, something designed like a file cabinet that can hold 12" lps: two drawers, vertically stacked, each on rails/casters so they can be pulled out.

I'm quite surprised that I've never seen this anywhere before even though it's not a radical idea. It leads me to wonder if that's because there's some basic engineering problems with load distribution?

Here's the basic (interior) dimensions for each drawer: 13w, 13h, 13l. Each drawer needs to hold up to around 80 records (6lps/inch), which would be around 40 lbs (.5lb/lp). If it'd be possible to increase the length to around 15-16", then each drawer could hold an even 100 LPs (50 lbs).

Any handymen/women out there want to offer their expertise on the feasibility? And if you also happen to be in Los Angeles and would like to sell/barter your skills for designing such a device; let's talk!

Meanwhile, as a thank you for people's indulgence of this query, here's two recently digitized songs in my "party crate" (alas, not one on casters however).

B&G Rhythm: Hibaros
From S/T (Polydor, 1978)

Patucchi: Red Lamp (Blackbeard Edit)
From 12" (Scenario, 2005)

The B&G is a late '70s, Latin-influenced modern soul record which I don't know jack about except that B&G stand for arranger and bassist Donnie Beck and his partner, percussionist Steve Gutierrez while jazzman Wayne Henderson produced the album. As far as I know, it's the only album B&G ever made. I'm feeling "Hibaors" - sounds like something Roy Ayres and/or Ramsey Lewis might have dreamed up together, with some Deodato Brazilian flavor sprinkled in too. Love the use of Rhodes (Bobby Lyle) and the slick groove Gutierrez lays down on the drums, plus the vocal melodies. All this really needed was a breakbeat drum solo to bring it all together at the bridge.

"Red Lamp" was originally by French composer Daniele Patucchi (though the song appears on a Spanish label). The Blackbeard edit is fairly loyal to the original - it strips down the intro and lengthens it and does so again towards the back half, but otherwise, keeps all the elements of the original. I could be crazy, but this song reminds me of the Nite-Liters' "K-Jee." The horn melody is pretty much identical and I suspect Patucchi borrowed from it to lay down the basic melodic riff for the song. Either way, "Red Lamp" smokes on its own (love the handclaps).

PICK SIX: NUEVO LATIN SABOR posted by O.W.

Bronx River Parkway & Candela All Stars: Donde
Bronx River Parkway & Candela All Stars: San Sebastian 152
From San Sebastian 152 (Truth and Soul/Candela, 2008)

Johnny Pacheco: Boogaloo De Johnny (Quantic Remix)
Dave Cortez: Happy Soul With a Hook (DJ Format Remix)
From I Like It Like That (Fania, 2008)

Los Po-Boy-Citos: Wobble Cha
Los Po-Boy-Citos: Fat Mama/Mother-In-Law
From New Orleans Latin Soul (2008)

You have retro-soul on one hand but there's also an equally strong trend of what I'm going to call nuevo-Latin (just for the hell of it): soul/funk-influenced Afro-Cuban rhythms whipped together by a younger generation of musicians. The UK's Quantic is probably one of the best known of this cohort, but you could also include Grupo Fantasma and Chica Libre or Brownout (I'm sure there are many, many more). However, the one I've been keeping tabs on has been the Bronx River Parkway and Candela All Stars joint project. I first heard them probably around 2006 and then was reminded of them again in 2007 and the group - lead by the same people in the El Michels Affair/Truth and Soul - has finally completed its debut album, San Sebastian 152 which should be shipping any day now.

Bronx River Parkway combines players out of the Truth and Soul camp with a host of Puerto Rican musicians, many of them veterans from bands once lead by Roberta Roena and Cortijo. Most of this album was originally begun during a trip down to San Juan in 2006. The result is a great meeting point between the tight, funky arrangements that Truth and Soul is known for and the infectious Latin swing brought by their PR counterparts. You really hear that on the title song, especially in how beautifully the horn sections from both bands really give the song such a shine.

"Donde" I included because I was tickled by its nod to one of the great Latin soul/boogaloo joints of all time: "Freak Off" by Orchestra Harlow. It's not a cover per se, but clearly riffs of the Harlow classic.

Leon Michels at Truth and Soul was kind enough to offer up some copies of the new CD for Soul Sides readers. If you want a copy, email me (subject line: Bronx River Parkway) and I'll pick a couple of winners at random at the end of next week (make sure you include your address in your email).

---

Speaking of Quantic and while we're on the Latin tip already, I'd be remiss in not mentioning that Fania has just put out their "remixed" compilation which features a slew of their remix sides (formerly on 12") on one disc. Considering how quickly many of those singles sold-out, it's nice that they put them out on one disc. To be honest, while there's some stuff on here that I thought was really solid (such as the two tracks above), like most remix albums, there's a good deal of material that I personally just didn't care much for, especially the more house/techno-oriented remixes which aren't my musical bag.

Of the material I did like, the "Happy Soul With a Hook" edit by DJ Format was one of the first 12"s that Fania released and it's easy to see its appeal - super uptempo, funky and big with Xtina fans. This is the same song I wrote about in the Happy Soul Suite and Format reworks this particular version by playing with the drums and giving it some extra kick. I do, personally, miss the vocals from the original Latin Blues Band song but hey, I guess I could remix the remix.


Anyways, the Quantic remix of "Boogaloo De Johnny" was a very nice surprise - I guess I'm used to QSO's more uptempo styles, but this is more like that great remix of Nas' "Get Down" with its reggae sabor. Overall, I like that approach here - stripping the song down and building it up rather than putting too much on it. (I don't own any Pacheco boogaloo albums - anyone know what the original to this was off of or is it a cut n paste job of several songs?)

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Lastly, we have a new group out of NOLA, the Los Bo-Boy-Citos, a six-man, second-line-meets-Latin-soul outfit. Their conceit is intriguing - take NOLA's funk/soul heritage (itself Cuban-influenced) and then throw in an East Harlem vibe and see what cooks up. At the risk of being an essentialist, I associate both New Orleans and Spanish Harlem sounds with more gritty, lo-fi flavor and this is a little too clean for my tastes; compare their take on "Fat Mama" with Tito Puente's original and you'll see what I mean. That said, 1) the latter song's combination with Allen Toussaint's "Mother In Law" is inspired, to say the least, plus 2) I'm slightly in awe of any band that knows about - let alone covers - such obscure-r fare such as "Danzon Boogaloo, arguably the very first "official" Latin boogaloo ever record, by Ricardo Ray, or Cool Benny's "Wobble Cha" (see below).

Also, in an unexpected way, their sound is actually much closer to what boogaloo sounded like in the jazz world during the late '60s era of Blue Note/Prestige artists like Lou Donaldson and "Boogaloo Joe" Jones. That boogaloo fad in jazz was never very connected to the jazz world (from what I've been able to research), Les McCann's Bucket O' Grease excepted, and in a serendipitous way, Los Po-Boy-Citos create that missing link between the jazz and Latin boogaloo styles.

---

Bonus: Cool Benny: Wobble Cha
From 7" (Virgo, 196?). Also on California Soul.

For a bonus, I thought I'd throw on the original "Wobble Cha" - one of those lesser-known West Coast Latin dance tunes. I first heard about it from the California Soul comp (and I might now actually own the 7" that it was mastered from) and DJ Little Danny from Office Naps (which is BACK!) also wrote about it in his Pt. 1 on "West Coast Latin jazz vibes" posts (by sheer coincidence, he just posted up his Pt. 2). "Wobble Cha" has "novelty" all over it which isn't a bad thing (and to be sure, there were a few Latin artists with wobble cuts but it was never as big as even the shing-a-ling, let alone boogaloo) - the song has a fun little swing to it and I'm a big fan of the mambo-era vibes flavor.

JOE BATAAN: THE LOST SIDES posted by O.W.

Joe Bataan: Gypsy Woman (original, Futura version) + Latin Soul Square Dance
From Under the Streetlamps: 1967-1972 (Fania, 2008)

I'm very, very proud to announce the new Fania anthology focused on the work of Joe Bataan, Under the Streetlamps. I was fortunate enough to be asked to write the liner notes for the compilation - you can read a teaser here - and as always, it was a pleasure to rap with Joe but also my first opportunity to speak with the great Bobby Marin as well.

I've, er, waxed poetic about Joe on numerous occasions, especially here, so I won't add a great deal (though look for my Side Dishes post this week to go over some of the basics). I do want to bring attention to the two songs above though, both of which are important inclusions on the anthology. The "Gypsy Woman" version here is quite a find since it's never been released previously and very few people have ever heard it before. Futura was Al Santiago's (Alegre) short-lived label and a truly missed opportunity since Santiago recorded both Joe and Willie Colon at a time when no one in the Latin music world had really heard of them but he never capitalized on their potential. This version of "Gypsy Woman" is markedly different from the Fania version; it's quite slower which gives it a very different feel. Maybe it's just familiarity but I think the eventual version is better than this early attempt but just for history's sake, it's cool to hear the first try.

"Latin Soul Square Dance" comes from the opposite end of Joe's Fania career. This was never released as a commercial single (just promo only) and it's from Joe's "lost" Live From San Frantasia album from which the masters are still MIA and may never be found. It would have come out had Joe not finally stepped off of Fania (with whom he was having issues with at the time) and went on to help found Salsoul Records with the Cayre Bros. Again, a really cool track to include since so few people have ever heard it. Enjoy!

PICK SIX: LOUIE LOUIE posted by O.W.

Louie Ramirez: The New Breed
From In the Heart of Spanish Harlem (Mercury, 1967)

The Latin Blues Band: Oye Mi Guaguanco
From Take a Trip Pussycat (Speed, 1968)

Dianne & Carole: The Fuzz
From Feeling the Pain (Speed, 1968)

Kako and His Orchestra: Shingaling Shingaling
From Live It Up (Musicor, 1968)

Jose "Cheo" Feliciano: Esto Es El Guaguanco
From Cheo (Vaya, 1971)

La Crema: Cisco Kid
From El Party Con La Crema (WS Latino, 1973)

Bonus: Beatfanatic: Cookin'
From Adventures in the World of No-Fi Beats (Raw Fusion, 2006)

My most recent Side Dishes was on Latin arranger/composer/musician Louie Ramirez and the recommended Louie's Grooves anthology. I've been wanting to write something on Ramirez for a while and though the Side Dishes post allowed me to riff on some of his work, as the comp's liner notes acknowledge, it just brushes the surface of how deep his catalog can run. I'd suggest folks read that post first and then come back here.

My pick six for Ramirez focuses mostly on albums not already covered by Louie's Grooves, beginning with arguably the easiest of his solo albums to acquire: In the Heart of Spanish Harlem. This was recorded for Mercury; I find that interesting since Mercury didn't have a ton of Latin recordings (that I know of) on the label but I suspect it may have had something to do with producer Richard Marin who was doing some A&R work for labels like Mercury and Verve at the time. Marin's brother Bobby - another Latin soul giant and fellow composer - is on this album as well; he was a frequent collaborator with Ramirez and it's not at all unusual to see them on the same projects together. In fact, for this album, Bobby appears on the cover photo alongside Richard and Louie

I was always struck at how Ramirez was able to work on so many different labels at the same time; not long after that Mercury album, he must have been working with Fania on the Ali Baba LP (several of the songs from that rare title are on Louie's Grooves and then he was also working for Morty Craft's Speed imprint. I wrote about The Latin Blues Band for the Happy Soul Suite piece and I enjoy revisiting it - any Latin album that has Bernard Purdie as your studio drummer is bound to be rather interesting though instead of the funkier fare I could have nodded to, I went with "Oye Mi Guaguanco," a solid piece of classic Cuban style by Ramirez, feat. (I think) Luis Aviles on vocals.

Like the Latin Blues Band, the Dianne and Carole album was also on Speed. Speed packed, in my opinion, the biggest bang for the buck - their catalog wasn't more than a dozen titles or so but what was there was almost all exceptional. This Dianne and Carole album is especially notably since it had one of the few examples of female singers heading a Latin soul album (La Lupe excepted of course). There's very little known about the two singers - their surnames aren't even credited on the album! In any case, "The Fuzz" leads side 2, where 4/5 of the songs are arranged by Ramirez and I suspect that most of the same players from the Latin Blues Band played on here as well.

Not long thereafter, Ramirez was also helping compose, play on (and possible arrange?) for the great Puerto Rican bandleader Kako and his Live It Up album on Musicor. Personally, I've never figured out what separates a shingaling from a boogaloo and "Shingaling Shingaling" certainly displays many of the stylistic characteristics of both. I'm feeling this - and the whole LP is exceptional.

Ramirez was multi-talented as a musician - known to rock both the timbales and vibes - and I wanted to include an example of the latter by including one of his salsa era performances, playing vibes on Cheo Feliciano's classic "Esto Es El Guaguanco." He's a big reason the opening is so memorable and Ramirez comes back to solo towards the second half of the song.

Last in the pick six is this cool lil cover of "Cisco Kid" that Ramirez arranged for the La Crema album, a one-off project that involved him, Bobby Marin and some other familiar folks but in the Latin funk era of the 1970s.

Bonus: As for "Cookin'", that might have been the first time I "heard" any Louie Ramirez song since it liberally borrows from "The New Breed." Slammin' Latin club cut - trust me on this one.

LEFT FIELD FUNK: ANANDA SHANKAR + MANTECA posted by O.W.

Ananda Shankar: Streets of Calcutta + Dancing Drums
From Ananda Shankar and His Music (EMI India, 1975)

Manteca: Afro-Funky + Gozando Tropical
From Ritmo + Sabor (GRC/Sound Triangle, 197?)

The thing about funk's entry in pop music in the late 1960s and forward was how artists would find ways to work in its rhythmic signature when you least expected it. (See this for a great example). Hearing the Ananda Shankar for the first time just blew my mind, probably because I assume Ananda's sound would be more like his uncle Ravi's but clearly, Ananda was on some experimental, world fusion tip by blending his training in classical Indian music with some Moog and a killer trap set drummer. Both of these cuts above are well-comped at this point but they still don't fail to impress. Sitar funk for real.

Manteca is the nickname for master bongosero Lazaro Pla, a Cuban legend who used to play with Ernesto Lecuona and the Cuban Boys. His Ritmo + Sabor is one of the holy grail Latin funk LPs given its ridiculously funky percussion. It's an interesting album for Manteca since he didn't record out of Cuba much as a solo artist yet this album has been pressed up three times: GRC (Miami), Sound Triangle (Colombia) and Desca(?). And despite that, you'll still end up forking over a few Franklins, unless you're my man Adam M. who managed to cop one for $3 from Amoeba in Berkeley (that story still kills me). "Afro-Funky" is the outstanding cut here: the interplay between the basslines (which some opine might have been Cachao) and the percussion section is ridiculously funky not to mention pure rhythm - notice, there's no melodic composition in the song at all. "Gozando Tropical" is more in a conventional Cuban dance style with its piano montuno riff but even here, the hard timbales (alas, uncredited) still put percussion first...sometimes I feel like the song is mis-engineered and should have cooled down the timbales a bit but then I shrug and figure if the drummer wants to get some, who am I to deny? This has been out of print on CD for a while but luckily, they're about to bring it back later this month.

SUMMER SONGS 2008: LAUNCH! posted by O.W.

Soul Sides' Summer Songs Series has moved to its own exclusive site. I've ported over all of the past posts but for all the new, upcoming posts, I'll make a quick post here and point folks over.

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:

CONTINUE READING...

(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."

CONTINUE READING...


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.

THE HAPPY SOUL SUITE posted by O.W.

Unraveling musical mysteries is part of what motivates me as a music journalist. I don't claim to be very good or thorough at it, but the process alone is a way to appreciate the beauty and complexity of music-making that isn't necessarily transparent through listening alone (or, er, the sonic equivalent of "transparency").

This post is one such example and it begins, for me at least, with a song called "Happy Soul" that appears on an album by The Moon People that I picked up at the Groove Merchant a few years back. (Note: ironically, "Happy Soul" is the one song I did NOT include in the Suite but for reasons that will become clear shortly). "Happy Soul" is very striking, especially for a Latin soul song because 1) it's fast and 2) it's funky. Really funky. Funkier than most Latin soul songs one can think of. I would play it out when I could, especially because it's a great "transition" track between Latin and funk sets. It's not surprisingly then that, in 2006, when the DJ Premier-produced Xtina Aguilera single, "Ain't No Other Man" came out, I recognized the sample immediately.

At least I thought I did.


CONTINUE READING...

A little while later, I heard "Happy Soul (With a Hook)" by Dave Cortez with the Moon People and it was basically the same instrumental track as "Happy Soul" but with Cortez' trademark organ vamping all over it. Then, last year, I discovered the Latin Blues Band and their album, Take a Trip Pussycat. On there, they have a song called, "I'll Be a Happy Man" and it is basically, the same exact song as "Happy Soul" only with vocals (and without the Cortez organ).

The plot thickened.

The LBB, the Cortez single and the Moon People album are all on Speed, a smaller Latin label of the late '60s that specialized in Latin soul and boogaloo bands, including Frankie Nieves, and one of the rare female Latin groups, Dianne and Carole and the Latin Whatchamacallits. It's one of the great, great Latin boutique labels of that era and the Big Ol' Bag O Boogaloo series comps heavily from their catalog (with some odd omissions but that's for another time). It was on that album that I heard The Moon People's "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut" which sounded like the Cortez' song but minus the organ and with a new piano arrangement.

WTF?

Around the same time I acquired a copy of the LBB album (thanks Rodney!), I also stumbled across this feature on the great Spectropop website (Latin fans should check out their thorough Tico feature). They finally helped me put many of the details together and I'm trying not to duplicate their already great work but, there was one element yet to add here: the testimony of Bobby Marin.

Marin is a composer and producer and he and his brother Richard were major players in the NY Latin scene in the 1960s and '70s. I spoke to Marin while putting together the liner notes for an upcoming Fania anthology on Joe Bataan and wanting to take advantage of being able to speak to such a storied veteran in the scene, I asked him what some of his favorite compositions were and he named "I'll Be a Happy Man." At that point, I didn't own the album yet so I had no idea he, along with Louie Ramirez and other players, were in the Latin Blues Band and I asked him to trace for me the history of the song. Between the Spectropop site and Marin's own information, here's what I was able to pull together (and to be sure, I really should talk to Marin again to fill in blanks):

Morty Craft - who ran Speed and was the main producer for the label - reassembled the Latin Blues Band into The Moon People. I'm not clear why he did this nor why he would have the group essentially record over their own LBB backing tracks with slight changes (but sans vocals) and then release it as its own album. I guess Craft felt like he could sell consumers the same songs twice. "Happy Soul," from what I can tell, is simply "I'll Be a Happy Man" without vocals. Well, almost without vocals...Marin told me that when he was in the studio, editing the Land of Love album, he insisted that they keep something of his original vocals, which ended up being a "whoooo!" somewhere in there. (In any case, I didn't include "Happy Soul" in the suite since it's a subtraction with no additions, unlike the other songs).

Soon thereafter, Craft sold the mechanical rights to that instrumental to Morris Levy at Roulette. At that point, the song transforms into "Happy Soul With a Hook." The original piano is stripped off and replaced with Cortez' organ playing plus some spacey wah-wah guitar. Speed ends up releasing this "new" song as a single. According to Spectropop, "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut" appears just a few months later and it is basically "Happy Soul With a Hook" minus organs, keeping the wah-wah, and throwing on that new piano arrangement I mentioned plus some vocals yelling, "hippy skippy!" and similar phrases. That single appears on Roulette rather than Speed (possibly because the latter had been purchased by Roulette by this point). Then fast forward nearly 40 years and DJ Premier flips "Hippy Dippy" for Xtina and the story ends.

Well, not quite.

My convo with Marin yielded two more tidbits of information. First of all, RCA apparently didn't clear the sample correctly. My guess is that they cleared the mechanical rights but not the songwriter rights and when Fania (who, by now, owned the Speed catalog) figured this out, they got ready to sue. The problem is: they didn't know who the original composer was either and one day, when Marin was visiting, they asked him, "hey, would you happen to know who the composer is?" upon which Marin replied, "yeah...me." So as it turns out, Marin is waiting to see if a settlement happens, and if so, he likely stands to make a nice piece of change off this.

The second piece of info I gleaned from him was around who the hell was the drummer on the song. After all, one reason why the song stands out so much, why it probably got remade three times and then sampled, is because of those drum breaks. They're unusual for a Latin soul song - I can't think of many other songs in that era that featured open breakbeats - so I had to ask Marin about it. His reply, "well, that was Bernard Purdie."

Jaw drop.

That explains quite a bit...and it makes total sense (Purdie did a grip of studio work in NY in that era, plus the drumming sounds like something he'd put together) but it's a detail that, as far as I can tell, no one has ever noted before. And that, my friends, is the kind of discovery that motivates me to get up every morning. With all that, thanks for reading...here's the "Happy Soul Suite" for your edification:

Soul-Sides.com presents...The "Happy Soul Suite"

Created from...

The Latin Blues Band feat. Luis Aviles: (I'll Be A) Happy Man
From Take a Trip Pussycat (Speed, 1968)

Dave Cortez with The Moon People: Happy Soul (With A Hook)
From 7" (Speed, 1968). Also on El Barrio: The Bad Boogaloo.

The Moon People: Hippy, Skippy Moon Strut
From 7" (Roulette, 1969). Also on Big Ol' Bag O' Boogaloo Vol. 1.

Christina Aguilera: Ain't No Other Man
From Back to Basics (RCA, 2006)

BOOGALOO[LA] GETS ITS OWN MUXTAPE posted by O.W.

Want to know what kind of music we roll to at Boogaloo[LA]? Peep:

MUXOLOGY posted by O.W.

Hua put me up on this new experiment in social music networking: muxtape.com.

I've gone ahead and created my first Soul Sides Muxtape, filled with a bunch of goodies, a few songs I've written about but most of them I've yet to yap about here. Consider it the preview.

I like the lo-tech quality of the site and its basic concept but seriously, would it kill them to throw in a search function? Random play is not a bad idea in principle but I still like some level of organization. And while we're whining, it'd be nice to be able to FF and RW on a track. But really, we like it otherwise.

In any case, be sure to peep the other muxtapes in rotation, including Hua's (both of them), Sasha Frere Jones' and Tony Phrone. Sasha just blew my mind a bit by including a cover of "Crumbs Off the Table" by Dusty Springfield.

HOP TO THIS: RABBITS & CARROTS posted by O.W.

Rabbits & Carrots: Las 4 Culturas + Romeo Y Julieta
From Soul Latino (Musart, 1969). Also available on LP.

Bonus: Rabbits & Carrots: Express Yourself (snippet)
From We Got More Soul EP (Musart, 1971). Also on Soul Latino (CD but not LP)

File Soul Latino under those albums seemingly too good to be true - a group of Mexican rock/jazz musicians with a trio of brothers and nephews at core - sitting down in 1968 to record a series of instrumentals, most of them with a hard, funk edge. Frankly, if someone had told me this was some retro-soul band, masquerading as a vintage group with that backstory - I'd sooner believe the hoax. Not that Mexico City would lack the necessary musicians to put something like this together but it's like stumbling across an album such as that by Chile's infamous Xingu. Given how rare this purports to be, it's a genuine treat that the folks at Vampisoul got Musart's permission to reissue it.

Yes indeed: Rabbits & Carrots were real, as was their Soul Latino album and subsequent EP. That album constitutes one of the holy grails of Mexican funk albums and it's not just because of rarity or its unusualness - it's damn well put together and recorded well. Check out how they take on Don Randi's "Theme From Romeo and Juliet" - all dissonant whines and moody loops, beautifully accented by Luis Agúero's guitar and a brass section lead by Ramón Flores and Ramón Negrete and I'm assuming its bad leader and percussionist Salvador Agüero on those tinkling chimes.

"Las 4 Culturas," according to the liner notes, is the album's sole "original" song, a song about the Tlateloco Massacre. That may very well be true that the song is meant to inspire awareness around the murder of potentially 200-300 people before the Mexico City Olympics but musically speaking, most people would probably note: "uh, isn't this 'Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved' by James Brown?" And you'd be right - it is. In fact, that's how it's billed on this 12" from a year or so ago. Not that I'm complaining - it would make sense to take a song with a title as politically charged as Brown's and reapply it to the happenings in Mexico City.

For a bonus cut, I threw on a tease of the group's 1971 cover of "Express Yourself." This came after Salvador Agüero (nickname "Rabito," hence the group's name) left the band and a vocalist named Max (Max what?) joined. This isn't necessarily my favorite cover of the Watts 103rd's immortal classic but I dig its Spanish-language remake and given the timing with the Watts 103rd Week, it seemed only apropos (plus, that ridiculous drum-break toward the end doesn't hurt either). Just be aware: this song, along with covers of "Sex Machine," "We Got More Soul" and "Spill the Wine" are available on the CD of the album, as well as a separate EP, but it's not on the vinyl LP version of the Soul Latino album.

TRAVELOGUE posted by O.W.

Sorry to have been away for a while - my thanks to the Captain's Crates crew for holding it down.

I've been on award tour, starting last week at Duke University where I gave a pair of talks in conjunction with their Transcultural Humanities project. It was a great opportunity to talk about my work but the real enjoyment was spending some time, rapping with Mark Anthony Neal who brought me out there. He put me up on this stunning Max Roach/JC White Singers song but I'm still trying to track it down so that'll have to wait.

CONTINUE READING...

I did catch an equally compelling exhibit at the Nasher, an impressive, first-ever retrospective of Barkely Hendricks' paintings. Hendricks has flown under the radar for decades but hopefully, this show - which will travel to the Studio Museum in Harlem and then the Santa Monica Museum of Art - will rectify that situation. His works from the '60s, in particular, are such beautiful snapshots of the time, both in terms of the cultural signifiers and the personalities that he captures in them. Here's a personal favorite, "Tuff Tony":

Folks might be more familiar with this more recent painting of Fela:

If you're in Durham...or New York in the fall (or Santa Monica next spring, or Philly after that), I highly recommend you see his work. Soul inspired, for real. Shout out to Trevor Schoonmaker for having the foresight and resources to put this retrospective together. Here's a video preview he helped put together for the Nasher:

After Duke, I came home for all of 12 hours then had to fly out again for the EMP Pop Conference in Seattle. I. Love. This. Conference. Which is probably something only an academic would ever say, but f--- it. I have no shame in my appreciation for the conf (as noted in the past). I'm not going to do a complete run-down but I'll say this much: the conf does much to both inspire me intellectually as well as turn me onto new music/ideas/people. Here's a quick scattering, perhaps a follow-up post later.

1) Jeffrey Govan: This bassist in the LA ska scene is also now a grad student at USC's American Ethnic Studies program. He gave on paper on the Latin influence on ska back in the 1960s (and influence that has been remarkably cataloged here. Apart from introducing me to the Skatalites' "Latin Goes Ska" (a flip on Perez Prado), I was most thankful for Govan putting all of us onto this:

Tommy McCook and the Skatalites: Sauvitt
From 7" (Dodd, 1964). Also available on Tribute to Tommy.

It's a cover of a Mongo Santamaria song ("Sauvito") and the subtle intertwining of ska and Latin rhythms here are simply delicious. I love how the song opens with that piano, how the horns come in and layer themselves, and my favorite moment comes right before the two bridges with the four note horn hits - wish they had made that into an entire chorus. Great song - a new favorite.

2) Lauren Onkey: This professor at Ball State Univ. is doing fascinating research on the undersung Black rock and doo-wop bands who were part of the Mersey Beat scene in Liverpool circa the 1950s/60s. Onkey was drawn to this research given how, in most of the literature she had seen on Liverpool's music scene and the Beatles, rarely were any of the city's numerous Black bands ever acknowledged even though groups like the Fab 4 played with them and, according to some rumors, learned their R&B-styled chops from them. Onkey also makes the very provocative argument that Liverpool's historical Black population (dating back centuries to the city's prominence as the slaving port in Great Britian) is one reason why the blues fetishism that hit other British bands like the Rolling Stones or Cream bypassed Liverpool groups - they had grown up with Black people and thus, weren't as likely to romanticize/nostalgize them through the blues.

In any case, during her talk, she played this clip by the Liverpool doo-wop group, The Chants, who worked with the Beatles early on before they really became "The Beatles." Here they are, covering the jazz standard, "I Could Write a Book."


3) Gayle Wald: I last mentioned Gayle a year ago, in connection to her book on Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Gayle's now working on researching the life and times of the late Ellis Haizlip, a remarkable artistic force in New York, who, among other things, hosted the PBS show, Soul!. It's hard to quite capture how remarkable a show this was - in the late '60s through early '70s, it was an incredible meeting point of different Black artists, musicians, politicians, etc. in ways that have never really been duplicated since (no, not even by Arsenio).

The problem is that this show will likely never, ever be released to the public on DVD or any other format - the release contracts signed at the time make such a occurrence logistically impossible for all practical purposes. It's a damn shame - the clips that Gayle brought included a mind-melting interview between Haizlip and Farrakhan talking about gay sex, Ashford and Simpson performing on one of the last Soul! shows and - coincidentally enough - Max Roach w/ the JC White Singers.

Luckily (however illegally), clips have snuck out, including this 1973 performance by the Spinners on the show.


4) Last but not least, one of the other people on my panel (besides Gayle) was EMP organizer and fellow L.A. partner-in-culinary-crime Eric Weisbard who did a paper on Elton John's "Benny and the Jets" - a song that most everyone (I presume) has heard but may not remember being a big hit on not just the pop charts, but also the R&B charts. Don't believe it? Just ask Mary. Or the Diabolical:

Biz Markie: Sounds of Silence (by the Beastie Boys) (Capitol, 1999)

For real though, listening to that version isn't half as fun as watching it:

BETO DROPS IN AT BOOGALOO[LA] posted by O.W.

This week at Boogaloo[LA], it's me and special guest DJ Roberto Gyemant, aka Beto.

I've talked about Beto before - he's one of the most knowledgeable people I know concerned the jazz/soul/Latin music scene in Central/South American (the Afro-Antilles as he refers to it) and he wrote liner notes for both the Panama and Colombia comps. This should be a real treat - he'll be dropping in around midnight and hopefully will be blowing minds with some incredible Latin heat. I think I might just turn the whole evening into an all-Latin affair in tribute.

I owe Beto and my regular partner, Murphy's Law, a great deal for finally opening my ears to salsa. It's not like I wasn't aware of it but I think I've had bugalú tunnel vision for so many years, I wasn't all that interested in the era that followed and it wasn't until I started hearing some of the tracks Beto and ML enjoyed that I realized: "oh, this is why salsa is, you know, huge." Strangely, the road for me doesn't go to NY - it actually leads back to Colombia and specifically, Fruko (who's been a favorite here twice over). It probably could (should) have been Willie Colon or Hector Lavoe or the Fania All-Stars but no...it was a scruffy bassist who really sparked my interest.

In homage to him - and as a preview for tomorrow night - enjoy this:

Fruko Y Sus Tesos: El Preso
From El Grande (Fuentes, 1975)

This apparently is a stone-cold classic around the salsa world and I can see why. That "ay ay ay" kills it, on top of everything else.

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!

FUZZ NUGGETS posted by Captain Planet

Mikis Theodorakis : Cafe Rock
taken from the soundtrack album "Z" on Columbia (1969)

Sum Sum : Mountain Beauty
taken from the album "Midnight Guitar" on Regal/EMI (196?)

Los Yaki : Las Estatuas De Marfil
taken from the album "Vol. II" on Pickwick/33 (196?)

Los Blue Caps : Tu Mujer, Yo Yaron & Solo Vivo Por Tu Amor
taken from the album "Cuando Te Miro" on Parnaso (1970)

Imagine the immense awe that must have splintered into the core of the first fuzz guitarist when, upon strumming his coiled strings, he heard not the sweet melodious ring of a clean plucked note, but instead was met with the scream of electrical feedback that will forever voice the raw agitation of youthful rebellion. Did this forgotten string-strummer catch any glimpse at the vast impact of his forever raging bastard child? Was it done on purpose? Did he finally achieve the sound of his burning inner torment after exhaustive hours of experimentation, or was it an accidental buzz that stabbed him in the back when he innocently left the volume knob turned up too high? Whatever the case may be, today I'd like to celebrate a few obscure shrapnel nuggets that were flung in different directions across our planet in the aftermath of this explosive auditory revelation.

Mikis Theodorakis is perhaps one of the all-time greatest and most widely recognized Greek composers. I addition to scoring virtually all the major Greek theater productions of the 60's, he achieved international renown for his film score to "Zorba The Greek" and then, "Z" (looks like he also did Serpico, which is such a badass film). Mikis has always had a serious lean to the left, and for this he was imprisoned and then exiled (before making Z). Included on the soundtrack (I still haven't seen the film, but it looks like a winner) are several bootleg-sounding recordings of just Mikis singing and playing piano "in secret circumstances" (according to the liner notes). A true rebel indeed, and this short little fuzz bomb stands as proof.
Sum Sum is a mystery to me, but I really dig this record she made. Found it in a bargain bin recently and have put it on whenever I felt the need for a bit of Austin Power groovy-kitch.

Los Yaki are also pretty far off my radar, but they appear to be from Mexico. This album features them covering "Yellow Submarine", "Good Love", "secret Agent Man", & "Sunny" (which they turned into "Sonia") among others. The whole album isn't the best listen, but I'll ride for "Estatuas" any day. Hand claps, screechy vocals, B3 organ, and yes... gritty guitar full of fuzz.
Los Blue Caps (not to be confused with Renato E Seus Blue Caps) are another Mexican garage group that I know nil about. But this record is chock-full of pounding drums (yes breaks) and fuzz, fuzz, fuzzzzz. The vocals are a bit hit or miss (lil more on the miss side) but this is the birth of punk we're talking about, so just roll with it.

*Last note: it happens to be my birthday today, so if anyone feels like sending a record my way (hint hint), hit me up with an e-mail. hehe.

CUBANO CRASH posted by O.W.

I don't know if marketing/promotions fell short but last night's gig to celebrate the release of Fania Live 03 at the Crash Mansion L.A. was thinner than I expected. That hardly dimmed the enthusiasm of those of us who came out to see DJs Sake-1 and Bobbito spin alongside an incredible set of performances by Francisco Aguabella and his Latin Jazz Ensemble, with special guest pianist, Chuchito Valdes.

Great, great, great show. And humbling insofar as I was reminded that despite my intense interest in Latin over the last decade or so, I'm just a babe in the woods when it comes to the depth and breadth of the music.

Some pix from last night:

CACHAO: 1918 - 2008 posted by O.W.

Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente: Descarga Cubana
From Cuban Jam Sessions in Miniature - Descargas (Panart, 1950s). Also available on The Havana Sessions.

Cachao y su Orquesta: Juan Pescao
From 7" (Maype, 1958).

Bonus
Tito Rodriguez: Descarga Cachao
From Tito Tito Tito (UA Latino, 1964)

Gerardo Frisina: Descarga
From 12" (Schema, 2001). Also on Ad Lib.

Israel López, better known as Cuban master bassist, Cachao, died early today. I don't profess to know Cachao's career intimately but even a beginner Latin fan knows he was a giant in the scene. My acquaintance and colleague Ned Sublette has gone as far to name Cachao, "the most important bassist in twentieth-century popular music."

His catalog is immense though it's easy enough to know where to begin: Cuban Jam Sessions In Miniature - Descargas, a groundbreaking moment in Afro-Cuban music and one of those essential albums for anyone interested in the genre. I included "Descarga Cubana" off that album as a way to highlight Cachao's skills as a bassist - that bassline is so simple, so deep.

The Cachao y su Orquesta songs are from a 7" I picked up at the Groove Merchant back in the fall and both sides have been in constant rotation since ("Manicero" is on the flip and, with any luck, will be featured on an upcoming Latin dance mix-CD I've been working on). You can hear on "Juan Pescao" the meeting point of some classic Cuban musical traditions - more stately and formal - with the upcoming revolution in rhythm that Cachao and his compatriots were assembling in after hours Havana.

The two bonus songs show how influential Cachao was with other musicians. Mostly obviously, it's Tito Rodriguez's "Descarga Cachao" which flips on the original "Descarga Cubana". Likewise, Gerardo Frisina's great 2001 club 12", "Descarga" is another remake of sorts (he subtly changes the bassline riff, but you can still hear the obvious reference back to Cachao).

DJ SAKE-1 IN L.A., 3/22 posted by O.W.

Speaking of some cool gigs coming up, on March 22 (Sat), DJ Sake-1 from San Francisco is coming down to Los Angeles to celebrate the release of the Fania Live 03: From the Fresh Coast mix-CD.



You might remember I gave love to the first volume and Sake-1 does the series proud with some killer salsa selections including Eddie Palmier's "Justica," Ray Barretto's "Indestructable" and one of my personal, all-time favorites: "La Murga" by Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe.

His release party in L.A. will be at the Crash Mansion and will feature not only himself and Bobbito but in live performance, Francisco Aguabella and Chuchito Valdez. Altogether, this looks to be an absolutely stellar show.

ROLLING BROWNOUT HITS L.A. posted by O.W.

Brownout: Laredo 77 + Barretta
From Homenaje (Freestyle, 2008)

I've recently been enjoying the sounds of Brownout, a Latin funk outfit out of Austin, Texas. They've been around for a minute in the form of Grupo Fantasma except here, they're strictly instrumental. What I like about these guys is not only that they have their chops down but rather than following a strict revivalist route, their sound has a clear Latin influence but isn't holden to simply trying to sound like it's East Harlem 1968 again.

There's an impressive diversity of styles on the album and the two cuts I pulled out above can't do it proper justice. "Laredo 77" reminds me a lot of the Calbido's Three (who I really should get around to blogging about one of these days...note to self). Super laidback and smooth Latin-flavored soul-jazz.

"Barretta" goes in the other direction: dark, funky. with a slick kick and thump. I may very well have to play this out at my next gig (heck, I'm tempted to spin out half the album, just to see how it sounds loud).

Here's the extra treat for Los Angelinos: Brownout is playing two shows, starting tomorrow night:

Thursday at The Root Down

Friday at Soul Sessions

These guys ain't local so use the opportunity to catch them at least once while they're out here!

More info:
Brownout on MySpace

Oh yeah, one last thing: I'm forever indebted to Brownout for putting this video on their myspace page. Now I can see how the boogaloo is danced, by JB himself!

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Speaking of gigs, Murphy's Law and myself will be back at the Short Stop next Thursday, Jan 31. Hopefully, this will turn into something regular there. More info on this later.

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.

Greetings Soul-Sides! posted by Captain Planet

Ernesto Djedje : Zadie Bobo & Zibote
taken from the album "Le Roi Du Ziglibithy" on Badmos (1977)

The Fatback Band : Wicki Wacky
taken from the album "Keep On Steppin'" on Event (1974)

Coke: Na Na & Te Amos Mas
taken from their self-titled album on Sound Triangle (1972)

Usha Uthup : Chhupke Kaun Aya
taken from the album "24 Carats" on Inreco (1981)

Captain Planet here, from Captain's Crate. As O-Dub mentioned, we're trying out some cross-posting techniques to help increase the music flow for your listening pleasure. Today I'm initiating the cossover with a somewhat random assortment of funky music from around the globe. For those that have never seen my own blog, take a peek to get an idea of what we're all about. The "we" i refer to is myself + my younger and scruffier brother, Murphy's Law. Funky and soulful music, past and present, from wherever in the world it may have been born. Must there always be cohesion? Order? Reason? I think not. Especially when you're dealing with something as intangible as music. There's free mixes to download in the "Loose Tape" section as well (although I really should update that with some fresh ones).

Starting off with a record that I've loved for years now- ERNESTO! Why I hadn't taken the time to digitize this earlier is a damn good question. I've been sneaking "Zadie Bobo" into DJ sets since '02 when I first discovered this gem, always to a positive crowd response. In the Ivory Coast, where Djedje made his name, "Zibote" was the bigger hit, and can still be found popping up on compilations of today's Ivoirian music. "The King of Ziglibithy", need I say more?

*One note of warning for fans of Ernesto: DON'T BUY THIS CD VERSION OF HIS ALBUM. I made this mistake, only to realize that the CD is a bootleg recorded off a record being played at the WRONG SPEED! So, unless you want Ernesto chopped and screwed, steer clear.

The Fatback Band need little introduction for fans of funk, but I've been needing to put this classic bump on repeat for a while now and it's so much easier to do that in MP3 format. This is one of those instances where a simple bass groove is enough for me.

Recently got my hands on this semi-rarity from Florida's Coke (later re-named "Opus"). Don't know anything about the group, but I'm feeling the record a lot. The album has a nice cover version of the early boogaloo hit "Bang Bang" (Joe Cuba? or was it Pete Rodriguez?) as well as some ballads and several more dirty, dirty drumbreaks. The LP I have from them as "Opus" is nice too, but "Na Na" is hard to top. Looks like you can cop it on CD too.

Finally, a real monster for you, the legendary HINDI version of "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough". Of course the production quality isn't going to be quite as tight, but considering the sound quality of your average bollywood record, I'd say the uncredited studio musicians (Bappi Lahiri?) on this one are doing a pretty good job. Usha was one of the biggest Indian soundtrack singers in the 70's and 80's - Shalimar, Shaan, & Disco Dancer, to name a few, all feature her silky vocal stylings. I always get a kick out of playing this one and then watching the initial look of bewilderment spread. "Chhupke" ranks right up there alongside Arzu's "Amor" in the world's most-precisely-covered-in-another-language category. Well done Usha.



Hope you all enjoy the latest gumbo funk offering. And cheers to any new readers just finding out about the crate now through Soul-Sides! Stay tuned for more, as always.

BACK TO THE GM posted by O.W.

Aaron Neville: She Took You For a Ride
From Tell It Like It Is (Par-lo, 1966)

Quantic Soul Orchestra: Tropidelico
From Tropidelico (Tru Thoughts, 2007)

The B.U.M.S.: West Coast Smack
From Lyfe N' Tyme (1995)

DJ Shadow: Best of the KMEL Mixes Part 1 (snippet)
From The 4-Track Era (DJ Shadow, 2007)

Crystal Mansion: And It Will Take Your Breath Away
From S/T (Rare Earth, 1972)

It's been a while since I've done one of these GM posts but I was recently in the Bay Area on a short holiday/family trip and, of course, had to make my pilgrimage. As I've written before, the joy in going there is simply the vastness of music I can get acquainted with. Especially in L.A., where the geography isn't conducive to a similar arrangement, I miss having someplace to just kick back and chew the fat about records. That is, of course, partially why I do this blog.

This time around, I was hanging around when DJ B.Cause slipped on the Aaron Neville LP. You wouldn't think this album would be such a pricey piece - "Tell It Like It Is" is one of Neville's biggest hits ever, but the original album is quite the collector's item but luckily, the excellence of the music helped defray the sticker shock. "She Took You For a Ride" is a magnificent track, with a different soulful feel from "Tell It Like It Is," especially with the background vocals. I was initially struck by that element since I don't normally associate it with Neville but it gives this song an added dynamic in this case.

Joining me at the GM was my man Beto, who I last wrote about in July. This was the first time the two of us actually got to sit down and build for a minute...I was bouncing a ton of Latin music (especially boogaloo-related) questions off me and it is downright scary how much knowledge he's been soaking up for his research on the music scene in the Afro-Antilles. I'm going to say this now: when his book comes out, it has the potential to be a major game-changer. Remember the name: Roberto Gyemant.

In any case, while we were hanging, he hit me off with the new QSO CD - something I had been meaning to check out but still hadn't gotten around to yet. It's a great concept: Will Holland (Mr. Quantic himself) decided to record a series of songs inspired by music of the Latin American tropics, basically covering ground throughout the Greater Caribbean Basin; he recorded on location in Panama City, for example.

Beto helped turn Will Holland onto some of the artists that he works with on the Tropidelico CD, including (I presume) the incredible Peruvian pianist Alfredo Linares (I have an upcoming post about Linares and other Peruvian Latin players). That's Linares you hear at the beginning of "Tropidelico"; he has such a distinct touch on the piano with his chords and tempos. I love that Linares was killing it back in the '60s and is still holding it down in the '00s. (Rappers should be so lucky).

Speaking of which, I quietly threw on the B.U.M.S. album at the store, just for kicks, and took the assemblage on a reminisce trip back to the mid-'90s Bay Area hip-hop scene. The B.U.M.S. always makes me nostalgic, partially because I've always wondered why the didn't do better than they did, partially because the album itself was produced by one of my favorite, slept-on producers from that era, Joe Quixxx. B.Cause mentioned he'd actually been giving "West Coast Smack" some spin at his gigs and though my fave cut remains the title cut, it was worth giving some shine to one of the other tracks, especially with this CD long, long out of print.

Sticking to the Bay Area hip-hop tip, the GM had a copy of DJ Shadow's 4-Track Era CD for sale and I scooped that with a quickness. I actually had some of this on an ancient dub tape I got from the old Solesides crew but it's great that it's been compiled onto CD. The back story is this: Shadow first came to prominence on the strength of these crazy mega-mixes he did for KMEL back in the early '90s (this is back when KMEL was arguably the greatest hip-hop station on FM, west of the Hudson). You young'uns, raised on Pro Tools off your Mac Books, probably can't even remember the era of Tascam 4-Tracks and what not but sheeyit, I grew up on listening to radio DJs create these insane, multi-layered mixes off them and created most of my early mixtapes (back when they were actually tapes) off analog 4-tracks myself ('tis true: check for Head Warmers on the Private Press inset), following their inspiration. To make a long story short: even in 2007, these kind of mixes are incredible to listen to, without even factoring in the technological acumen that it would have required (f--- a mash-up, back then, we called 'em "remixes"). Damn, how old do I sound right now? I need to get out of this "back in the day" mode! Too late.

For real though, I'm still trying to figure out how he remixed that De La song at the end...was there an acapella to "Afro Connections" I didn't know about?

I'm ending with a song I've been meaning to blog about for, oh, at least a few years now but just never got around to it: "And It Will Take Your Breath Away" by Crystal Mansion. I copped this from the GM years ago and I still don't know a ton about them, apart from the fact they were a blue-eyed funk group, in the vein of Rare Earth, who never hit it crazy big but managed to stick together for about half a decade. I've always loved, loved, loved how this song opens, especially with those soulful piano melodies and then the drum drops. If this sounds familiar to anyone, there's a reason why.

OH! LATIN JAZZ & ROCK posted by O.W.

Latin Jazz Quintet with Pharoah Sanders: Daria + Haarlem
From Oh! Pharoah Speak (Trip, 196?)

La Clave: Soul Sauce
From S/T (Verve, 1973)

The Sanders/LJQ LP is something I've had for years but didn't think to revisit until more recently when I caught one of the songs from it off the radio. It's difficult to over-talk this LP...it is such a wonderful meeting point between jazz, Latin and soul that each cut will have you guessing as to what style might come next. I pulled out two songs to illuminate that diversity: "Daria" opens a classic Cuban piano montuno and clave rhythm, some slick guitar work before opening into a wonderfully Latin-fied groove where the guitar switches from melody to rhythmic and the horn players get to play off. I'm not sure if this qualifies as a formal descarga but it has all the verve of one.

"Haarlem" switches up things completely with a slinky, smoky soul jazz track that could have easily found its way onto a Lou Donaldson or Donald Byrd album from the same era - feel that funky boogaloo style.

The La Clave is part of Dusty Groove's reissue series and it's one of their more interesting inclusions: a relatively obscure Latin rock/funk album from Verve. Sure, Verve had a few recordings by Willie Bobo, trying to capitalize on Latin music's popularity in the late '60s but this La Clave LP is something else, coming out of San Francisco's underrated Latin scene. Benny Velarde leads the arrangement, with Lalo Schifrin popping in for a few sessions and it's hard to imagine a funkier album on Verve's catalog. Great stuff.

FRUKO: MUI GRANDE posted by O.W.

Fruko El Bueno: El Ausente
From Ayunando (Fuentes, 1973)

Fruko El Bueno: Soy Guajiro Del Monte
From El Caminante (Fuentes, 1974)

Fruko Y Sus Tesos: Manyoma
From Fruko El Grande (Fuentes, 1975)

First of all, let me echo the sentiments of both students and teachers everywhere: all praises to the end of the semester.

With that out of the way...I am, by no means, a salsa expert. Most of my Latin knowledge (which is still limited at best) is focused on Latin soul and boogaloo but one of the things I have that great Colombia! comp for was introducing me to the salsa caliente by Fruko Y Su Tesos, one of the biggest stars in Colombia's Latin music scene since the 1970s.

I've since tracked down a few Fruko LPs and what appears above represents a small sliver from his overall catalog but they do include a few of his salsa cuts that have appealed to me. The first, "El Ausente" features the famous Colombian canta, Joe Arroyo (Arroyo appears on most of Fruko's albums from this era). Great voice but it's all about the cowbell, admit it.

"Soy Guajiro Del Monte" slows things down a bit with but flavors things up with a slick piano riff and Fruko's wide-grooving basslines in the back. Love the use of back-up vocals too. That leaves us with "Manyomam," which flaunts an even more prominent piano loop, plus that bank of horns and that amazing, soaring hook (with reverb no less). So proper.

STILL BUSY posted by O.W.

Trying to free up some time but for now, enjoy this from the late Hector Lavoe:

Buckwild vs. Beatnuts: Who Flipped It Better? posted by O.W.

Cal Tjader: Morning
From Agua Dulce (Fantasy, 1971). Also on Descarga!.

O.C. and Buckwild: What I Represent
From America Is Dying Slowly (Elektra, 1996)

The Beatnuts: Fluid
From white label 12" (?, 1997?)

For this latest installment, I'm rolling with 1) one of my favorite Cal Tjader songs, 2) one of my favorite O.C. songs, 3) one of my favorite Buckwild productions and 4) one of my favorite Beatnuts' productions/songs. And as fate would have it: it's all based around the same song...

Cal Tjader first recorded (I believe) "Morning" for his Soul Burst album but he re-recorded a different version, this one with a vocal chorus accompaniment, for Agua Dulce, a surprisingly difficult title of his to find despite being on Fantasy. Both versions are nice...just sublimely mellow, but I've always been more partial to the Agua Dulce version just for the vocal touch.

Apparently, Buckwild liked it a lot too since he looped this up for "What I Represent," a stand-out, yet slept-on, song from the American Is Dying Slowly soundtrack. This was back when O.C. was still like the Promised One for a lot of cats and between his lyrical content, the beat and that chorus built off Ike White and Q-Tip, the whole song was something lovely, lovely, lovely.

About a year after that, this white label of supposedly unreleased Street Level-era songs surfaced. I've heard, from some corners, that there was an official Relativity test-pressing that had three of these songs, including "Fluid" on it that came out around 1995 but I've yet to see anyone confirm its actual existence. That said, "Fluid" definitely sounds like it could have been on Street Level and it takes the "Morning" loop and juices it up more uptempo (note: I'm pretty sure the version of "Morning" here is from Soul Burst). A different style and sound from Buckwild's approach.

Discuss!

Lee Fields + Bronx River Parkway: Truth, Soul and Love posted by O.W.

Lee Fields & The Expressions: Love Comes and Goes (snippet)
From 7" single, B-side to "My World" (Truth & Soul, 2007). Forthcoming from Many Moods of Lee Fields.

Bronx River Parkway: La Valla (Soul Sides Edit)
From 7" single (Truth & Soul, 2006).

This (and the next) post are a long, long time coming. Truth & Soul Records, run out of NYC, have become one of the few retro-soul labels which, in my opinion, challenge the quality and consistency of what Daptone Records has been putting out. That should be no surprise since Truth & Soul has roots going back to the days when Soul Fire Records (remember them?) was around and Leon Michels (of the El Michels Affair) was helping lead the Mighty Imperials. (I should be clear in noting: Daptone and Truth & Soul may be competitors but they're also allies and several of their releases share the same personnel).

The label first really came to my attention last summer, when I had both Lee Fields & The Expressions' "Honey Dove" on constant rotation and was stamping my late pass for how excellent the El Michael Affairs' Sounding Out the City was. And of course, there was the El Michels/Wu-Tang "Shaolin Series" 45s, plus the "PJs From Afar" 12" with Raekwon. (Somehow, I managed to miss writing about these...um...oops?)

Later this week, I'm going to write about the new Truth & Soul release, Tyrone Ashley's Funky Music Machine (plus giveaways!) but wanted to play catch-up a bit first:

"Love Comes and Goes" is from the new Lee Fields 45 which came out earlier in the summer and it's the lead single for the upcoming Many Moods of Lee Fields album which T&S is putting out. It's no secret that "Honey Dove" is one of my all-time favorite retro-soul songs - an absolutely sublime track - but this new 7" comes close to duplicating the same excellence. "Love Comes and Goes" is a beautiful ballad, especially with the vocal harmony on the chorus but both sides are killer. It's a great two-sider 45 (not a common occurrence by any means). However, only those with turntables can appreciate that now - for the rest of you, you'll have to wait for the CD to drop.

The Bronx River Parkway cut is something I slept on for a minute before Jared at Big City Records in NY hepped me to it by handing me a copy of "La Valla" and basically nodding, "try this. You'll like it." And indeed, I did: it's a hard-knuckled Afro-Cuban tune that reminds me of the kind of ferocious groove that something like Antibalas' "Che Che Cole" laid down. I gave this a slight edit - the opening piano is actually from one of the bridges in the middle and I brought it back to the beginning. By the way, the actual song is longer than this but I made it a snippet edit before realizing the 45 is currently out of stock (hopefully, this won't be a permanent condition). The Bronx River Parkway album is also supposed to be due out before the end of the year and expect us to write about that when the time comes.

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Oh yeah: winners of the Budos Band contest: T. Booth, A. Garde, and B. Nate. Congrats!

Papo Felix/Ray Rodriguez + Joe Acosta: Ghetto Sounds posted by O.W.

Popo Felix and Ray Rodriguez: Work Out (Part 2)
From Papo Felix Meets Ray Rodriguez (Ghetto, 1971)

Joe Acosta: I Need Her
From The Power of Love (Ghetto, 1971)

I've been on a massive Latin kick lately, finally committing to beefing up my collection with titles I've looked at for years but hadn't pulled the trigger on. Expect to see a slew of Latin/boogaloo-related posts in the weeks to come.

Just so we're clear though - I got both the Acosta and Felix/Rodriguez on CD - original vinyl copies are in scarce (and astronomically $) supply. However, my interest in the albums isn't an issue of format. I was originally put onto the Ghetto catalog by a friend who knew I was researching my Wax Poetics story on Joe Bataan. At the time, I knew about Bataan's records with Fania and his later career with Salsoul but I didn't realize he had, for a brief time, branched out with his own record label: Ghetto.

You can hear Joe's own words about Ghetto here but the short story is this: Joe created Ghetto when he was in the middle of a stand-off with Fania. Rather than let his career sit on hold, Ghetto was a way for him to both stay busy in the Latin music world as well as try his hand at producing records for others. The label was funded by George Febo, a local uptown drug dealer who had aspirations of his own to dabble as a music exec.

The label turned out, at most, half a dozen albums, all of them very collectible (though the Bataan-produced Paul Ortiz album does turn up fairly often). The Papo Felix/Ray Rodriguez is one of three that Bataan himself produced and it was a bit of a revelation. I was expecting more of a Latin soul album but this is a full-fledged, descarga-ed, big band dance effort that sounds little like Bataan's own albums from the era (and this not meant in a negative way). Instead, it's loud and rousing, with brassy charm in spades. The cut with the most Latin soul sabor is the sizzling "Work Out (Part 2)," a funky affair of clanging percussion and a piano riff that charges with the energy of a car chase. I'd buy this album just that track alone (if I could actually afford to).

The Joe Acosta, ironically, is not one of the Ghetto albums that Bataan oversaw yet the inclusion of "I Need Her" is the closest thing to Bataan's style of doo-wop-derived soul singing. It's a slow, shuffling ballad that really showcases Acosta's Jon Cruz's distinctive voice (reminds me a little of Bill Withers). I'm no expert, but I get the sense here that he's oversinging the notes a bit as a way to get around some pitch issues but regardless, the net effect works for the song.

There's one other Ghetto album that was reissued: Orquestra La Fantastica's Ear to Ear which I hear is worth checking out as well.

Cal Tjader, Camp Lo, 45 King/Latee, Maurice Davis: Sparklin' posted by O.W.

Cal Tjader: Leyte
From Soul Sauce (Verve, 1964)

Camp Lo: Sparkle
From Uptown Saturday Night (Profile, 1997)

45 King feat. Latee: Brainstorm
From For DJs Only EP (45 King Records, 198?)

Maurice Davis: Mr. Lonely
From 7" (BeeGee, 197?)

I've spent the last week or so slaving over an assignment involving classic funk tunes and frankly, if I hear another Commodores or Ohio Players song, I might have a seizure. To unwind, I've been listening to a variety of different tunes, a sampling of which follows.

Technically, these songs are a bit out of order since I wouldn't have gotten to Tjader's "Leyte" if I hadn't been listening to Uptown Saturday Night and wondering, "I wonder what sample Ski used?" Admittedly, I probably should have already been up on "Leyte" given that Soul Sauce was one of Tjader's most successful albums ever but oddly, I never got around to picking this one up (probably because I saw it around so much, I just figured I'd grab it "next time").

Sometimes, there's nothing so good to chill out to than a great vibraphone track and Tjader has these in embarrassing abundance (at some point, I really need to post up his version of "Morning" off of Agua Dulce but another time, another time) and "Leyte" is right up there with the best. It has a smoky, Afro-Latin sabor that's laid-back without being lazy, what people should mean when they speak of "lounge" music instead of that campy kitsch that often passes for it. And the vibes - ah, the vibes - sparkling...

...which of course, brings us to Camp Lo's "Sparkle," one of the smoothest cuts off the still-slept-on Uptown Saturday Night album and obviously, one that borrows heavily from "Leyte." Given the throwback, '70s steez of Camp Lo, they sound perfect over this track (even if their lyrics could be more obtusely stream of consciousness than Ghostface's). By the way, be sure to track down the "Mr. Midnight" mix of "Sparkle" which is basically an acapella set over the "Sparkle" beat but filtered to a ghostly wisp of the original. Mega-minimalist and surprisingly effective.

As it was, by sheer coincidence, in my iTunes playlist, "Leyte" was followed by "Brainstorm" and the two songs were perfect for one another given that this obscure 45 King track also uses vibes on it. I still have to thank Unkut.com's Robbie E. for swapping this EP with me, plus Cold Rock Da Spot gets love for their recent 45 King-themed post. Had this been on a commercial single, it would have easily been up there with the best of Latee's Wild Pitch catalog not to mention 45 King at his best.

Lastly, I recently got a copy of this Maurice Smith single from rapper/producer/game show player Thes One who knew I was a fan of BeeGee material (the local, Los Angeles, Scientologist-funded label), especially since he thought keyboardist Shelton Kirby was playing the Rhodes on here (and I love me some Rhodes). As a vocalist, Smith's style sounds initially too old-fashined for the song - there's a time warp effect - but as the song builds, it all melts together better and Smith ends up reminding me of Eugene McDaniels; this song, sound-wise, would have fit nicely onto something like Headless Heroes. I love how the song builds slowly, and the arrangement takes these small, but significant turns after each bridge. Lovely indeed.

Fruko + Wganda Kenya: Uncut Colombian posted by O.W.

Fruko Y Sus Tesos: Salsa Na Ma
From El Violento (Discos Fuentes, 1973).

Wganda Kenya:Tifit Hayed
From Africa 5000 (Discos Fuentes, 197?)

Both available on: Colombia: The Golden Age of Discos Fuentes. The Powerhouse of Colombian Music 1960-1976.

Finally back in L.A. after a nice 10 day trip up in the Bay. One of the folks I wasn't expecting to run into up there was my man Beto, aka Roberto Ernesto Gyemant. For those not familiar with him, he's turning out to be one of the most accomplished young Latin music scholars I've seen on the scene. He was responsible for researching the liner notes for that excellent Panama comp I wrote about for Soul-Sides.com and NPR. More recently, Beto was behind the liners for the latest Latin music anthology from the Soundways folks: Colombia: The Golden Age of Disco Fuentes.

I've really ramped up my interest in Latin music the last few months and this new comp couldn't have arrived at a better time. I was aware that there was a big Latin scene in Peru thanks to my earlier discovery of Enrique Lynch but I didn't realize, until now, that Colombia's Latin scene, especially around salsa, was massive. Beto's liners help shed light on the birth and evolution of that scene, focusing on Discos Fuentes, which seems to have filled in the role in Colombia that a label like Fania or Tico held in the U.S. Latin scene. Informative and engaging - especially with all the label scans and photos - liner notes like this should push other labels to match or exceed that bar.

Let me put this simpler: anything Beto cosigns on? Pay attention to that. On to the music.

Of the various songs off Colombia, the ones that grabbed me the most were by Fruko y sus Tesos. I was first introduced to Fruko by DJ Murphy's Law from Captain's Crates who dropped a cut on our Mandrake night a few months back. Fruko Y Sus Tesos translates into "Fruko and the Tough Guys" and are described by Beto as comparable to the Colombian equivalent of New York's Willie Colon in terms of projecting this kind of bad boy image except that while Colon did it with a sense of mafioso flair, Fruko looked like he was straight thuggin' it out. Compare:

(Fruko is the guy standing on the right side of the Tesura, wearing revolver bling).

Saying - Colon is slicked out but Fruko looks like he could kill you with a stare. (I love that Colon cover to death though).

In any case though, both men shared a real talent for salsa tunes and to me, Fruko's "Salsa Na Ma" is my favorite track off the comp. For starters, it just opens so dramatically - not what you'd expect from a typical salsa song; it's far more jazz. But then the piano riff kicks in, then the percussion, and the salsa groove just kicks off. I just got a copy of El Violento (big up, Justin T!) and can't wait to drop this and see what happens.

I was debating what to flip for the second cut and I was tempted to roll with "Cumbiamba" by El Sexteto Miramar (great slow cumbia/mambo) but I wanted something that would showcase some of the musical diversity of the comp and that meant going with the Afro-funk groove of "Tifit Hayed" by Wganda Kenya (which features Fruko on bass). Not sure what year this is (yo Beto, let us know!) but it sounds more on the mid-70s tip with its seemingly disco-influenced percussion and synthesizers. Bump bump.

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By the way, I had the chance to listen to the new Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings album, 100 Days, 100 Nights. Can't post tunes yet (but once I get the greenlight, you know how we do) but *whistle* it's good. Really good. October can't come soon enough.

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

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

The Professionals + Lord Rhaburn Combo: Belize Reconnection posted by O.W.

The Professionals: Theme From The Godfather
Lord Rhaburn: Disco Connection

Both from Belize Boil-Up (Numero Group, 2006)

Lord Rhaburn: Disco Reconnection (snippet)
From 12" (Numero Group, 2007)

Belize? Yeah, Belize.

I need a late pass - Numero Group (aka the best reissue label out there) put out their compilation of Belizean (Belizoid? Belizer?) soul, funk and Latin last year but I didn't really become aware of it until much more recently. Just like that excellent anthology of Panamanian sounds from the same era, Belize City Boil Up introduces listeners to the heretofore unknown sounds of American soul and Latin exported to Central America and then reinvented. The diversity of styles and sounds is amazing and it makes you wonder how deep the soul crates run throughout Central and Southern America (hint: pretty damn deep we think).

Of the various songs off the comp, the Professionals fuzzed out, funked up take on the theme from The Godfather is probably the best known - the group had decent distribution in the U.S. and the album this comes off of, The Professionals On Tour is in the low three digit range - not cheap but not crazy either. Their take on it is pretty bugged out; it's like Nino Rota scored a blaxploitation flick (or maybe the other way around).

As for "Disco Connection," talk about a fusion of styles. The Latin + Disco element isn't anything that folks in the States didn't also play with but there's something distinctly south of the border with Rhaburn's take (not the least of which is that it reminds me a lot of some of the disco era material by Peru's Enrique Lynch). Call it discoxotic.

Numero Group has also begun to release 12"s on their label and in the first batch includes a single with that "Disco Reconnection" edit (plus the original) on one side, plus a nice Latin burner called "Guajida" by Jesus Acosta and the Professionals on the b-side (which has its own remix of sorts too). DJs looking for that next flavor - here it is.

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.

Duke of Burlington, Enrique Lynch, Paul Guma: On the Sneak Tip posted by O.W.

The Duke of Burlington: Slot Machine
From S/T (Joker, 1970)

Enrique Lynch: Al Ritmo Del Bump Bump
From Bailemos Bump Bump (Sono Radio, 197?)

Paul Guma Quartet: Black Fox
From New Sounds Over New Orleans (Top of the Mart, 197?)

When is a cover not a cover? In the case of these three songs, it's when they're uncredited covers, i.e. songs that clearly *cough cough* borrow from better known tunes but don't go out of their way to actually acknowledge this. In some cases, especially the second and third songs, there's an argument to be made that they're not outright cover versions but they're close enough for most to ID. Note: none of this is meant as a critique - I actually like surprises like this since you can't always tell what's on an album simply by reading a tracklisting.

The Duke of Burlington was an Italian outfit that specialized in instrumental tunes - I can't recall if they recorded any library albums but their music is along those lines. They had two LPs that I know of and this, their self-titled, has the better songs (though their second album wasn't bad) including "Slot Machine" which is a cover of "Look-a-py-py" by The Meters. I think the organ works better here than the acoustic piano but the song's not a bad flip on the original.

The Enrique Lynch is an interesting song - I assume it was a minor hit in Peru since I know of at least one other Peruvian artist, Otto De Rojas, who's recorded the same tune. Either way, the song isn't quite a note-for-note cover of "Soulful Strut" by Young Holt-Unlimited but it's too to be a coincidence either. It's a fun track - I like the festive spirit.

Last up: NOLA guitarist Paul Guma and his quartet from a private press jazz album recorded for the (now defunct) Top of the Mark restaurant in New Orleans. "Black Fox" is my favorite of this trio - a riff on Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" that manages to stray far enough away at times to be its own song though still incorporating some of the chord changes we associated with Withers' classic. It's just really well executed, especially with putting Guma's guitar forward and letting the rest of the quartet create an interesting bed of sound behind him.

RADIOHEAD CON CUBANO SABOR posted by O.W.

El Lele de Los Van Van and Radiohead: High and Dry
From Rhythms Del Mundo (Hip-O, 2006)

(Note: This review was originally written for NPR.org's "Song of the Day." It appeared on NPR's website on November 21, 2006).

The idea behind Rhythms Del Mundo: Cuba is high-concept simplicity: Alt-rock meets the Buena Vista Social Club. Assorted '80s and ‘90s rock songs and pop standards are remade within a Cuban aesthetic, though some songs are more like remixes -- think Arctic Monkeys' vigorous "Dancing Shoes," done up with a descarga groove. Others are complete makeovers, such as the late legend Ibrahim Ferrer covering "As Time Goes By" in a classical son ballad style.

Given the conceit, it's not surprising when the album leans toward artifice -- imagine Coldplay's "Clocks," but with Chris Martin's plaintive melody replaced by an upbeat but poorly fit muntono piano riff. However, at the other end of the spectrum is the album's best song, El Lele de Los Van Van's re-imagining of "High and Dry," Radiohead's hit song from The Bends.

It helps that the Radiohead original is a brilliant pop ballad to begin with, but the song also boasts a sparse arrangement that can be easily tinkered with without the result sounding forced or gimmicky. The Cuban remake remains tastefully minimalist, with a slowly paced Afro-Latin rhythm, a soft trumpet chorus and an acoustic piano, which replaces the guitar on the original. In contrast to the fragile falsetto that Thom Yorke brought to bear, El Lele approaches the vocals with a rich, throaty tenor, as sweet and dark as caramel. Though the vocal arrangement hews closely to Yorke's, El Lele's performance sounds so captivating on its own that until he reaches the distinctive climb of the chorus, it's easy to forget this is a cover. Beautifully serene and affecting, El Lele de Los Van Van's take on "High and Dry" achieves the best intentions behind the compilation: to create songs that sound both familiar and unique.

Speaking of NPR, I also reviewed Jay-Z new album for Morning Edition, which ran the same morning as the "Song of the Day" post.

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Small correction: In the NPR review, it says that Jay retired two years ago when in fact, it was three. Man, time flies!

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)

TOWA TEI: SUPERNOVA posted by O.W.

Towa Tei: Technova
From Future Listening (Elektra, 1995)

A Tribe Called Quest: Find a Way
From The Love Movement (Jive, 1998)

Bonus Remix - Technova (O-Dubnova Edit)

For the longest time, all I really knew about "Technova" was that it was "that song by the Japanese guy in Deee-lite that ATCQ interpolated for "Find a Way" but I had never actually HEARD the song. (What's also incredibly embarrassing is that I always thought the female vocals on the original (interpolated into the chorus for Tribe) was Japanese but when I learned it was Bebel Gilberto, I realized: oh, that was probably Portuguese. Doh).

Once I actually heard it, I realized: wow, this is a really great tune. However, the version I had heard on a few mixes began with Gilberto's vocals done acapella and as you can hear on "Technova," there is no such acapella moment. Paul Nice finally hepped me to the source: "Dubnova" (also on the Future Listening album) has an acapella intro though, overall, I like the arrangement of "Technova" more...

...which lead me to create the "O-Dubnova Edit" - combining the best parts of both songs. A Soul Sides exclusive!

(By the way, random SS moment: I was in a Trader Joe's parking lot yesterday with my daughter when a stranger approached me and asked, "Excuse me, but are you Oliver Wang?" Turned out to be a Soul Sides fan. I'm just astounded people actually know what bloggers look like. I could get rolled on by the entire crews of both Music For Robots and Ear Fuzz and not realize it).

BUYER BEWARE posted by O.W.

Showband U.S.A.: Let Me Down Easy
From Una Linda Senorita (Hacienda, 1982)

10CC: The Worst Band in the World
From Sheet Music (UK Records, 1974)

Given that I buy a lot of records off of eBay...you always have to be wary of how things get pitched/marketed. It's tricky to try to pass off something that, in real life, may be rather mediocre or common as more brilliant or obscure than it actually is. I'm not saying this to hate on anyone: certainly, when I sell records, you want to find some comfortable middle between being honest but also sexing up the product a bit. Here's two recent examples that I saw on the 'Bay that I thought were rather humorous given how far the sellers went to really sell the albums in question.

First of all is this Showband U.S.A LP. The pitch (CAPS = in the original):

OBSCURE TEXAS PLATTER, PRIVATELY RELEASED ON HACIENDA RECORDS. MOSTLY TEX-MEX MATERIAL WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE TWO LATIN-SOUL STEPPERS "THE FIRE I FELL" & "LET ME DOWN EASY". THE LATTER WOULD MAKE A KILLER ADDITION TO THE MODERN SCENE.

The reality: "The Fire I Fell" is not remotely a "stepper." More like a bland ballad. I did, however, actually enjoy "Let Me Down Easy" which definitely is on some modern soul tip but I think "killer" is far overstated. It's pleasant (and hey, I like pleasant).

A more hilarious example was for this 10CC record which was listed only as "J-DILLA ORIGINAL HIP-HOP SAMPLE FAT BREAKS"

The pitch:

Secret record
Original sample for "Workinonit" by J-Dilla on Donuts...
Sampled by Jay Dee on his latest release on Stones Throw. Donuts. I don't think this record had been discovered yet .... Nice nice work by Jay-Dee but the original track is very nice too ... R.I.P J-Dilla !!!!!

The reality: Sheet Music is one of the more common 10CC albums out there. You can cop one for less than $10 in most cases, including online.

Remember: I'm not hating. I respect anyone's record hustle who is able to move so-so material at prices higher than the market would typically command. I don't feel like I got taken on the Showband LP personally. But the fact that someone could get over $25 for a 10CC LP (not to mention the $14 in shipping on top of that) is deserving of awe.

NICO GOMEZ: BOSSA BOSS posted by O.W.

Nico Gomez: Aquarela + Samba De Uma Nota So
From Bossa Nova (Omega, 197?)

This was the very last LP I picked up at the Groove Merchant before blowing out of town. I think it's safe to say that the store has the best Brazilian collections on the West Coast and even though I'm still a babe in the woods about the various genres coming out of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, I certainly got exposed to more good Brazilian there than I would have under other circumstances.

What's interesting about Nico Gomez is that despite having put out any number of very collectible Latin and Brazilian albums, he wasn't actually from South America. Born in Amsterdam, Gomez had his mark in Belgium where he lead a series of different bands (and recorded under his own name). His best known outfit were the Chakachas who scored a cult hit in the '70s with "Jungle Fever" (on Polydor no less) but he also headed up the El Chicles. There are few Belgium composers from that era with a more consistent track record for straight up funky and Latin-flavored tracks.

Bossa Nova contains one of his biggest hits in the genre: "Aquarela," a slick, mid-tempo dance track. It's ended up on a bunch of cheap Gomez compilations from the era and it's hear to hear why with its samba rhythms and those distinctive vocals. Personally though, I kind of prefer Gomez' take on "One Note Samba (Samba De Uma Nota So)": it's such a wonderfully chill song, especially with the interplay between the vibes and piano. Definitely some Sunday afternoon music.

SONGS OF OBSESSION: "LA MURGA" + "WATER GET NO ENEMY" posted by O.W.

Willie Colon: La Murga
From Asalto Navideño (Fania, 1971)

Fela Ransome Kuti and Afrika 70: Water No Get Enemy
From Expensive Shit (Editions Makossa, 1975)

At my going-away party in S.F., DJ Matthew Africa dropped a short set that put two songs back to back that I should have been up on...but wasn't...and both have still been blowing my mind almost two weeks later.

"La Murga (De Panama)" is one of the big hits to come from the partnership of Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon though I find it rather funny that such a rousing Latin dance anthem would have originally appeared on a Christmas album, of all places (then again, James Brown's "I'm Black and I'm Proud" was from a Xmas album as well).

Here's what makes this song so great: it's not just that wall of horns Colon throws at you at the very onset (though obviously, it helps)...it's the melodic counterpoint that the guitar makes right after each brass proclamation, a small but utterly significant dynamic that gives the song more nuance and something for your ear to anticipate. Throughout the rest of the song, the interplay between brass and guitar is key and despite the other excellent percussive and melodic elements (not to mention Lavoe's singing), they continue to power the song at its very core. This has automatically catapulted onto my top 10 Latin dance song playlist alongside others like Joe Cuba's platinum-selling "Bang Bang" and my personal favorite, "Que Se Sepa" by Roberta Roena y su Apollo Sound.

I've listened to a decent amount of Fela's stuff over the years but I either just let this slide past my radar or missed it completely but now I'm completely obsessed with it. I was instantly infatuated with it and here's why: like most of Fela's biggest Afro-funk songs, this track unfolds with a steady and sublime patience that reveals depths to the rhythm that might go otherwise missed unless you have the advantage of a longer view. But like "La Murga" what also makes the song such a pleasurable listen is how Fela brings in an electric keyboard...a softer, gentler sound for a song writhing in such thick rhythms and (once again) a monster brass section. The main riff are the horns (just like in "La Murga") but it's the piano that deepens the song's personality and elevates it towards the sublime. Even though the song is nearly 11 minutes, I've put it on repeat over and over and simply lounge into its folds. Heavenly.

AFTERNOONS AT THE GROOVE MERCHANT posted by O.W.

I published a column in this past Friday's Oakland Tribune where I have a monthly pop music column. It was written just a few days after leaving the Bay Area after 16 years and one of the things I'll miss the most (besides friends and family) is my weekly visits to the Groove Merchant, aka the greatest record store in the world.

I decided to write my August column in tribute to the Merchant and in doing so, I realized how deeply my visits there have influenced my relationship to music and as I note in the column, I don't think it's a coincidence, at all, that I started blogging about soul, jazz, funk, etc. records soon after I started shopping at the GM (this was before people called it blogging but if you're curious to see this nascent, pre-MP3 version of Soul Sides, go here.

The thing is this: there are good record stores - places where, if you get lucky, you might find some fantastic albums on the cheap. These are the lifeblood for most collectors - places that you walk into with a quiet prayer that you'll turn up some unexpectedly sick sh-- for next to nothing. I, of course, have a great appreciation for these stores - places like Village Music in Mill Valley or 2nd Hand Tunes in Chicago or that rinky dink, hole in the wall store in Dayton (if ya'll know, ya'll know).

But what marks a great record store isn't just good records (this does help however) but rather the knowledge you attain from merely visiting. People who visit this site are incredibly gracious about what they learn about music through it. I'm very happy it's able to achieve that. But for me, my musical education from the GM is how others may see Soul Sides. I've learned more about different kinds of music and artists and genres, etc. through Cool Chris - the GM's proprietor - in the last seven years or so than I did in the 28 that proceeded it. I can say, almost definitively, that this site would not exist if not for my afternoons spent at that store every week. It's not that everything I post here came out of the GM but the aesthetic that I try to establish in the music I post is undeniably shaped through what I've learned there.

The credit is due not just to the store itself but to Chris Veltri. People who don't spend a lot of time in record stores don't really understand this simple social fact: 90% of record store owners are complete a--holes. Imagine the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons in real life and that's certainly one segment: know-it-alls who sniff their nose at having to share their knowledge with such obvious peons as ourselves. Then there's the know-nothings who run stores, log into eBay to check prices, and either grossly overcharge some albums and neglectfully undercharge others but shopping from them is an ordeal. Chris, on the other hand, is incredibly cordial and helpful and social in a way that makes you wonder what charm school other record store folk should be attending to get their consumer relations game up. He's just "That Dude" if you know what I mean. (I'm not the only person who feels this way - his fans are legion and international).

I feel so indebted and so enriched by my time rapping with Chris, checking out records he gets in, trading/buying from him that when Zealous Records asked me what my second Soul Sides CD would be, my first pitch was an Afternoons at the Groove Merchant theme which would include records I learned about through the store. For a variety of reasons, Zealous and I deaded that (you'll like the actual concept we ran with, believe that), not the least of which is because my favorites songs I've learned through the store haven't necessarily been jaw-dropping musical gems but rather, records that just have fascinating back stories.

I also note this in the column but people forget that even in the name itself - record - these pieces of vinyl exist to record things, both literally - like music - and figuratively, like people's life stories, whether intentionally or not. Every record tells a story, not just in the songs, but in who made it, when they made it, why they made it, etc. My personal interest in records is definitely fueled by what those backstories are and it's not hard to see how Soul Sides was an outgrowth of that interest.

In any case, this is all a long-winded intro in what should be a fun, recurring set of posts on Soul Sides - Afternoons at the GM - that discusses some of my favorite records that I learned about while at the store. Hope you guys enjoy. Let's start it off...

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Aposento Alto: Rejoice
From Goodbye Old Friends (Windeco, 1978)

The Moon People: Happy Soul
From Land of Love (Speed, 1969)

The Moon People: Hippy Skippy Moon Strut
From 7" (Roulette, 1969)

The Aposento Alto LP was one of the last albums I ever picked up from the Groove Merchant before leaving the Bay. It's a crazy obscure, private press, Latin gospel soul funk album out of Modesto, CA. Yeah, Latin gospel soul funk...there's no better way to describe it and if you listen to "Rejoice" you'll see what I mean. I've never heard Latin gospel but now that I have...if it all sounds like this, I'm down like the ground. Besides "Rejoice," it has some slower soul tunes and this epic, eight minute cut "Te Amo" that features a ridiculous 2-3 minute drum solo complete with a steady, back-breaking, breakbeat (complete with all kinds of fills and rolls) that's over a minute long. Mind-boggling.

I copped the Moon People LP sometime last year - another great, funky set of Latin tunes (though no gospel). However, I hadn't really listened to it that closely until Christina Aguilera and DJ Premier dropped "Ain't No Other Man" and realized: oh yeah, this is a Moon People song even though it was erroneously reported online that it was a Luis Alvarez song that Primo flipped. Nope - it's pretty obvious it's the Moon People. The trick though: which version of this song?

My speculation is that "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut" came out first on 45 and then the Moon People used the same backing track, dumped the vocals, and laid down keys instead, then called it "Happy Soul." The instrumentals are identical - it's just the diff b/t the vocals or not. Personally, I like both versions equally though I suppose "Moon Strut" plays out better because of the vocals.

What I like about both "Happy Soul" and "Rejoice" is how each briefly interpolates other songs - on "Rejoice" the horn lines at the beginning sound like "I'll Never Go Back to Georgia" by Joe Cuba while "Happy Soul" pretty obviously takes up riffs from "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell and the Drells.

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!

BONUS: BATAAN SPEAKS ABOUT BARRETTO posted by O.W.

I had the occasion to speak to Joe Bataan over this weekend and given that he and Ray Barretto were both at Fania Records at the same time in the mid/late '60s, I wanted to know what Joe remembered of his old colleague:

"We hung out together, we partied together. He had a very silent sense of humor. A tall, lanky guy, very soft-spoken. He was a gentle giant.

He had the “Watusi” that was very influential, as far as I’m concerned, because it was done in the “American” vein and it crossed [over]. One of the first records that crossed, it was a big seller. What it did, it incorporated the Blacks...the beat allowed Blacks to dance. The combination of that with the Latin feel opened it up. The Jews found the music in the Palladium with the Puentes and Palmieris but with the “Watusi” it started bring in the Blacks into the music venture of Latinos; it’s like Eddie Palmieri did with “Asúcar.” The beat and the clave is what connected for the audience. That opened the doors and that’s what gave young guys like myself [the idea] that we could do something one day.

I know he ventured into jazz a lot...he played with a lot of the jazz greats like Chano Pozo. Barretto learned from him; he was the second coming of Chano Pozo. Very influential, his sound was very distinct, his arrangements. To this day, beloved by Latinos all over the world. He will be sorely missed." - Joe Bataan, 2/19/06

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.

LA ONDA CHICANA posted by O.W.

Little Joe y La Familia : Cumbia del Sol
From Que Bruto (Buena Suerte, 1972)

Latin Breed : I Turn You On
From Texas Funk 1968-1975 (Jazzman,2002)

Latin Breed: Latin Breed Theme
From The Return of The Latin Breed (GCP, 1973)

(Editor's note: Today's guest poster is Chris Cardenas who's just launched his own audioblog, Sonic Reducer.)

During the Civil Rights movements of the 60's and 70's, young Mexican-Americans were in search of their own identity. They were not Mexican enough in the eyes of older Mexicans, nor were they American enough for mainstream white America. As a result, the Chicano Movement was born. The music of this time reflects the bicultural environment that was influencing young
Chicanos. Commonly known as La Onda Chicana (The Chicano Wave) or Chicano Soul, this music is a conglomerate of traditional Mexican music, soul, funk, and R&B.

"Cumbia del Sol," is an instrumental track off the album Que Bruto from Little Joe y La Familia. Little Joe was at the forefront of La Onda Chicana. Based out of Temple, Texas, Little Joe is considered one of the most important figures in the Tex-Mex music scene.

"I Turn You On," by Latin Breed is a smokin‚ Isley Brothers cover that some say is funkier than the original. Latin Breed were one of the most popular bands to come out of San Antonio. "I Turn You On," and "Latin Breed Theme," display their trademark four part harmony horn lines... as thick and funky as a humid Texas night.

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.

EDDIE'S EXCURSIONS posted by O.W.

Eddie Palmieri: Condiciones Que Existen & Chocolate Ice Cream
From Salsa-Jazz-Descarga: Exploration (Coco, 1978)

Eddie (along with brother Charlie) Palmieri's career spans several key transformations in the history of Latin music - soul, jazz, salsa, etc. In the late '70s, producer Harvey Averne (yeah, that dude gets around) helped compile some of Palmieri's more intriguing excursions into this album.

"Condiciones Que Existen" (Existing Conditions) comes off of Palmier's 19T3 album Sentido and it's one of the funkiest numbers he ever put together. It's got this wicked squeegee sound to thanks to Harry Viggiano's chicken scratch guitars. Slick as baby oil wrestling.

"Chocolate Ice Cream" (Helado De Chocolate) is one of Palmimri's many jazz compositions, appearing (I think) on either his Superimposition album from '71, or maybe from At the University of Puerto Rico (it's a little unclear since this version is 4 minutes longer than the versions on those two albums). If "Condiciones Que Existen," was brisk, "Chocolate," takes its time to unwind, spiralling through a 10.5 minute blend of Charlie's organ noodlings, Eddie's electronic piano, plus some soulful sax wails by Ronnie Cuber. The rhythm section is top-notch on this, holding down a smooth groove the whole way through (big up Chuckie Lopez Jr. on bongos and Nicky Marrero on the timbales). I don't smoke out but damn, this sounds like the perfect kind of tune to just light up a fatty too and chill out with.

PAGAN RITUAL posted by O.W.

Ralfi Pagan

Make It With You
Stray Woman
I Never Thought You'd Leave Me

From With Love (Fania, 1972)

This is an album I've spent about two years looking for and had I really remembered how good Ralfi Pagan's songs were, I probably would have just broken down and bought this LP at whatever price. Pagan doesn't have the best damn voice ever handed down by the Almighty, but there's just something about the combination of his vocals with Harvey Averne's production that is sublime.

Take, "Make It With You," a cover of Bread's smash ballad. It begins with this tremendous wall of sound, very reminiscent of the opening of Buddy Miles' version of "Down By the River." Even when Averne and co-producer Jerry Masucci pull back, easing into a more mellow tone, it has just the right touch for Pagan's soft, dulcet vocals. He reminds me of what one of the Gibbs brothers (i.e. the Bee-Gees) would have sounded like - a clean falsetto that isn't as rich as say, Marvin Gaye, but his voice goes down real easy regardless.

"Stray Woman," features more excellent production by Masucci and Averne, more reminiscent of a mid-60s soul tune. And since Pagan was a Latin artist (there's a song on here called "Latin Soul") and Fania was a huge label in that genre, I wanted to include one of the more Latin-fied cuts off the album: "I Never Thought You'd Leave Me." It sounds like a mega-slow mambo, especially with those vibes - something sultry for a dim parquet.

Ah, this is such awesome album, one of my favorite recent arrivals.

GET ON UP








Celio Gonzalez: Arriba!
From Arriba!/Up! (Tico, 196?)

When I first started to get into Latin, this is one of the first titles I picked up. Gonzalez is a Cuban artist, recorded a few sides with Tico (this was from his third album) and he has the distinction of looking like Mr. Rogers, only more waxen and a little scary.

When I first bought this LP, the store owner warned, "the instrumentation is good but his voice kind of ruins it" but I have to disagree. The music is great - swinging and soulful, just the kind of beat to get you twirling a dance partner on the parquet. But Gonzalez' singing fits right in the mix. Sure, he's not the finest Latin troubadour I've ever heard, but he's got verve and the ability to belt out a good one which seems to fit with this cut just fine.

SABOR A MI








The Calbidos: Barrio Bueno
From Crossfire (Vroomm, 197?). Also available on Extended 12" (Kudos, 2003).

Toro: Michaela
From 7" (Scepter, 1975) and Toro (Coco, 1975)

Sophy: Es Lamentable
From Sophy (Velvet, 197?)

"Lados Del Alma" = my weak Spanish translation of "Soul Sides" - if someone can offer a more accurate translation, please feel free to make suggestions. In any case, it's yet another theme to keep track of (we need some SS Score Cards up in hurr), dedicated to Latin-tinged music. Like European jazz, it's a genre that I've only really been learning much about in the last three or four years but despite my relative ignorance, I'm very much a fan. I'm a sucker for a good boogaloo (and I'll have to bring some of those to the fore), but I'm an equal opportunity lover of Latin soul, jazz, rock, (of course funk), bossa novas, batucadas, descargas, mambos, guaranchas, etc., etc., etc. There are many, many Latin sub-genres to memorize, covering an immense gamut of Afro-Latin-Cuban-Brazilian influences.

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I launch with "Barrio Bueno," a Latin jazz library record out of Italty. The Cabildos had two albums in the '70s - Crossfire is actually the inferior one compared with Yuxtaposition (recorded under the name, The Cabildo's Three) which has nary a flat track. Crossfire is solid, don't get me wrong, but its "Barrio Bueno" is the main standout. A very laid back, smoky groover, "Barrio Bueno," sounds like it came off a soundtrack for very hip stoners (this would be a good thing). It's so good in fact, Kudos Records extended the song and pressed it up on clear vinyl last year.

With Toro...this was a Groove Merchant find - really nice Latin rock album that bears the obvious influence of Santana but doesn't sound like a clone. Super-producer Harvey Averne (remember Viva Soul?) helms this one (at the Electric Lady Studios no less) and his cross-genre embrace of different styles are well served here and especially for "Michaela," an excellent Latin soul/rock number which is just one of many great songs off the LP.

And also, Toro just has one of the best logos I've ever seen. I want a t-shirt with that on it.

Last, it's Sophy: only one of the biggest singers in Puerto Rican history which is ironic since I find her singing on this album barely tolerable. No disrespect intended but her voice isn't particuarly nuanced or dynamic and it also sounds engineered too loudly over the track. This all said, I'm giving her song "Es Lamentable", off one of her big hit albums on Velvet, a spin because it's a slick, funky dance number and a female vocal track, thus combining two genres that I get weak in the knees for.

The Harvey Averne Dozen:You're No Good
From Viva Soul (Atlantic, 1968)

"You're No Good" kicks off the Harvey Averne Dozen's Viva Soul and the song is so good, so sublime in its affect, so remarkably not like anything else on the album that you wish Averne had pressed this up on 45 so you could have the song without the clutter of the rest of the LP to deal with. Don't get me wrong, Viva Soul is a decent Latin album in its own right and had "You're No Good" not appeared on here, I would still have found pleasure in songs like the mid-tempo mambo, "The Micro Mini." But "You're No Good" opens the album on such a stupendous note that the desperate desire for the rest of the LP to sound the same can only be met by consecutive waves of disappointment as you skip tracks to realize that "You're No Good" is some kind of aberration - lucky to exist but still alone in the world, at least the world of Viva Soul.

Averne himself isn't a great vocalist here - he belts out a passable but unremarkable performance that reminded me of a Tony Bennett knock-off in a Vegas bar. That's not quite as bad as it sounds but Averne isn't about to topple Otis Redding or Al Green off the top of the canon. What makes "You're No Good" so damn good is the chorus of female singers, sounding like the latter-day Ronettes or similar girl group. Averne sings against them in a call and response between himself and what sounds like a bevy of girlfriends he's cheated on. We hear their grievances first as the song opens on a brassy opening of horns and vibes that gives way to a funky, walking bassline and jabbing piano chords. They sing: "I don't trust you when you're out of sight/like you were last night.

On Averne's reply - "I don't want to hear anymore/enough of that jive/I know the score..." - the song brings the horns back in and the arrangement switches from soul into pop, only to swing back to soul when the women come back: "If you love me/like you say do/then make up your mind". It's a great exchange, not quite as tit-for-tat as, say, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas' "Tramp" but like that classic, "You're No Good," is light and playful in its attitude too.

It's those moments, when the women are seeking their revenge that every element in this song: the arrangement, production and vocals, all come together beautifully. There is something both incredibly soulful and funky about these women's singing and it creates that moment of pop brilliance that so many songs hope for but few attain. I don't know what Averne was thinking in writing this song, insofar as the rest of the album doesn't sound much like this cut, but whatever inspired him is our blessing as well.

Emilio Santiago: Bananeira & Brother
From Emilio Santiago (CID, 1975)

I'm not as big of a fan of Brazilian (i.e. samba, bossa, etc.) as I am of Latin soul (i.e. boogaloo, guajira, etc.) but I'm trying to learn more about the former, especially since there's such a wealth of great Brazilian music. Especially when it comes to more funky and soulful material, I'm always discovering new artists, having already sampled the likes of Jorge Ben and Tim Maia. Santiago is still going strong as an artist today - he's considered a giant in the genre - but these two songs are from what I'm assuming is his first (or one of his first) albums, a self-titled affair from 1970 which covers songs by Ben, Joao Donato and others. "Bananeira" sounds like it belongs on some blaxploitation soundtrack for a movie set in the favelas of Sao Paulo while "Brother" is an incredibly soulful ode to Jesus that, despite my agnosticism, left me swooning.

By the way, call me crazy, but isn't Santiago a dead ringer for actor Luiz Guzman on this cover?

Willie Rosario and His Orchestra: Boogaloo and Guaguanco

This is easily one of the best boogaloo albums you can find for under $30. Sure, Joe Bataan's Fania albums are amazing too, but original copies of those puppies will set you back to a flat wallet. Rosario gives you not one, not two, but three (yes three!) excellent boogaloos for your buck, plus a slick mambo jazz cut to boot. For starters, "Watusi Boogaloo" is just a solid, solid example of what a good boogaloo should sound like: fun, catchy, with plenty of people screaming in Latin-tinged voices, the whole nine. Personally, I can't believe no one's bothered to comp this cut yet. Ridiculous. I've always liked Rosario's cover of "Taste of Honey" - it begins with a slow brass build-up but then gets a lil funky as this classic standard gets the boogaloo treatment. "Light and Sweet" is the third in the trio, and in my opinion, the least interesting, but it's still dependable. Ending the album is the airy, swinging "Stop and Go", that mambo jazz cut I mentioned before. For anyone looking to start up a basic Latin collection, this one comes highly recommended.