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Puerto Rican Power****
Wild Wild Salsa (J&N) Salsa
Favorite Tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 |
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Frankie Negron****
No Me Compares (WEA Latina) Salsa
Favorite Tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
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Ray Gayo & Sammy Salinas****
Salsa Pa' Todo El Mundo (Fonovisa)
Favorite Tracks: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 |
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Theyyyy're baaaack... Not wasting any time, Puerto Rican Power is positioning itself as the best band/orchestra to have, in recent times, come out of Puerto Rico. Their previous production titled Men In Salsa was, and still is, their recording ever. But if there's to be a close second, this one would be it. Wild Wild Salsa it's their 8th production, and their second production for J & N Records. Wild Wild Salsa is a production that still eclipses all the ones done prior to signing with the avant garde Dominican owned recording company. The content of this Puerto Rican Power record is fast paced, very percussive, extremely dance oriented, thick sounding, and at times lyrically soothing. The coro's are dynamically carried out by Luisito Carrion, Hector "pichie" Perez, Osvaldo Roman, Victor Manuelle, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Justo Betancourt. They add the salsa street edge that has become the signature of this energetic bunch of musicians. It's worth mentioning that Victor Manuelle does an awesome job as a corista. Pablito Padin on timbales, and Sammy Garcia on congas are the keepers of the timing flame, with the counsel of Jose M. Lugo as the overall musical producer. I'm a firm believer of the doctrine that says a sound engineer can make or brake a record. Rey Peña, Rolando Alejandro, and Jon Fausty make this record sound full, you get the feeling the band is playing is right in front of you. To heck with over compression! Tommy Villarini, Bobby Valentin, Louis Garcia, Johnny Torres, Leni Prieto, Ernesto Sanchez, Cuto Soto (when was he dusted off?), and Jose M. Lugo in the arrangement department are focused and do not loose the sense of direction that makes this Puerto Rican Power recording so wild!
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Out of the four recordings Frankie Negron has put out, WEA Latina kindly furnished me with three. His first one Con Amor Se Gana, his third one Lo Que Llevo Por Dentro, and his fourth and latest titled Por Tu Placer. Por Tu Placer is a varied recording that broadens the scope of Frankie's potential career. I guess WEA is aiming for Frankie to be much more than a tropical salsa artist. In a word, his lastes is a cute record. However that record does not top, what in my opinion is Frankie Negron's best recording to date. No Me Compares is Frankie Negron's second, and it's not just Frankie's best record but it's Sergio George's best production since DiCarlo (who?), or anything thereafter on The Sir George banner. What makes this record so good? It's very raw and very basic! It's has that original Sergio George sound, the one that made him so popular and so likeable to my ear. It's very R&B'ish in terms of melody and feel, yet it's very forthcoming in its New York salsa essence. Breaks, trombones, and a hard driving percussion that, by the way is very dancer friendly. Thank heavens that there's not an ounce of reggae here. It's just straight Sergio George salsa! Even his piano playing is exceptional! Richie Flores and the rest of the percussion team did add their incessantly annoying redoubles, shines, and other percussive trickery, BUT (and this is a big but)! To my surprise they weren't intrusive to Frankie's song and soneo delivery, and more importantly the flow for the dancer. If there should be one Frankie Negron record in your collection, this one should be it. Why? Because vintage Sergio George was on point.
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I am mystified by this record.
I'm not exactly clear as to where it was done. In my wacked out mind I cannot exactly place its origins because, when something is that good it becomes difficult to have a clear point of reference. Much less a sound to compare it with. As I read the credits, I recognize the names of some my favorite musicians and arrangers from Puerto Rico and Miami. Puerto Rican Ray Gayo - Descendant of a Colombian mother and Spanish father adds to my confusion because I don't know his history. He is credited as the musical producer/pianist. Sammy Salinas carries the weight of this record as the singer. In it of itself, the details of this production are not confusing at all. What is - is the fact that this record is way too good to come out of Miami Florida, and the music is way too aggressive to come out of Puerto Rican arrangers. Not that music and arrangements out of these places is bad, it's just that this record sounds like something out of Cali Colombia! This recording is a great surprise! There are many bands in Colombia, and the few that are known through out the salsa world have a distinct driving sound. And that's great! But in all honesty, listen to a Grupo Niche, a Grupo Gale, a Guayacan record and you've heard them all. That throbbing sound, after a while much like a merengue, could be rather tiring. That's the clear cut difference in Ray Gayo's, Salsa Pa' Todo El Mundo. Eventhough the mayority of the songs in this CD are very regional; with trumpets, trombones, baritone sax, tres; the music becomes very inventive with lots of swing. Ray Gayo and Sammy Salinas effectively do the tight sound, the loose and creative salsa sound, and the casual son sound, to match every possible mood. They even throw in a Puerto Rican bomba! Ray Gayo's and Sammy Salinas', Salsa Pa' Todo El Mundo, is one of the best collaborations between salsa music's Super Powers - Colombia and Puerto Rico.
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