Salsa/Latin Music CD Reviews - Palo Salsero

CD Reviews

Xaba (a.k.a Ray Saba) ** Necesito Una Mirada Tuya Favorite Tracks: All**		Luisito Rosario ** Rumba Del Barrio Favorite Tracks: 1 - 4, 7 - 10**
It’s always a sad event when a promising talent exits the physical world prematurely. Especially when that exit is caused by self destructive behavior. Xaba was at one point, along with Cali Aleman, a vocalist for Ray Barretto. For Barretto, Xaba was responsible for two back to back hugely successful productions that included the hits, Prestame tu Mujer in 1984 and La Resbalosa in 1987. Following those, Xaba hung around the scene doing coros, until 1990. That’s when the opportunity to debut as a soloist presented itself in the form of Necesito Una Mirada Tuya. This 15 year old production, to my delightful surprise, holds up nicely to the test of time largely due to Xaba’s versatility as a singer and sonero. The guy, similarly to what he did on those Barretto records, exhibited the fluid ability to turn a love themed song into a non-mushy old fashioned salsa song. The classic thing to do if you’re not a pretty boy salsero. In some respects, the record was ahead of its time, for there’s a track that tells the story of a guy that unknowingly finds himself attracted to a lesbian. Xaba turned the premise of that song into a refreshing and welcomed comic routine. Make no mistake about this record, with Kimy Solis credited for writing most of the songs, it is not a salsa romantica record. It is a classic salsa record that exhibits some romantic themes in a way that a salsero can accept without relinquishing his salsero membership card. The mix and overall sound engineering is distinctively thick. It enhances the simple and unintrusive flow of the music created by Rene Leyva and the late Louie Ramirez. This record could’ve been the beginning of a successful career. One that could’ve matched the ones created by the labels of the time. Rest in Peace Ray... Rest in peace. ###		Let me cut to the chase, this is a very good record. Luisito is out to sacar al bailador de la rutina" - I love that coro. In fact, is the one CD that in recent times has spent the most time in my player after classic Fania stuff. Granted the musical landscape is almost barren, and the case could be made that any halfway descent record could raise eyebrows. Is like being in the desert and quenching your thirst with a drop of stale water. Not the case with this record, for it has all the necessary ingredients that should make Luisito Rosario a flat out house hold name in the genre. With 11 tracks, out of which, one is an extended version of a track already in the record; Rumba del Barrio is an extremely high energy dance oriented production tailored for the dancer and the listener. The latter perhaps to a lesser degree only because, for my taste, some of the lyrics could be a bit cliche-ish and run of the mill. Take for example El Guiso, better known as "si tu cosinas como caminas me como hasta la _______ (fill in the blank)". Can you believe that a whole track/song was made up out of that premise? The most overdone, over killed phrase in all of Latin American culture. On second thought, it takes a whole lot of creativity to do that. Contrasting that song, you have a track that's dedicated to the late Celia Cruz. Folks, for over a decade I endured horrible songs that paid homage to the lady. Tribute songs done by artists that no one knew, or cares to remember. Tribute songs that were done when she was alive! Other tributes came from artists that should've done a much better job simply because they worked closely with her. Authored by Evelio Fuentes and Jesus Alejandro, Luisito Rosario vocalizes one of the better tribute songs to The Queen of Salsa. That's the thing about this production that makes me want to listen over and over again, Luisito's ability to vocalize and interpret each song the way a genuine salsero de la mata would do. From the arrangements, to the instrumentation; the entire production has a distinct new car smell that stays with you long after you listened to it a hundred thousand times. Maybe the fact that the entire production took place in Montreal Canada, away from the usual players in NYC, Puerto Rico, and Miami has something to do with that. And eventhough his productions tend to be too much about "el niño", I got to give credit to Jesus "el niño" Alejandro for this one. He found a way to stay in the background and made this record all about Luisito Rosario - and how good it is. ###