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Quimbombó
Conga Electrica
(Testa Dura Records)
Favorite Tracks: 1,3,4,6,8 |
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Frankie Morales
A Toda Velocidad
(Musiq)
Favorite Tracks: 1,2,3,5,6,9,11 |
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Andy & Lucas
En Su Salsa
(BMG/Sony)
Favorite Tracks: 1-5,9-11 |
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I've
been listening and collecting salsa music for almost 30 years, and the
one word I've come to be leery off in salsa music is 'electrica'.
I tend to think of and remember the bad musical experiments attached to
that word and its spinoff. Synthetizers and drum machines come to
mind. I'm so glad that Quimbombós's Conga Electrica is nothing
more than figurative spin on what they describe as "excitement".
Right off the bat I'll tell you that Nick Herman's second recording
venture as the leader of Quimbombó is indeed nothing less than an
exciting follow up to his debut recording.
In line with soothingly smooth melodies and harmonies, which are
carried out by the perfect combination of guitars, one brass
instrument, one woodwind, maybe a flute and no piano; Conga Electrica
affirms and solidifies the signature sound of Quimbombó. A sound
that, if it wasn't for the thick driving percussive entity that is
traditional Cuban music; could easily be labeled chamber music.
And to me that's a good thing. This recording is classy enough to
be enjoyed by the listener under a soft dimm light, and rambunctious
enough to dance the night away at any given party. This edition
of Quimbombó mixes it up a bit by including some samba in its
repertoire, as well as straight guaguanco and rumba. David
Oquendo, along with other vocalists, does what his fans have grown
accustomed to. And within the musical context of Quimbombó, we've
grown accustomed to authenticity. In a very modern setting,
that's what we got.
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Prior to his successful tenure as a vocalist for The Tito Puente Orchestra, Frankie Morales
was a member of Jose Pintor's The Bad Street Boys band. They only did two records, and truth
be told a very young Frankie Morales didn't do much there. So he launched a heavily
promoted but short lived solo career in the late 80's. I think he only did one, maybe two
records. For the record, I'm not much of a fan of Frankie Morales, but I got to give credit
where credit is due. Though it was released in 2007, A Toda Velocidad is surprisingly one of
the best records I've heard this year. With its well balanced repertoire, this record has
something for every type and every kind of salsero. Frankie Morales, the seasoned vocalist,
is impressively comfortable singing romance-themed songs well as hard core street-themed
salsa. Though I'm not a fan of remakes of the classics and standards, and there are perhaps
one or two here that should've been left alone; I must admit that 'Gandinga' and 'Oye Lo Que
Te Conviene' are not bad. Frankie Morales does a great job in making those songs his own.
What makes this record an above average one, is the ever improving producing skills of
Ernie Acevedo, who continues to offer all salseros great high quality salsa. The sound is
flawlessly pure and crisp, thus enhancing the greatness of this musical production. A
production that takes Frankie Morales out of mere vocalist/front man realm and makes him a
bonafide soloist.
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I've
been a fan of this producer for years, I just didn't know who he
was. For years I heard his work, and wrongly credited another
Salsa Guy for producing salsa tracks for
Alejandro Fernandez, Ricardo Montaner, Cristian Castro, Alexandre
Pirres, and many more. Sadly, thanks to the great ability and
wisdom "the labels" have in promoting music, much of this talent's
awesome work is not available for purchase. Except this one - Andy & Lucas En Su Salsa. Producer, arranger, pianist, Efrain 'junito' Davila;
produced the salsa alternatives to the Spanish duo's debut album simply
titled Andy & Lucas. And what a great alternative to salseros
this record is. Efrain, a.k.a Junito, takes the essense of each
song from standard pop ballads form, to a whole other plane in salsa;
thus giving them a totally different feel and identity. Take for
example the lead track titled 'Son De Amores'. It evokes a
convincingly strong Cuban Timba feel, blended with hypnotic piano chord
voicings that morph into trance inducing music passages. Cleverly
arranged, each song in this entire production feels longer than what it
actually is, because there are so many moving parts in them. Each
making the songs better without compromising the underlined heavy salsa
beat, which is never lost. Junito's Andy & Lucas - En Su Salsa
is without a doubt a credit to out-of-the-box-thinking or in more
layman's terms; there-is-more-than-one-way-to-skin-a-cat...
Successfully.
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