Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tito Rodriguez "A Man And His Music" Promo Video

Tito Rodriguez "A Man And His Music" coming out 11-03-09


Song: "La Toalla" From United Artists LP Tito Tito Tito
http://www.youtube.com/user/Faniavideos

Dax Pacem Orchestra: Dax Pacem Orchestra (Amaral 1010)



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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

New LVJ Mix: 100% Descarga!

My main concern when I first started putting this mix together was that a 100% descarga mix might not offer enough variety to the listener, and might overwhelm them with too much of a good thing. Descarga tracks are usually frenetic and tension-filled, and also tend to not resolve all that nicely, so the risk of being over-stimulated by 19 of them strung together is real, yet one well worth taking. Those musical features of descarga are also why one rarely sees a 100% descarga album. Nearly all of the tracks on this mix came from albums that contained only a single descarga track, since most artists who dabbled in the style tended to use it sparingly on their albums, often as a kind of musical exclamation point put at the end (or beginning) of a side. Still, in spite of all these potential issues and pitfalls, the descarga mix that I am presenting here manages to work very well track to track and as a whole. The selections, due to their general similarity, have a way of meshing together and fully enveloping the listener in a way that a more varied mix could not. Give it a listen and judge for yourself.


LVJ Descarga Mix (113 MB), September 8, 2009
01. Fajardo Y Sus Estrellas "Descarga de Kiki"
02. Chuito Velez "Descarga"
03. Ricardo Ray & Bobby Cruz "Descarga"
04. Cachao "Descarga Guajira"
05. Willie Rodriguez "Descarga '72"
06. El Combo de Pepe "Descarga En Menor"
07. Eddie Palmieri "Descarga Palmieri"
08. Johnny Rodriguez & Angel Rene & Orq. "Descarga A and J"
09. Joe Pappy and His Combo "Descarga Caliente"
10. Johnny Colon "Descarga"
11. Lebron Brothers "Descarga Lebron"
12. Ray Perez Y Los Kenyas "Descargan Los Timbales"
13. Tito Rodriguez "Descarga Cachao"
14. TnT Band "Descarga TNT"
15. Hommy Sanz "Descarga"
16. Chorolo y su Combo "Descarga Atómica Chorolo"
17. Alfredo Linares "Descarga"
18. Bebo Valdés & His Havana All Stars "Descarga Caliente"
19. Quique Y La Sabrosa Orchestra "Descarga"

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

La Cucaracha Brass: La Cucaracha Brass (Mary Lou 1007)

This is an odd little album that I discovered recently that was put together by Raphie Martinez and Bobby Marin. Six of the eight tracks are reworkings of songs that originally appeared on an earlier Mary Lou Records release, Raphie Martinez's Cool Man Boogaloo LP (Mary Lou 1002). The tracks have different names (slightly or completely), and some have different vocals, but the riffs and basic song structures are exactly the same, and they may have even just reused parts of instrumental tracks in some cases. The two remaining tracks, "Muerto De Risa" and "Papa Na Mas," which I don't recognize from elsewhere, feature vocalist Papo Felix. The one track that I think manages to improve slightly on the older/other version is the boogaloo/Latin soul cut "Hey, Mama" (a reworking of "Do It All Over"), which features Bobby Marin on vocals.


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