Archive for October, 2009

Boogaloo en Peru

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Yeah, its been comped to death, but I couldn’t resist throwing this up anyway!  Coco Lagos hails from Peru where he was a successful percussionist in his country during the sixties.  Joined here by an All-star line-up of MAG studio players (including Alfredo Linares on piano!), Coco and crew devise a sensational set of hot Latin tunes for their Ritmo Caliente album.  This 45 features two of my favorite tracks from the album: “Guajira Boogaloo,” a smoking dancefloor cut with a massive 8-bar break & “Descarga Jala Jala,” an energy-packed descarga of high potency.  Take a listen and see what you think!

Coco Lagos y sus Orates: “Guajira Boogaloo” b/w “Descarga Jala Jala”
From the MAG 7″ (196?)

coco_lbl

Posted in Boogaloo, Breaks, Descarga, Peru | 2 Comments »

Gallina Funky

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Apologies for the long gap in posts, but I got the swine flu! Back on track with some crazy fresh Latin Funk covers supplied by Mexico’s very own Comparsa Universitaria, yet another group coming from our southern neighbor that specialized in covering popular songs from the US. Here we have them doing the “Funky Chicken” by Rufus Thomas and “Chicken Strut” by The Meters, putting their own style to the hit soul songs of the day.

Comparsa Universitaria de La Laguna: “El Ritmo de Gallina” y “El Pavoneo de la Gallina”
From the Una Comparsa Con Sabor album (Orfeon, Mexico, 196?)

sabor

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They must have found a winning formula by covering Rufus Thomas, because on a later LP entitled La Nueva!, the group returns to his catalog and bangs out a seriously cool cover of the “Push and Pull,” one of my favorite of Thomas’ songs to begin with. Do the “Poooosh and Pooooool” everybody….

Comparsa Universitaria de La Laguna: “Empuja y Estira“
From the La Nueva! album (Orfeon, Mexico, 197?)

lanueva

Posted in Covers, Latin Funk, Latin Soul, Mexico | 1 Comment »

Babalonia: Take 2

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

Building off of my first post on this site, we have an alternate version of Ricardo Marrero and The Group‘s seminal Latin Funk/Disco classic “Babalonia” (appearing on the Don Records 7″).  This one comes from the Yu Qui Yu 7″, and is far slower and groovier than the other take.  Many of the musical elements are different, including a wah wah keyboard and the enlisting of a skilled bongo player.  So take a listen and decide which one you like best!

This take of “My Friend” (the same b-side as on the Don 45) is again far slower, and almost sounds like a different female singer to my ears. But how about that breakdown in the middle of the song? ¡Excelente!

Lastly, I’m not sure what the deal is with the note on the 45′s label: “Soundtrack from the Movie ‘TECATO (JESUS SAVES)’”.  Anyone know?  Could it be referring to this?

Ricardo Marrero and The Group: “Babalonia” & “My Friend”
Taken from the 7″ (Yu Qui Yu, 197?)

bablonia_yuquiyu

Posted in Latin Funk | 7 Comments »