Archive for December, 2009

Tighten Yourself Up for 2010

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Just in time for 2010, Los Johnny Jets urge y’all to tighten yourself up for the new year with a raw and fantastic cover of the Archie Bell and the Drells classic.  Coming from the seemingly endless vault of Mexican covers of popular American soul and funk songs from the 1960s and 70s, most of which are quite forgettable IMO, “Apretado (Tighten Up)” relishes in its own grittiness.  Bass, drums, guitar and hand claps are all this garage-styled monster needs to hold its own (and get your new year started off on the right foot!).

Shouldn’t be too hard to grab an affordable copy of this LP with enough patience.

Los Johnny Jets: “Apretado (Tighten Up)”
From the La Minifalda de Reynalda LP (Harmony, 1968)

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Posted in Covers, Latin Funk, Mexico | 4 Comments »

Guest Post: Reynaldo # 2

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

Joining us again is Reynaldo, who today supplies us with a killer mix of Pachanga, Charanga, & Guaguanco to keep you dancing through the winter! Rey runs two of the finest Latin music/record sites online: the Latin Vinyl Junkie blog and his own Rare Latin record gallery.

-Adam
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LVJ Guaguanco, Pachanga, and Charanga Mix (LISTEN / DOWNLOAD)

I’m constantly on the hunt for Latin records/music to add to my collection, to post on my blog, or just to listen to and enjoy. When I hear a track that really catches my ear, I add it to my playlist of recent discoveries, and when the list gets to about thirty tracks, I whittle it down and sequence the songs until a coherent theme emerges. Then I can put together a solid mix such as this one, which consists of up-tempo pachanga, charanga, and guaguanco songs. My favorites from this mix are “Treinta Kilos” by Johnny Pacheco, and the two Charlie Palmieri & La Duboney cuts, “Pon Pon Pachanga” and “Tema De La Duboney,” which features Johnny Pacheco. Enjoy!

-Reynaldo

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01. “Tema De La Duboney” – Charlie Palmieri & The Duboney Orchestra
02. “Treinta Kilos” – Johnny Pacheco
03. “Margie” – Ray Barretto
04. “El Pega Joso” – Antonio (Chocolate) Diaz Mena & His Orchestra
05. “Vivir La Vida Ortra Vez” – Orquesta Colon
06. “Yo Tengo Un Guia” – Los Nuevos Dementes
07. “Domino” – Rafael Cortijo Y Su Bonche
08. “La Calle Diez” – Sexteto Juventud
09. “Para Los Bravos” – La Tropicana De Eldy Tor
10. “Afro Breed” – Phil Moore III & the Afro-Latin Soultet
11. “Afro Revolt” – Afro Soul-Tet
12. “Peanut Vendor” – Jack Costanzo
13. “Sza, Sza, Ole” – Modesto’s Charanga Kings ft. Olguita
14. “Amalia Bataista” – Pete Terrace
15. “Tosca Pachanga” – Charles Fox & His Charanga
16. “Pon Pon Pachanga” – Charlie Palmieri and his Charanga “La Duboney”
17. “Pachanga En Katanga” – Mon Rivera
18. “Tony’s Cha Cha Cha” – Pete Terrace

Posted in Guaguanco, Guest Post, Mixes, Pachanga/Charanga, Reynaldo | 2 Comments »

Back in Form…

Monday, December 7th, 2009

…with some Cuban Funk Fire! Sorry for the delay, but here we go again with a bangin LP on the Areito label. FA-5 have many things to offer on this LP: dirty takes on American Funk and Disco songs, heavy b-boy breaks (you’ll have to track the album down to see what I mean), and some straight-up tight musicianship. Check out their song “Salga y Baile”, which is a loose rendition of Kool and the Gang’s nasty funk classic, “Jungle Boogie” (well at least those horns sound like it to me!).

“Paso Sin Mas” is a quintessential Cuban Funk song but features some heavy guitar and a killer keyboard a la Ricardo Marrero. Lastly, there’s a break-heavy version of The Commodores’ “Brick House” on here that I figured I’d pass on. Cheesy? YES. Bangin? HELLS YES.

You have to appreciate the production quality on this joint, as with many Cuban LPs on the Areito label that emerged from groups fostered at Fidel Castro’s music schools in Havana and elsewhere. The state funding coming into these schools gave many musicians the chance to explore and experiment with Afro Cuban, Funk, Jazz, and Caribbean sounds in a groundbreaking way that still does not get the full attention it deserves. Check out these compilations of Cuban Music for more (if you haven’t already).

FA-5: “Salga y Baile”, “Pasos Sin Mas”, & “Casa Del Ladrillo (Brick House)”
From the S/T LP (Areito, 1976)

FA5

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