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La Sonora Matancera – Super 100 Éxitos (2008)

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La Sonora Matancera Super 100 Exitos Warner / Rhino / Peerless MCM 2851359 Made in Mexico Super 100 Éxitos, or is it 100 Super Éxitos? This is a 5-CD boxset with 100 tracks and no  notes or booklet.  Which is a shame because La Sonora Matancera is an institution whose inheritance the whole world has gained something from, arguably the “mothership” from whence all salsa music derives.  As has been stated here before, “salsa” is a catch-all, umbrella term anyway … Continue reading

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Leci Brandão – Antes Que Eu Volte A Ser Nada (1975) (1980 Japan Polydor / Marcus Pereira WLP)

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Leci Brandão – Antes Que Eu Volte A Ser Nada Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans |Samba, MPB, Brazil 1975 Marcus Pereira || 1980 Polydor Japan   A classic debut album from one of the best artists to emerge from the 1970’s roots samba revival in Brazil, Leci Brandão is unique in that not only was she a tremendous singer but she also composed — on this album, there’s not a song she didn’t write!  Continue reading

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Dorothy Ashby – Afro-Harping (1968)

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Dorothy Ashby – Afro-Harping  Orig. release 1968 Cadet Records / 2018 Geffen / UMe Next to Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby is easily the best-known proponent of “jazz harp.”  I mean, it’s not exactly a crowded scene, is it?  This record stimulates all my auralgenous zones, drawing on ‘soul jazz’, pop, Latin, post-bop, R&B and proto-funk.  It may even evoke “exotica”, but only in the best ways: the lead-off track has a theremin in it, FFS.  It’s the kind of thing … Continue reading

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Slapp Happy – Acnalbasac Noom (1980) (2020 Our Swimmer)

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Slapp Happy – Acnalbasac Noom 2020 Our Swimmer – WELLE102 for Record Store Day Original release 1980 Recorded with members of Faust at that band’s Wümme studio in 1973, this album was originally scrapped and then rerecorded (without Faust) and released as Casablanca Moon. This version finally surfaced in 1980, with the original title spelled backward.   I’ve seen it described as “more raw” than the rerecorded album, but don’t be fooled — these aren’t demos, this is a finished album, … Continue reading

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Eddie Harris – Bad Luck Is All I Have (1975)

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Eddie Harris – Bad Luck Is All I Have Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | 300 dpi scans | Jazz, Jazz-funk 1975 Atlantic Records SD 1675, Presswell This is an under-the-radar album, never released on CD, from the eclectic Eddie Harris, who gets help from Willi Bobo and Bradley Bobo in the rhythm section (as well as Calvin Barnes, who only has a few sessions to his name). Strangely, for a jazz-funk album from the middle 1970’s, there is almost … Continue reading

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Willie Colón & Rubén Blades – Siembra (1978) (2021 Craft) Day 12 of 12 of FV’s 12 Days of Xmas

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  Willie Colón & Rubén Blades – Siembra 1978 Fania Records (original) 2021 Craft Recordings / Concord (reissue) If you are only going to have one salsa album in your collection, you could do much worse than a copy of Siembra.  For fans of the music, I’ve heard many stories about the opening track, Plástico, that are typically along the lines of “I remember when I first heard that song and it blew my mind.  Singer and lyricist Rubén Blades … Continue reading