Juan Formell y los Van Van – Vol. II (1974)

1  Llegada  2:06
2  Chirrin Chirran  3:15
3  La Habana Joven  3:53
4  Ponte Para Las Cosas  3:10
5  Ana  3:22
6  Pero A Mi Manera  2:55
7  Pero Que Falta De Respeto  2:58
8  Yuya Martínez  2:20
9  El Martes  3:12
10  Yo Quiero Una Flaca  2:14
11  Uno Solo Fuerte  2:55
12  Cierre  0:38

Recorded At – Estudios EGREM

Liner Notes – Germán Piniella
Recorded By – Tony López
Written-By, Producer, Music Director, Orchestrated By – Juan Formell

Notes
Recorded Havana, Cuba, 1974.

Reissue made In Canada.

This is where “the shit gets real” with Los Van Van. The album goes from strength to strength with tunes like Chirrin Chirran and La Havana Joven showing us right away that Juan Formell was not idle in the four years between the release of their first record and this one. (Four years between albums in the 21st century is a normal thing for recording artists, but in the 1970s it was an eternity…) Formell was obviously busy refining his songwriting and arranging skills to perfection into something completely unique, and we can begin to appreciate why Los Van Van was equally influential and respected in the worlds of Latin rock and pop as well as the more ‘traditionalist’ camps of salsa and the genres subsumed under that umbrella – here was a group that could seemingly do it all without compromising, even developing some of the pivotal subgenres of post-revolutionary Cuba – timba and songo – in the process. While their first album exhibited baroque pop psychedelic influences, this one sees the introduction of a funkier, more soulful sound, which (as you might guess) ticks all the boxes for me.   Great stuff!

16-bit 44.1 khz

password: vibes

Liked it? Take a second to support Dr. Vibes on Patreon!