'On
Fire'
Orquesta de Palabras
Released
in January of 2001 from LA, the most popular track on this album is
a salsa song remade from Lionel Ritchie's "Lady". Some die-hards
will say this is "crap", but for those of us who love romantica...
you just have to dance to this song which you've probably heard played
in most of the clubs during a salsa set.
Click
here to listen to music clips.
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Songs:
Soledad
Todo Se Derrumbo
Ya Se Fue
Lady
Chupa Chupa
Recordando
Timba Con Guaguancó Y Rumba
Careless Whispers
El Sabroso Son
De Corazón
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Musicians:
La Palabra: Lead vocals, piano
George "Babaloo" Balmaseda: Lead vocals
Angelo Pagan: Lead vocals
Humberto "Nengue" Hernandez: Congas, timbales, drums
Julio Cesar Espinoza: Timbales
Rami Tanni: Bass
Arni Silva: Bongos, guiro, campana, cowbell
Raymundo "Nini" Olivera Trumpet
Rodolfi "Fofi" Gomez Alto sax, flute
Lazaro Gonzalez Trombone
Tylana Enomoto Violin
Ramon Flores Trumpet; solo on "Lady"
Harry Kim Trumpet
Steve Mofongo Giraldo Trumpet
Mike Daugean Trombone solo
Harry Scorzo Violin; solo on "Todo se Derrumbo"
Jean Sudbury Violin
John Paul Villalobos Tres/Guitar
La Palabra, Babaloo, Angelo Paga Rivas Coro
Tito Puente Timbales on "El Sabroso Son"
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'Salsa
Explosiva!'
Fruko y sus Tesos
If
you never owned an album by Fruko, then here's one you should add
to your collection with all their greatest hits. Released in November
2001, they include:
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Cachondea
4:55
Cali De Rumba 5:24
Naci En La Barriada 4:30
El Swing De Fruko 4:23
Hipocresia 5:16
La Fruta Bomba 4:00
El Presidiario 4:20
Llego La Charanga 4:55
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El
Mambo Es Universal 3:42
Chamarra Rota 4:21
Se Me Olvido Otra Vez 4:29
Barranquilla Barranquilla 4:30
El Preso 5:56
Mi Lebertad 4:29
El Ausente 3:54
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The group
Fruko y Sus Tesos was formed in 1970. Fruko and musical director Mario
Pachanga Rincon were working for Colombia's leading record company at
the time, and they wanted to create a sound similar to New York' Fania
All Stars. Rincon was a veteran of the Colombian music scene, having
worked with Pedro Laza, La Sonora Dinamita, the Latin Brothers, and
Los Corraleros de Majagual. At the time, Fuentes distributed Fania's
titles in Colombia, so Estrada and Rincon listened to the albums of
Hector Lavoe, Johnny Pacheco, and Willio Colon religiously, and later
went to New York to study their music live.
'Power
Salsa'
Fruko y sus Tesos
Released
on October 10, 2000, Fruko y sus Tesos from Colombia has a few hits
you probably heard regularly in the clubs last year, including my
personal favourites to dance to, Cachondea, Cali de Rumba and El Swing
de Fruko.
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1.
Cachondea
2. Cali de Rumba
3. Se Me Olvido Otra Vez
4. El Presidiario
5. El Swing de Fruko
6. Hipocresia
7. Llego la Charanga
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8.
Naci en la Barriada
9. La Fruta Bomba
10. Varranquilla Barranquilla
11. El Mambo Es Universal
12. Chamarra Rota
13. El Preso [New Version]
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To hear
clips and find out more about the album, click
here.
'Libre'
Marc Anthony
Just released (November
2001) for all the Marc Anthony fans. It's been over 3 years since
his last salsa CD. His real name is Marco Antonio Muñiz and
he was born on September 16, 1968 in New York City (Puerto Rican descent).
Originally, only the latin community and those who danced salsa had
heard of him until he launched his first English album a few years
ago, which was a major hit in the English community and is a must-have
album if you love his voice. Marc Anthony has sold more albums than
any other salsa singer in the World!
He has a diverse musical foundation ranging from Salsa, to American
Popular music, to Dance music -- and that's why he has such a broad
fan-base! His smooth, sensual, hypnotic voice captivates each and
every listener, enveloping them in his rich latin rhythms.
1.
Eres Mia
2. Amarte
3. Barco A La Deriva
4. Hasta Que Vuelvas
5. Yo Dudo Que Con El
6. Celos Y Envidia
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7.
Tu No Sospechas
8. Vivir
9. Y Se Acabo El Amor
10. Que Dependencia
11. Este Loco Que Te Mira
12. Caminare |
To
hear clips and find out more about the album, click
here. Here's another cool site I found which is a fan website
which has all the lyrics
to his latest album and others.
'Diferente'
Jose Alberto "el canario"
Just released
in September 2001. José Alberto "El Canario" is an
artist with an exceptional voice and a unique style. Originally born
in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, he moved to Puerto Rico and
in 1983, he hired a well-known group of musicians and formed the José
Alberto "El Canario" & Su Orquesta; the most spectacular
and danceable group in New York. In 1987, Ralph Mercado chose José
Alberto, to inaugurate the Tropical catalog of the RMM label. "El
Canario" has recorded a dozen excellent productions (ten of them
for RMM). Celia Cruz has chosen him as her colleague on stage and
for years they have become the most perfect and solid combination
in international music.
1
Ya no quiero tu querer
2 Amada mia
3 Fatimata Empompo
4 El Molde Joe Veras
5 Quiero Salsa |
6
El Lunar
7 Cuando se trata de ti
8 Niña y Señora
9 Cuando se trata de ti (Balad)
10 La Gorda |
Most
of this album is salsa except for about 2 songs! To hear clips, click
here.
'Betece'
Africando All-Stars
Released in December
2000, here's an unusual album you wouldn't hear normally in the regular
clubs unless you're into World Music, such as DJ Billy Bryans, who
introduced me to this great album for dancing and listening. The ultimate
salsa song for beginners and my personal favourite is "Doni Doni"
-- I'm sure you've already heard this song in the clubs and/or by
some of the salsa instructors. If you're looking for hard-core, super-fast
salsa, this is not the album for you. This is a perfect album for
those who are looking for an album to practice their salsa dancing
as the songs are of a slow to medium-fast tempo.
1
Mandali
2 Miye na we
3 Betece
4 Hwomevonvon
5 Ntoman
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6
Carpintero
7 Scandalo
8 Sonfo
9 Sey
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10
Mopao
11 Pepita
12 Naliye Gnimo
13 Doni Doni |
This is the fifth album released under Africando All-Stars with their
mix of Afro-cuban music. Cubalatina.com
wrote: "For a few years, Salsa has experienced a considerable
development near the African musicians. It is too often forgotten
that this music, if it developed and found its marks of nobility in
Cuba, is actually inspired by ancestral rates/rhythms come from the
black continent." To hear clips and find out more about the album,
click
here.
'Wild
Wild Salsa'
by Puerto Rican Power
Here's another album that's just been released in the
last few months that's 100% salsa. You may know them already as they
already have some great hits in the past, such as one of my personal
favourites, Tu Carinita. Puerto
Rican Power was formed by bassist Jesús Castro in the early
'70s, soon granting its leadership to trumpet player Luisito Ayala.
Puerto Rican Power specialized in accompanying all the artists of
the FANIA that visited the island of Puerto Rico, such as: Celia Cruz,
Cheo Feliciano, Pete " Count " Rodriguez, Vitín Avilés,
Santitos Columbus, Ismael Miranda, Héctor Lavoe, Paquito Guzmán
and Frankie Ruiz. This album has some artists you may recognize, such
as Bobby Valentin (Arranger), Justo Betancourt (Coro), Victor Manuelle
(Coro), Gilberto Santa Rosa, (Coro) and more...
1.
Pena De Amor
2. Me Tiene Loco
3. Me Toco Sufrir
4. Cuando Faltas Tu
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5.
Quiero Decirte
6. Un Nuevo Amor
7. Contigo
8. Mañana Que Mas Me Da |
The
no. 1 single in the latin music scene is "Pena De Amor";
the song that caught my attention is "Me Tiene Loco", but
you'll find that every song is 100% salsa! To hear clips, click
here.
'Nuevo
Milenio - El Mismo Sabor'
by El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico
Hot CD Releases by Rose Knows
Here's the hot new album that's setting the salsa world abuzz by the
grand masters of Salsa who have been playing for 40 years! It just
seemed appropriate to highlight them first as this was one of the
many reasons why it was important to go to Puerto Rico this year --
and who knows when I'd have the opportunity to see them and other
classic singers and bands again. Definitely a must-have to your collection!
1
- El Amor Es Ciego
2 - Se Nos Perdio El Amor
3 - Me Libere
4 - Viva Puente |
5
- Amigos
6 - Dime Que Quieres
7 - Me Muero Por Ella
8 - Nadie Como Ella |
Which
are my favourites? Well, that always comes down to personal preference,
the no. 1 single in the latin music scene is "Me Libere",
a great song to dance to (and you may have danced to it in the clubs),
but you'll find that every song is 100% salsa!
My
Favourite Salsa Artists so far...
by Rose Knows
Well it's finally completed... I have my new
list of great salsa songs to dance by, and this time, thanks to
my visits to New York and Puerto Rico, it helped me to train my ear
to understand what I was missing...
And for those of you who want to start your own collection of music
and don't know what artists to look out for, here are some of my favourites
that I like to listen or dance to with more than one hit...
Very soon, I'll start highlighting some of the great albums you'll
want to add to your collection of music...
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Bobby
Valentin
Celia Cruz
Charlie Palmieri
DLG
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Santiago
El Gran Combo
Frankie Ruiz
Fruko y sus Tesos
George Lamond
Gilberto Santa Rosa
Grupo Gale
Grupo Niche
Ismael Rivera
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Jerry
Galante
Jerry Rivera
Jose Alberto "El Canario"
La Sonora Carruseles
Latin Brothers
Los Nemus del Pacifico
Marc Anthony
Oscar D'Leon
Puerto Rican Power
Ray Barretto
Rey Ruiz
Tito Puente
Victor Manuelle
Wayne Gorbea
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Great
Salsa CD's to add to your collection
- 2001