No ordinary guy, The Anthology charts the story of how Joe Bataan’s album became a label and the label became a genre and the genre became a legend
Joe Bataan, an Afro-Filipino native of Spanish Harlem, shot to fame in the mid-1960s with a string of releases on the classic Fania label that included smashes such as ‘Gypsy Woman’ and ‘Riot’. By 1973 Joe had parted company with Fania and hooked up with the Mericana label, with whom he released the album Salsoul – a neat word coined by Joe to describe his trademark fusion of salsa with soul music. Boasting killer cuts such as ‘Latin Strut’ and ‘Aftershower Funk’, he notched up another hit record and managed to successfully target the emerging New York club scene. Inspired by Joe’s crossover success, the label owners launched a new imprint in 1975 targeting the disco crowd. It’s name? Salsoul. Another legend was born.
Joe Bataan: The Anthology collects together the four albums Joe put out on Mericana/Salsoul between 1973 and 1981. At its best this music contains some of the most joyously uplifting grooves ever laid down, with Joe’s soulfully affecting vocals riding high over irresistibly funky rhythms and tight, expert arrangements. ‘Ordinary Guy’ is a simple, classic song that captures the essence of Joe’s everyman appeal, ‘What Good Is A Castle Pt.s 1 & 2′ is a reflective, soulful tune that is at once touching and uplifting, and his instrumental take on Gil Scott Heron’s ‘The Bottle (La Bottella)’ is a stone-cold classic. Further delights include the celebratory, proto-rap groove of ‘Rap-O Clap-O’ and an early appearance from Jocelyn Brown over the gloriously demented funk of ‘Sadie (She Smokes)’ (“She smokes! Beep beep! She smokes!! Toot toot!!”).
By the time of 1981′s Joe Bataan 2 Joe was no longer reaching these dizzy heights but nothing can take away from his achievements at the height of his powers, a good selection of which are gathered here on this highly recommended set. And with the recent release of the well-received Call My Name and a string of live dates lined up for 2006, a renaissance could well be on the cards.
