Please note this is an old page and Fly Global Music has now moved. Please follow this link and search for the entry in the new site.

Whether it’s Gilles Peterson’s I Like It Like That Fania remix project (co-produced by that man Dean Rudland) or Peterson Fania DJ Series or any of the Fania Re-issue CD’s in the ‘Our Latin Thing series or even Willie Colón’s Final Farewell gig at The Roundhouse in 2007, the truth is that you can’t have too much Fania in your life.

The 29 tracks covers the development of the label from its early years in the mind 60s with Johnny Pacheco (who went onto be most influential figures in salsa music) and Larry Harlow (pianist, composer, bandleader and producer, nicknamed “El Judio Maravilloso” who was the first artist to sign to the label), classic Fania collaborations between Willie Colón and Hector Lavoe, seminal Latin soul of Joe Bataan and Ray Barretto), boogaloo and epic outings by Fania’s in-house super-group, the Fania All-Stars.

Everything (even anything) by any of the above is fabulous, even well known tracks like ‘Dakar, Puto Final’, ‘Subway Joe’, ‘Mercy Mercy Baby’ and the incredible ‘The Hustler’ sound as good and as fresh as ever (and so ‘now’ with this unseasonal hot weather in the UK at the moment).

And then there’s other legends like Bobby Valentin (‘Use It Before You Lose It’ and ‘Coco Seco’), Mongo Santamaria (worth getting for the Afro-Latin jazz dance classic ‘O Mi Shango’ alone), Ruben Blades and inevitably, the incomparable Celia Cruz all add to Latin fever.

As Fania Records were so little know in Europe at the time, it’s so good to get another ‘education’ with names that are not so familiar as the legends like Cheo Feliciano and Justo Betancourt. And if you’re a Monday night salsa lesson fan, here’s some hard action with Roberto Roena and Ismael Miranda. And then, what’s Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz’s ‘Sonido Bestial’ all about? Jazz come Broadway with a massive percussion break that’s like an early Latin disco without being disco. Nice!

The CD comes in a thick digipak with a 32-page booklet including a full Fania label history (by that man Dean Rutland again that’s a fitting tribute to the two founders, Johnny Pacheco and lawyer Jerry Masucci), memorabilia, album artwork and many previously unseen photos from the Fania archive; the 2LP set is in traditional gatefold sleeve format (that would have been one for Record Store Day).

After this onslaught of all things Latin, you still may not know your mambo from ya boogaloo, but you’ll know what it is to move your body to some of the greatest sounds ever created outta New York or anywhere else for that matter - this is the New York Sound.

Reviewed: V/A - Fania Records 1964-1980 - The Original Sound Of Latin New York (Strut Records) Cat. No. STRUT078CD/LP - 2xCD/2xLP/Digital - Release date: 21st March 2011
Tracklisting: CD 1
1. Johnny Pacheco - Dakar, Punto Final (3:43)
2. Orchestra Harlow - La Juventud (3:12)
3. Joe Bataan - Subway Joe (2:56)
4. Ray Barretto - Mercy Mercy Baby (2:47)
5. Bobby Valentin - Use It Before You Lose It (3:01)
6. Willie Colón - The Hustler (6:33)
7. Joe Bataan - Mambo De Bataan (4:47)
8. Roberto Roena - Consolacion (3:27)
9. Ismael Miranda con Orchestra Harlow - Abran Paso (3:31)
10. Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz - Sonido Bestial (6:48)
11. Willie Colón - Che Che Cole (3:30)
12. Cheo Feliciano - Anacaona (4:13)
13. The Fania All Stars - Quitate Tu (Live At The Cheetah) (9:57)
14. Justo Betancourt - Pa’ Bravo Yo (3:45)
15. Ismael Miranda - Asi Se Compone Un Son (5:34)
CD 2
1. Ray Barretto - Indestructible
2. Willie Colón - Calle Luna, Calle Sol
3. Roberto Roena - Que Se Sepa
4. Bobby Valentin - Coco Seco
5. Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco - Quimbara
6. Tommy Olivencia - Pa’Lante Otra Vez
7. Hector Lavoe - Mi Gente
8. Mongo Santamaria - O Mi Shango
9. Sonora Poncena - Bomba Carambomba
10. Ruben Blades & Willie Colon - Pablo Pueblo
11.Hector Lavoe - El Cantante
12. Ruben Blades & Willie Colon - Pedro Navaja
13. Celia Cruz - Sonaremos El Tambo
14. Fania All Stars & Celia Cruz - Cuando Despiertes

Links:
fania.comthesoundoflatinenwyork.comstrut-records.com
facebook.com/pages/Strut-Records/20359830443
www.larryharlow.com
www.giantstep.net FANIA White St. New York NY 10013
“I personally needed the heavy stuff and the dancers were crucial — not the ‘I do salsa on a Monday’ variety… the proper Latin descarga stuff was gold.”
Gilles Peterson www.gillespetersonworldwide.com
soundcloud.com/strut
twitter.com/StrutRecords
youtube.com/user/strutrecords
myspace.com/strutrecords
Jazz Chronicles with Simon S, Martin Gordon and Gerry Hectic every first Saturday of the month - next up: 7th May at 3:00pm @ Sixty Million Postcards, Bournemouth
www.myspace.com/60millionpostcards