Venezuela is such a historical powerhouse of salsa and latin music and by many considered the cradle (”La Cuna”) of Salsa itself. Los Melodicos from Venezuela is considered an institution of Venezuelan music, especially tropical rythms like cumbia, guarachas, porro, gaitas and the like. They have recorded more than 100 albums through the 50s until today and most of these are not that exciting for salseros, but they are a popular group in South America.
However, this album really is a must have. “En Todos Los Ritmos” has everything, but it is especially two tracks that I consider essential:
- Pow Wow. This is a cover version of Pow Wow from Manny Corchado from his solo album “Aprovecha El Tiempo” on the Decca label, a cult track in itself among boogaloo and latin soul collectors. This version by Los Melodicos has more appeal for salseros and works great for dancing a son montuno/cha-cha/boogaloo mix. Listen for the piano that comes in towards the end. Love it! Great fun track that always brings about a smile on people’s faces.
- Salsa Rumbero is a heavy guaguanco with a typical 60s sound, but great vocals, awesome swing, great breaks and a surprising entry of wicked trombone madness at the end. One could easily think Jimmy Bosch(!) was making his entry here, but this is a 60s recording from Venezuela…! This is one of the tracks I played at this year’s Scandinavian Salsa Congress and it went down really well with the crowd.
Que viva Venezuela y sus musicos,
- Guachi
April 5th, 2010
Ecuador’s contribution to the international salsa scene is seldom described, and while not being as fertile as the great musical jungles of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru etc, there are some brilliant examples of musicians and groups from Ecuador that could hold their own against just about anyone. Groups such as Pepe y Su Banda and Willie Bastidas for example.
But now I’d like to give some attention to one of my favorites from Ecuador, namely Ruben Lema and his Sonora from Guayaquil! He has many releases to his name but if I’m not mistaken this is the first album that bears his name. The album is called “Y Ahora…La Salsa Es Con Ruben Lema y Su Sonora”.
The album I have is pressed on Discolando in Venezuela. It is a great thick pressing with excellent sound, but the original Ecuadorian pressing is on Estelar/Industria Fonografica Ecuatoriana S.A. Unfortunately the cover of the Discolando pressing does not have musician credits, but instead has many pretty pictures of other albums on Discolando… it is one of my pet peeves, as I’d love to get to know the musicians of this album!
However, I do know that Ruben Lema who I believe is the trumpeter and his brother Vicente take part. The congas are handled by Francisco “Gallito” Barberan and singers Alejandro Vergara and Johnny Williams. Please chime in if you have a full listing of musicians for this great album.
These are the five cuts I love from this album:
- Anacaona The song Anacaona is one of those sacred songs that I usually don’t think anyone should attempt to re-make. Cheo Feliciano totally owns that song! But there is just something about Ruben Lema’s version that makes me return again and again to it. One thing is that it is a much less played version (I don’t know any djs that play this version) so it sounds fresh, but what really makes this version stand on it’s own two feet and shine as much as the original is the voice and amazing flavor of the singer. I believe this is Alejandro Vergara, but I’m not 100% sure. Nevertheless, he has something to his singing that simply trancends just having a good voice. He really takes me somewhere special the way he sings and makes this song even more important to me now than the original. He really sings it as if it is the last and most important thing in the world!
Also, I was totally blown away by the piano player, “amigo de las blancas y negras…” no racial predjudice here…! His solo similarly takes me to a very special place and is full of that elusive sabor which is exactly what I am looking for in latin music. The simplistic approach to the instrumentation also helps to highlight both the singer and piano solo and make this a truly special version of Anacaona.
- Oyeme Cantar This is another showcase for the singer. He really makes this quite simple song also a special song and a song that I would play. His voice fills the room! The arrangement is quite straight forward, but it’s a great song to dance to.
- Merecumbe This is another of those “untouchable” songs that no self-righteous artist should attempt to redo. Johnny Colon’s version is simply perfect, but what this version has is a completely different vibe and a playfulness that I just love, and it also has a wicked breakdown into a fiery timbale solo. Another great version of Merecumbe that I think is definitely a worthy version is the one by Ivan Caceres on the album Bongolandia.
- Pa’ Bravo Yo is similarly impossible to improve on from Justo Betancourt. It stands as one of the really great anthems of salsa. I still love this version by Ruben Lema because of what the great singer adds to it. A very worthwhile version, though not as unique as the other cover songs on this album.
- Loli is the second original composition on this album. And what a sweet song it is. Once again it is the singer that adds most of the flavor, as well as the piano player. A very unique song that sounds different from almost all other salsa tunes and brings another vibe to the salsa night. Love it! The only shame is that it is so short…
Oh, and not to forget the cover! I can see that they tried to dress up in a consistent fashion, but still everyone looks completely different on the picture… love that individuality! Check out the little guy in the front, is that Ruben Lema himself?
- Guachi
January 18th, 2009