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This summer I marked the 60th Anniversary of Fania Records’ founding with a salsa tribute session in Episode 35. Episode 44 is Part 2 of the tribute.
It was fun building that playlist but there were many outtakes due to the limitations of a two-hour show. A lot of material deserves to be covered when attempting to present Fania as the protagonist of an exciting new musical period that lasted several decades, so the omission of several songs set the stage for Part 2 in the next episode of Encanto Tropical.
Ready for cueing are about 25 more songs form the Fania universe, and this includes tracks from the Alegre, Inca, Cotique, and Tico catalogs since Fania acquired these labels as it grew in size and power during its heyday. Fania was also the parent company of sub-labels such as Vaya and International. (Fania itself is currently owned by Concord Music.)
Three Examples
Three songs stand out as necessary inclusions because they were not in the Part 1 tribute. Following are some brief descriptions for context.
'Pancho Cristal'
Los Durísimos, Ricardo Ray & Bobby Cruz
Alegre Records, 1968
The virtuoso pianist Ricardo Ray and singer Bobby Cruz are among the most iconic duos in the world of salsa. They produced a string of albums with anthems that, while not always dancer-friendly, resonated with hard-core fans. Their mark in the annals of the ‘salsa’ explosion of the mid 1960s to mid 1970s include a unique sound of masterful compositions, arrangements, and piano — with alluring lyrics.
The 1968 album Los Durísimos, although not particularly rare or collectible, released first on the Alegre label and then on Tico, is a personal favourite. Both labels were appropriated by what became the “Motown” of the emerging ‘salsa’ industry, Fania Records; thus, the album is part of the Fania universe and qualifies for consideration in any tribute marking its jubilee.
On the album there is a particularly special track named after an esteemed Cuban producer of Latin music in the pre-salsa era whose role in historical recordings cannot be underestimated. 'Pancho Cristal' is a fiery tune and among my favourites to play when harking back to proto-salsa dura.
'Alacrán (Tumbando de Caña)'
Soy Boricua, Bobby Valentin
Fania Records, 1972
Ranked 25th in a recent list of the 50 greatest salsa albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, Bobby Valentin’s ‘Soy Boricua’ (1972) certainly deserves recognition — although by nature all such ‘greatest’ lists are subjective. Regardless, it’s a personal favourite and listening to it recently was a pleasant stroll down memory lane.
Valentin, a composer, bassist, recorded the album when he returned to Puerto Rico after enjoying early success in New York first as a sideman then as a band director. It was a landmark album for the Fania Records label but soon after he would produce future albums on the Bronco label after a period of imprisonment.
Known as El Rey del Bajo, or the King of the Bass, Bobby Valentin is still with us, and his mark on Fania Records and salsa at large is without question.
A seminal album, a number of hit songs grace Soy Boricua; a fine one is 'Alacrán (Tumbando de Caña)', with a great introduction then a fantastic buildup which includes explosive instrumentation and vocals.
'Ametralladora'
Yo Soy Latino, Larry Harlow
Fania Records, 1983
There were few core members of the New York Latin music community in the 1970s who were not of hispanic/latino heritage. One of them was pianist Larry Harlow, known as El Judio Maravilloso (“The Marvelous Jew”), but he had iconic status and was untouchable having proven his chops as a master interpreter of Afro-Cuban genres, as he had studied in Cuba in the 1950s, and his orchestra was the second to sign with the Fania label.
Harlow was a pivotal component in Fania’s rise over the years and certainly played a major role at live concerts by the Fania All-Stars. When Fania’s reach and influence started to wane in the 1980s, Larry Harlow was still showing his musical prowess.
The 1983 release Yo Soy Latino is of special note. Included is the track 'Ametralladora' (Spanish for machine gun). The lyrics evoke a tough and adamant attitude, touching on themes of aggression and love. These mingle into confident machoism, calling to a pistol-armed man who covets a certain woman that the singer has a better weapon — a machine gun — and will certainly win her over instead. The lyrics juxtapose with a powerful piece of music with intense instrumentation, including fine percussion and electric guitar.
The programming of these three songs among a total of two dozen or so will be my focus as we travel fifty-plus years back in time to when New York City neighborhoods, or barrios, were buzzing with pan-Caribbean innovations of Cuban-derived music, interpreted and arranged anew by a mixture of mostly Puerto Rican musicians — but also involved were Cubans who had left their country, as well as other nationalities, such as Dominicans. Together their raw sound steeped in barrio life was different in tone and context from the extravagance and high-life of the previous decade, and would eventually be promoted under the loosely defined commercial buzz word 'salsa'. Fania and its associates were key in the term’s acclimatization.
In simple terms, Fania helped put 'salsa' on the musical map, as I have mentioned before, and although Fania’s success was marred by controversy, it deserves recognition.
While Episode 44 aims to spotlight some of Fania’s greatest anthems, lesser-known works will also be included. Naturally, the entire selection process is subjective in nature — the featured songs are just part of my personal view on how to mark this 60th anniversary and to be taken with a pinch of salt. I hope listeners can enjoy it.
