Despite looking like the bad guys from a vintage Hawaii Five-O episode, Dakila were a band from the Filipino immigrant community residing in the Mission District of San Francisco (a generation later, another Filipino group would emerge from the SF Bay Area, and that would be the excellent thrash metal band Death Angel). But this was 1972, and given the Latino influenced culture of the area, Dakila put no less a luminary than Santana on a pedestal and made a similar go for their fortune. The music contains copious amounts of passionate sustain guitar, chunky Hammond organ, fuzz bass, active Latin percussion, and soulful vocals. The latter sung in Tagalog, Spanish, and English. Dakila definitely have that Lowrider Soul culture in their veins as well, and Carlos' brother's band Malo is also very much in play here. Personally, I cannot possibly hear enough bands in this style, and many are favorites, especially Chango. Other reference points would be Macondo, Pantha, The Antiques, Naked Lunch, Azteca, and Broth. Absolutely killer stuff.
Ownership: LP: 1972 Epic. Single sleeve. Purchased this at Half Price Books in Dallas long ago (1992). It was a spec buy, but it certainly had the right look! Discogs only has this one photo. I should upload my copy.
CD: 2022 Guerssen (Spain). Fresh off the press. Comes with full liner notes (an interview from It's Psychedelic Baby). Apparently the tapes were sped up for the LP. I didn't do a side by side but I did notice a slight difference in sound. These days it's nigh impossible for me to buy a CD if I already have the LP, but I had to make an exception here. Music like this was made for driving!
1992; 9/4/14 (new entry); 1/16/23
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