A couple of years ago I wrote: This is another one of those fantastic Latin rock albums from the early 70s. Sapo has Malo written all over them, and if you like Malo, you're highly likely to enjoy this. The primary difference is that Sapo is not as guitar centered as the Santana influenced bands can be. Oscar Estrella (ironically not the star) is a very competent guitarist, but he gets scant chance to show off. In his place is some dynamite horn charts, some thumpin' rhythms, and Kincaid Miller's excellent electric piano and Clavinet work. All the tracks have great melodies and they usually segue into each other for one super listening session.
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And my opinion remains the same after last night's listen. Chango, Dakila, Macondo, El Chicano, and the rest of them could be tossed into this stack. It's a winning formula where the percussion and bass drive each track forward, followed by the main course of organ, guitar, horns, etc... And just as the music shuts down to close off the track, the engine starts again for another drive. I, for one, would like to see a Latin Rock renaissance.
Ownership: LP: 1974 Bell. Single sleeve. Recent acquisition from my friends at Tiger Records (2023). This replaces the scratched G+ copy I found at a thrift store that made up the original notes above. Unfortunately, the vinyl seems to be flawed as it skips in a couple of places and pops in a few more. It's not scratched nor does it have embedded dust specks or things like that. You can't feel it. Hmmm. Not sure what to do now. For sure the cover is better though.
10/18/10 (first listen); 8/19/21 (review); 6/11/23 (update/new entry)
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