Customer Reviews

East L.A.: Rockin' The Barrio

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Throughout the 1960s there were regional scenes throughout the USA that occasionally lobbed indie recordings onto the charts. But more importantly, the artists in these locales combined national influences with unique local twists to create original sounds. One of the more identifiable such pockets of artistry was barrio of mid-60s East Los Angeles. The national hits included Cannibal & The Headhunters reworking of Chris Kenner's "Land of 1000 Dances" (later reworked to even greater chart success by Wilson Pickett) and the garage-rock classic "Farmer John" by the Premiers, but the non-charting local radio spins and club favorites were just as good.

This music explosion wasn't the first time that California Hispanics rocked the charts, as Ritchie Valens had scored big in the late '50s, and Chris Montez struck with "Let's Dance." But the mid-60s version had a new style, a second-generation combination of '50s doo-wop and '60s soul that would have a lasting impact on bands like Santana, War and others. Varese's generous selection of eighteen tracks (all from the legendary Rampart label) includes doo-wop ("Remember the Night" "This is the Night" "Darling (Please Bring Your Love)"), foot-stomping dance tunes ("Rainbow Stomp" "Don't Let Her Go" "La La La La La"), soul ("Strange World" "Follow the Music" "Hector (Pt. 1)"), garage ("Farmer John," in a stereo mix that takes you right on the frat party dance floor), instrumentals ("Where Lovers Go" "Poquito Soul"), and British Invasion influenced rock ("Take My Heart").

The swinging beats, powerful vocals, and call-and-response lyrics underline these songs construction for the East Side's many clubs. Today, they rekindle the sort of excitement that Los Angelinos must have felt when heading out for a Saturday night of dancing. Varese's rounded up stereo masters for tracks 13 and 16-18, but the mono sides pack the requisite AM radio punch. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]

East L.A. highlights some of the best and most exciting music ever released from the very successful Motown-influenced East L.A.-based Rampart Records - dedicated almost exclusively to the development of Mexican-American talent from Southern California and East Los Angeles. Highlights include the hits "Land Of 1000 Dances" by Cannibal And The Headhunters, "Farmer John" by The Premiers, "La La La La La" by The Blendells, and "Hector" by The Village Callers.

Great stuff, but I believe this is a single-disc compilation of the 4-CD West Coast East Side Sound series that came out in 1999. If you're a real fanatic about this stuff - like me - you're gonna want all four CDs. Too much great stuff is left off this one disc. They're out of print but they're all still listed here on Amazon.

Having grown-up in ELA listening to all of these records brought back memories of a happy youth with my foster family there, attending a great High School called Salesian and sharing on a different culture with lots of pride. The songs, only people from that area and days could really appreciate them.

a fantastic selection of songs from East L.A. spanning the years 1961-1969...pop, garage, brown-eyed soul and a handful of great instrumental tracks...only complaint is where's Thee Midnighters and Chris Montez? (perhaps it had something to do with licensing)...regardless, a solid collection of an underated and unjustly overlooked music scene....