Customer Reviews

Live at the Cheetah 1

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The Cheetah nightclub was one of NYC's most popular salsa nightclubs and many of today's salsa legends regularly performed there. This is "Live Salsa" at its hottest and best. Cheo Feliciano's version of "Anacaona" is truly mind-blowing and Adalberto Santiago's "Descarga Fania" is superb. On "Quitate Tu", the singers all try to outdo each other and the very fact that said tracks has so many great soneros together is enough to buy this CD.

This is a truly tour de force by the best musical ensemble ever in any music category: The Fania All Stars, and in an emblematic place: The Cheetah in NYC, where Salsa was born. A must have. Check for Quitate tu and also check Vol. 2

This newly remastered reissue offers both better sound quality than the previously available CD and extensive liner notes. Of course, it goes without saying that this album is extremely important and a must for your CD library. By itself, the Adalberto Santiago-fronted "Descarga Fania" merits buying this CD but Cheo Feliciano's immortal "Anacaona" and the all-out son montuno jam "Quitate Tu" are also timeless classics. One of the albums that defined "Salsa".

This is the best ever concert of the Fania All Stars. This concert includes the best combination of the salsa musicians in all instruments, from percussion, to piano, to brass, to "soneros", ever put together in the history of salsa music. This is a must have for any salsa music collector. The only thing I found was that the passing of the original masters to CD was not what I was expecting.

This historic session recorded at New York's Cheetah club in 1971 is one of the cornerstone albums of the New York salsa sound. Both volumes capture the fiery playing and dedicated performances by these latin greats.

This reissue has good sound and informative liner notes.

BTW: Remember folks, this is a live recording. Even though it was originally polished in the studio, it contains some imperfections, but who cares? Just enjoy the music!

This and volume 2 are derived from the sound track for the movie "Our Latin Thing." (Still waiting for a DVD using the original master of this landmark movie.)

The first track, with the memorable voice of Symphony Sid introducing the musicians over an infectious repetitive montuno by the orchestra, builds anticipation.

This anticipation couldn't be better resolved than by the great descarga that follows: arguably, one of the most exciting pieces in the history of Salsa. The trombones and trumpets set up a repeated, frenetic, call and response that builds over the cheering of the crowd, igniting the trading of statements by Vilato on timbales and Barreto on congas. Vilato makes the final statement, one extended into a solo that, to me, marks the emergence of Vilato's unique style as one of the greatest all-time timbaleros.

Anacaona features the inimitable Cheo Feliciano while Quitate Tu showcases a sequence of turns by some of the greatest singers in the history of Salsa.