Customer Reviews

A Man And His Music

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This release includes songs mostly from the 60's and it has a nice balance of boleros and up-tempo tunes. Great liner notes in English and Spanish and many high quality pictures from the original albums. These two CD's would make a great introduction to Tito Rodríguez's music. I'd also recommend this Código Music release to hardcore fans as I find the quality of the re-mastering superb. The songs sound balanced and they are loud for today's standards while maintaining a good level of dynamics. I wish that the previous Emusica Fania re-releases sounded as good as this one.

I only wish that they had included a discography and an easier way to figure out from which album the songs where taken.

I hope that future Fania releases sound as good as this one.

Tito Rodríguez: A Man and His Music El Inolvidable includes some of the legendary

singer/bandleader's greatest numbers, including his career-defining hit "Mama Güela," as well as

"Blen, Blen, Blen," "Cara de Payaso," and many others.

With the best musicians in New York City (including on some tracks the legendary bassist Cachao and

pianist / arranger René Hernández), the sheer quality of this timeless music will remind longtime fans

of his astonishing work and will also attract a new generation of listeners. This compilation, selected by

the well-known New York discographer Harry Sepúlveda, focuses on years when Rodríguez's dance

band starred at the legendary Palladium (where many of the tracks were recorded), as well as the high

points of his mega-successful international career as a chart-topping singer of romantic songs.

Born in Puerto Rico, Tito Rodríguez came to New York as a teenager in the 1930's. After stints singing

with a number of top groups he formed the Tito Rodriguez Orchestra, the most danceable band in the

dance-fever era. It was built around the voice of its leader, a versatile interpreter of every style of music

who went out singing. In 1973, suffering from cancer at the age of fifty, he was rushed to the hospital

after leaving the stage from a headline appearance at Madison Square Garden and died days later.

Although he passed away, his legacy continues to burn bright through his recorded music as

showcased on this new release.

These tracks have been digitally remastered from the original master tapes. The deluxe set includes a

32-page booklet with extensive liner notes in English and Spanish, never-seen photos, and the album

covers of Rodríguez's great recordings. The set joins The Man and His Music series that has featured

such artists as Celia Cruz, Hector Lavoe, Willie Colón and Rubén Blades, all on the Fania label,

whose catalog Código Music recently acquired. Tito Rodríguez: The Man and His Music is the first

release in this series from Código Music.