Customer Reviews

La Perfecta II

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I read the article titled, "Latin Music Patriarch Stays Hungry" in the New York Times on April 30, 2002, by renowned music critic, Ben Ratliff, I was intrigued. When I heard the CD, I understood. Perfecta II speaks volumes for a genre that currently has difficulty completing a sentence. As I listen to the CD, I can only imagine the dancers at the Palladium trying to compete with the powerful and pulsating rhythms, of "Tirandote Flores" or "Cuidate Compay", which Mr. Palmieri and his original orchestra brought to life 40 years ago. This CD is a historiography of sorts, where only a genius like Mr. Palmieri deftly combines a variety of sounds spanning 40 years of his artistry.- from classic salsa to exploratory Latin jazz, such as "Chekere Agent Man". It is refreshing to see Mr. Palmieri persevere in his artform, and maintain his artistic integrity, while the genre he helped create is creatively destitute and commercial in the most tragic sense. Legendary scholar at Yale University, Dr. Robert Farris Thompson, even wrote in his dedication to Eddie for lifetime achievement, "You remind me of Aeneas, who lost Troy but found Rome. You closed the Palladium in 1966. And though we lost the Palladium, you found salsa....you teach us how to triumph over time." Thank you Eddie for showing us that salsa lives on, and that it lives on because of you. Vaya "Molestoso"!

I have many of the first wax pressings found on Perfecta II, a much awaited call and lesson in Eddie Palmieri's instructive and indelible musical lexicon. To hear these salsa classics freshly minted and improved with new voices and arrangements as well as much improved recording technology helps to validate Maestro Palmieri's lasting place and importance in our musical collective. You'll definitely kick back and reminisce or jump and grab the first dancing partner you can and go all out. Gracias Molestoso!

This disc starts off with several good, old-fashioned salsa sizzlers, and gradually works its way into jazzier terrain. Even on the Latin Jazz tracks, Palmieri keeps a certain muscular aggressiveness to his work, super-swinging and melodically rich -- all in all, pretty nice stuff!

The sound quality is crisp and the arrangements just jump out of the speakers and grab you. I have some of the original recordings of these tunes with the first edition of La Perfecta and they are among my favorites. This group that Eddie assembled stands firm in that comany and has produced a very strong recording that gives the tunes a fresh sounding quality and yet stays true to the original feel. Very fine recording.

Eddie Palmieri's Conjunto La Perfecta was a legendary band that recorded some truly amazing and wonderful albums during the 1960s and early '70s (most of which are available currently on CD). This CD features a "Modern" version of La Perfecta and is chock-full of the hot and fiery salsa that made Palmieri a salsa legend. All the songs on this one are winners.

I saw Eddie Palmieri in concert in New Haven monday night, where he announced that this album was coming out the next day. I ran to the stroe and picked it up immediately.

I am listening to it right now as I write this, I love it. I already know tha tI am going to play this A LOT.

WHEN YOU SELECT SONG SAMPLES TO HEAR, YOU DONT GET THE CORRECT ARTISTS SONGS. YOU GET SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I ALWAYS CHECK OUT THE SONGS BEFORE I BUY. THIS HAS BEEN LIKE THIS FOR SOME TIME. IM SURPRISED SOME ONE HAS NOT LOOKED INTO THIS BEFORE.