Customer Reviews

Tipica 73 Orchestra

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 2nd 1974 Tipica 73 Album, originally released on Inca Records (a division of Fania Records from 1971, I believe) is an album that I DO RECOMMEND because it has LOTS of standout tracks and a generally nice Cuban Conjunto style of music throughout the whole album (except for the awful and pointless tune in English Where Is The Love, and the Bolero Olvída El Pasádo).
What I mean by Cuban Conjunto music is (the evolution of Cuban music).
Basically, the addition of more than 1 trumpet (2 in this case), a Piano, and a Conga-Drum which was forbidden in the Cuba of the 1920's and 30's for racial reasons, I believe...
Arsenio Rodriguez was one of the main pioneers in this evolution (in the early-mid 40's), and in the case of this Tipica 73 "Cuban-oriented" recording, there's the addition of the great Leopoldo Pineda's Trombone (N.Y Salsa influence) which does really nice to this recording, blending well and giving more conjunctions to the arrangements...

Marcelino Guerra's Así No Se Quiere A Nadie is a VERY GOOD song that gradually gets better and better as it goes on with a higher intensity and some very nice Trumpet solos and arrangements, and very good vocals by Adalberto Santiago...
(A bit of a shame that it finishes a bit promptly.)

The version of A Mi Qué is also VERY nice with a consistent quality throughout the whole song with GREAT ARRANGEMENTS, GREAT solos, and a FANTASTIC TIGHT swing ALL the way through! A SUPERB Cuban style of Salsa tune!...

Amalia Batísta (which is one of the classic hits from this album) starts very nicely, but then is mucked around for WAY TOO LONG, rather than them having stretched their imagination a bit on the day of the recording... [Take a look at the video (with the FULL original band members) available at youtube, and you'll see what I mean...]
To watch, it's very fun and to some extent funny, but to listen to on record, it's just a bit too long...

Rumba Y Guaguancó is a VERY nice and well made interpretation of the Cuban style of Son from the 20's and 30's which was mostly slow, and then carries on with it's main chorus, a TYPICAL-Nelson González-style of Tres-Guitar solo which is REALLY excellent, a lovely and new chorus 'Elé-Elá' and by the time the song gets back to it's original chorus, there's only one trumpet solo and then the song finishes a bit promptly!...
I felt that we could've had AT THE LEAST 1 more minute of music with the trumpet solo carrying on and then Adalberto Santiago (this album's lead singer) wrapping up the tune with his vocals. (Despite this, the song is still 5:25 mins, but should've been longer...)

Carahuíco is a faster paced style of song which has lots of nice swing, is highly danceable with very good arrangements, and highly enjoyable (DO NOT miss it out!!!)

Then there's a decent enough Cha-Cha-Chá Si Te Tuviera which is the only song I don't mind not going for longer.

Then, what comes after is ONE OF THE HUGE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS ALBUM!
A HUGE SMOKING DESCARGA (JAM-SESSION) Watergate from Cuban Pianist/Director of Tipica 73 Sonny Bravo with Nelson González doing an electric (wa-wa) style of tres-guitar solo, EXCITING Trombone and Trumpet arrangements and solos throughout the whole song, and a very fine Timbale solo by Cuban Oréstes Vilató!
I don't need to say more!... Just here it for yourselves, please!...


I'm just trying to inform you all (from my perspective obviously) in the best possible way I can by the way...
Despite few of the things that I did say about this recording and that I still maintain, this album IS WORTH IT, and MUST be added to your collection as you still get 31.36 mins of GREAT music (excluding the Bolero and the tune in English).

It's also a nice option if you've heard some album that really rocks EVEN HARDER and you slightly want to cool things down a bit with this album which is more approachable for a wider audience, although it also has a couple of `HARD-CORED' songs like the VERY NICE Carahuíco...

This is a PERFECT example of a VERY nicely balanced album with varied style of Cuban style of tunes that are not all just slow...




Remastered by: Bob Katz-Digital Domain. Very good and clear sound with a VERY decent volume! An EXCELLENT 8/10! Not a problem, original recording well respected and original vinyl sound must've been very good as well!

When most of Ray Barretto's group left to form Tipica 73, the result was a positive one for 2 reasons. One, you have this album which features the superb Adalberto Santiago on vocals. "A Mi Que" is a great sound with a fantastic trombone by Leopoldo Pineda solo towards the end. "Rumba y Guaguanco" is a really good Cuban sound song, one of the album's highlights in my opinion. "Amalia Batista" and "Asi No se Quiere a Nadie" are a great display of Tipica 73 ability to make great music especially the latter, which is full of energy and swing. The album's downside for me has to "Olvida el Pasado" and "Where is the Love?" and R&B -ish song sung in English. My second reason for this album being a blessing is "Indestructible" (one of the top 3 salsa songs of all time) which would of never existed if it were not for Adalberto and several others splitting on Barretto. Overall this album is great and definitely a great addition to anyone's collection.

Also an album my aunt and uncle possessed, this was one of many that showed and bonded my love of Salsa Music. The album rips off with Adalberto Santiago's vocals on "Asi No Se Quiere A Nadie". My other favorites on this jam include "A Mi Que" (recorded by Johnny Pacheco at the height of his career), Sonny Bravo's interpretation of Flack and Hathaway's "Where Is The Love?" and the hard-hitting "Amalia Batista", to the last where I play my bass to, "Watergate" (What this means, I have no clue to). The group would later return in the 80's, changing their name to "Los Kimbos". This would be what you would call a Saturday Morning to Night Jam Album, like what my people would play their instruments to, at home or in the barrio. Check out the faves, draw your own conclusions. Also recommended: Dos Lados, Charangueando and Los Kimbos (Cotique/Fania).

Who would have imagined it? When the musicians who formed Tipica 73 left Ray Barretto's band circa 1972, many thought that they were just a bunch of musical outcasts with no future whatsoever. Thankfully, that was not the case and Tipica 73 went on to become one of the most respected salsa bands ever. This was their first album and features the one and only Adalberto Santiago on lead vocals. Buy this CD now if you don't yet have it.