Latin-Soul-Rock (Remastered 2024) Fania All Stars

• 1Viva Tirado (Live At Yankee Stadium / 1973 / Remastered 2024)05:17
• 2Chanchullo (Live At Yankee Stadium / 1973 / Remastered 2024)05:34
• 3Smoke (Live At Yankee Stadium / 1973 / Remastered 2024)04:04
• 4There You Go (Live At Yankee Stadium / 1973 / Remastered 2024)03:06
• 5Mama Guela (Live At Yankee Stadium / 1973 / Remastered 2024)02:58
• 6El Ratón (Live At Yankee Stadium / 1973 / Remastered 2024)07:51
• 7Soul Makossa (Live At The Robert Clemente Coliseum / 1973 / Remastered 2024)05:44
• 8Congo Bongo (Live At Yankee Stadium / 1973 / Remastered 2024)10:15
• Total Runtime44:49

Info for Latin-Soul-Rock (Remastered 2024)

Celebrating the 50th anniversary: A record that was a bit of a "save" after the Fania All Stars had a disastrous concert at Yankee Stadium – and one that actually turned out to be one of their funkiest albums of the 70s! The set features half live material, and half studio tracks – the latter recorded after the concert failed to yield a record – and for the session, the group brought in some unusual guest stars to really up their game – Manu Dibango on saxophone, Jorge Santana on guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards, and Billy Cobham on drums – all working nicely with the legendary lineup of Fania singers and musicians! Titles include great versions of "Soul Makossa" and "Viva Tirado", plus a very nice track called "Smoke". Other titles include the classic "El Raton", plus "Congo Bongo", "Chanchullo", "There You Go", and "Mama Guela".

If you're a fan of infectious rhythms, soulful vocals, and exhilarating live performances, look no further than the unforgettable sounds of the Fania All Stars.

"Live at the Cheetah, Vol. 1 (1971) and Vol. 2 (1973) elevated the popularity of the Fania All-Stars significantly, as did the film Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa) (1972), which included live footage from the Cheetah gig. So in 1973 label head Jerry Masucci brazenly went ahead and booked Yankee Stadium at the cost of $180,000 for a one-night concert. It was a gamble that paid off in spades when the concert, featuring Típica '73, El Gran Combo, and Mongo Santamaría, in addition to the Fania All-Stars, drew a crowd of roughly 45,000. Problem was, the crowd rushed the field mid-show -- a condition that was not allowed under contract, for the fans had to stay in the stands and the performers had to stay on a platform stage because of the delicate nature of the baseball field -- and unfortunately that was the end of the show, as the police intervened and the lights were turned on. Hoping to compound the success of Live at the Cheetah, Masucci had recorded the August 24, 1973, Yankee Stadium show for future release. Portions of it showed up in the film Salsa (1976) and on the two-volume album Live at Yankee Stadium (1976), which was filled out with concurrent material from a concert at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, Latin-Soul-Rock, issued in 1974, was the first release to feature material from that historical night at Yankee Stadium: "El Ratón," sung by Cheo Feliciano and featuring a standout guitar solo by Jorge "Malo" Santana, and "Congo Bongo," featuring a congo duel between Ray Barretto and Santamaría. These two songs comprise the album's original B-side, along with a live recording of "Soul Makossa" from the date at Roberto Clemente Coliseum featuring saxophonist Manu Dibango (only readers of the liner notes will note the difference of time and place, since the material sounds remarkably similar). The original A-side of Latin-Soul-Rock is comprised of five excellent studio cuts that had been intended to be performed at Yankee Stadium, if not for the premature conclusion of the show: "Viva Tirado," "Chanchullo," "Smoke," "There You Go," and "Mama Güela." These songs, which feature Dibango and Santana as guests, along with Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer, are more fitting of the album title, Latin-Soul-Rock, as they're an impressive showcase of the band's ability to fuse rock, soul, and jazz with the style of New York salsa that was the stock-in-trade of Fania." (Jason Birchmeier, AMG)

Bobby Cruz, vocals
Cheo Feliciano, vocals
Hector Lavoe, vocals
Ismael Miranda, vocals
Ismael Quintana, vocals
Justo Betancourt, vocals
Pete "Conde" Rodriguez, vocals
Santos Colon, vocals
Jorge "Malo" Santana, guitar
Jan Hammer, Hammond organ
Larry Harlow, piano
Manu Dibango, saxophone
Nicky Marrero, timbales
Yomo Toro, Tres
Barry Rogers, trombone
Lewis Kahn, trombone
Willie Colon, trombone
Lou Soloff, trumpet
Luis Ortiz, trumpet
Ray Maldonado, trumpet
Victor Paz, trumpet
Bobby Valentin, bass
Billy Cobham, drums
Roberto Roena, bongos
Mongo Santamaria, congas
Ray Barretto, congas

Recorded live at Yankee Stadium, New York by Location Recorders and at Good Vibrations Sound Studios, New York City."Soul Makossa" recorded live at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Mixed at Good Vibrations Sound Studios.

Digitally remastered

Fania All Stars
Right from start, Fania Records and its subsidiaries exceeded everybody’s expectations. The label was created in 1964. It penetrated the market so successfully and became so popular at the international level that its executives decided to broaden its talent in order to reach an even wider audience. The result? The wildly successful Fania All Stars, a group that brought together several of the label’s most popular artists. This move would further solidify the label’s standing in the international music scene.

The Fania All Stars’ first concert, “Live at the Red Garter,” was a promotional experiment designed solely to test the waters. The all-star cast included Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ricardo Ray, and Bobby Cruz, and resulted in a live double album. The experiment couldn’t have been more successful. In 1971, the band revolutionized salsa as a genre with “Fania All Stars at the Cheetah,” a concert that was filmed and recorded live. In 1973, following a successful tour, the band made its first appearance at Yankee Stadium in New York. The stars performed before countless fans that had caught the fever and were swooning in the presence of consecrated performers of the genre such as Willie Colón, Johnny Pacheco, Bobby Valentín, Ray Barreto, and Mongo Santamaría.This concert, too, was filmed and recorded live, and set the standard in the music industry.

The All Stars were on fertile soil, and they wasted no time in reaping the benefits. In 1974, they appeared live at the Statu Hai stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, which was the scene of the movie “Fania All Stars Live in Africa.” In 1975, the band returned to Yankee Stadium, this time with such famous names as Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Justo Betancourt, Ismael Quintana, Cheo Feliciano, Ismael Mirando, Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez, Bobby Cruz, and Santos Colón. One after the other, the band continued performing in concerts that were just as successful and multitudinous: “Salsa,” “Live,” “Best Of,” “Live in Japan” (1976), and “Tribute to Tito Rodríguez,” which marked Rubén Blades’ first performance with the All Stars.

To properly celebrate the Fania All Stars’ 20th birthday and Fania Records’ 30th, the label has re-released two concerts: “Live in Africa” and “Live in Japan,” which propelled a successful tour across five continents and showed the identity of a created family that has spread its social, musical, and cultural message throughout the world.

This album contains no booklet.