One of the hippest reissues to come from the newly-invigorated Fania Records -- a brilliant exploration of the sound of Latin Soul that broke hard in the New York scene at the end of the 60s! The package is equally heavy on the "soul" as it is on the "Latin" -- so alongside the expected boogaloo and shing-a-ling styles, you'll also find a fair number of tracks that have a much more soul-based style -- a sound that echoes the modes going down in African-American culture at the time, but which comes off slightly different here -- thanks to some unusual rhythms, instrumentation, and production techniques! The track list goes way past the obvious and overly-familiar -- thanks to great compilation efforts by Adrian Gibson, Dean Rudland, and Lubi Jovanovich, who also wrote the notes. Titles include "Do You Feel It" by Joe Cuba, "Big T" by Tito Ramos, "Johnny's No Good" by Joe Bataan, "Brother Where Are You" by Ralfi Pagan, "Black Brothers" by Tito Puente, "Either You Have It Or You Don't" by Charlie Palmieri, "New York Soul" by Ray Barretto, "Si Dame Tu Amor" by Cafe, "Boogaloo Lebron" by Lebron Brothers, "Que Se Sepa" by Roberto Roena, "Red Garter Strut" by Fania All Stars, "Puerto Rican Soul" by Pete Bonet, and "Measure For Measure" by Alexander Review.

El Barrio -- Gangsters, Latin Soul, & The Birth Of Salsa 1967 to 1975

 TITLES:

1. Tu Lo Sientes? - Joe Cuba Sextet
2. Johnny's No Good - Joe Bataan
3. Big "T" - Tito Ramos
4. Brother Where Are You - Ralfi Pagan
5. Black Brothers - Tito Puente
6. Either You Have It Or You Don't - Charlie Palmieri
7. Main Man, The - Ralph Robles
8. New York Soul - Ray Barretto
9. Boogaloo Lebron - The Lebron Brothers
10. Lady Marmalade - Mongo Santamaria
11. Si Dame Tu Amor - Cafe
12. Calle Luna Calle Sol - Willie Colon
13. Que Se Sepa - Roberto Roena
14. Puerto Rican Soul - Pete Bonet
15. Red Garter Strut - Fania All-Stars
16. Measure For Measure - Mark Alexander