Raer Ritmos Pa’ Agozar!

Tempo 70 : El Galleton
taken from the album “El Primer LP” on Mericana (197?)

Ricardo Marrero & The Group : A Taste Of Latin
taken from the album “Time” on Vaya (1977)

Initially, when I moved into my new apartment about 3 months ago, I was forced to question whether or not my record collection had gone too far. The sheer weight, the exorbitant squandering of space, the endless hours of obsession. Living in New York, I pay for privacy by the square foot. Is it okay that I have an entire room dedicated basically to my records?

But then I got comfortable. I compared my predicament with that of other DJ’s and decided it wasn’t all that bad. After all, it is my profession. And a little bit of obsessing is humbling. So instead of digitizing everything and saying to hell with the smell of mold, I managed a compromise… fewer records, better QUALITY. So, I’ve been picking out lots of stuff to get rid of. Still haven’t unloaded it yet, but I’m at least envisioning it. On the flipside, I’ve been focusing my purchasing on more upscale merch. Which is good for all of you too. Not all that long ago, I would NEVER (digger’s oath) spend more than $25 on a record. Recently, things have been changing…

In comes TEMPO 70, with one of my absolute favorite latin funk jams. Explosive. A perfect segue between classic salsa and more straight ahead breaks. I first heard it on this comp back when I was in high school in the Bay Area, home of Ubiquity and Luv ‘N’ Haight— who put out the collection. Well, now I got myself a copy. And actually, I barely breached my old digger’s oath to get it.

This record from Ricardo Marrero on the other hand, set me back a very pretty penny. But I ain’t regretting a minute of it. Crispy, smooth, soulful, and very jazzy latin goodness. The LP is an excellent listen all the way through– it’s arranged to sound continuous. Fusion synths meeting cuicas and cowbells. The track directly after this one provided sample stuffings for a producer I’m quite fond of, and the version of “Feel Like Making Love” on here is gorgeous.

Enjoy the top quality goods, and stay tuned for our MASSIVE 100th post coming up next…