The Rough Guide to Salsa Colombia

1	Vitamina / La Sonora Carruseles 3:50
2	La Guerra de los Callados / Joe Arroyo Y La Verdad 4:32
3	El Preso / Fruko y Sus Tesos 4:54
4	Que Nunca Me Falte / Orquesta Internacional Los Niches 4:39
5	Bongo Bongo / La Sonora Dinamita 3:18
6	Las Mujeres / Los Nemus Del Pacifico 2:50
7	Londres / Luis Felipe González 5:05
8	Cuerpo de Guitarra / Gabino Pampini 5:32
9	Sobredosis / Los Titanes 4:12
10	Barranquillero Arrebatao / Fruko y Sus Tesos 4:19
11	Una Palomita / Saulo Sanchez 3:54
12	Charanga Campesina / Fruko y Sus Tesos 4:06
13	La Parranda Se Canta / Latin Brothers 5:21
14	Mi Pasión / Los del Caney 4:25
15	A San Lazaro (Babalu) / Yolanda Rayo 3:43
16	Pirulino / Golden Boys 2:38

Barnes & Noble

Wading through hundreds of schlocky compilations so you don't have to, Rough Guides' necessary compilation limns the deep affection that Colombians bear for the New York Latin sound. Dispersed between two coasts and a host of hopping urban centers, Colombia's salsa scene has one unifying feature, and that's the take-no-prisoners attack of groups such as Fruko y Sus Tesos, Joe Arroyo's La Verdad, the Latin Brothers, and others featured on this hour-and-change mix. Some of the hardest dance music created within the tropical genre is laced with Colombian funk: Fruko's classic "El Preso" generates the kind of white heat that belongs to only a select handful of dance singles. Then there's Joe Arroyo, the deft vocalist whose stabbing tenor raises goose bumps on its own (this set forgoes his signature "Rebelión" and "En Barranquilla Me Quedo" for the equally propulsive "La Guerra de los Callados"). Apart from the fury of these tracks, most from the '70s and early '80s, Colombian salsa is distinguished by its rhythmic vigor. Arrangers sought to include indigenous cumbia, porros, and other rhythms in the Afro-Cuban mix, and some, such as the indomitable Sonora Dinamita, did salsa as a sideline to other Colombian dance music. There's a wealth of new names to check into here, and those who thought salsa began and ended with Fania Records -- or at the southernmost tip of New York, or Puerto Rico -- will leave this listening experience with mind expanded, feet expended, and heart racing.

All Music Guide

This collection of salsa from Colombia is something of a crossroads of the genre, where the Atlantic and Pacific influences are each given their due in the cities of Cali and Barranquilla. The album is entirely compiled from the archives of Discos Fuentes, perhaps the most notable record label in existence for Colombian salsa. That said, the compiler took some liberties in what was deemed "Colombian" as a couple of tracks from Panama and Venezuela creep in quietly, still in the Colombian style, but hailing from elsewhere. In essence, the foundations for salsa are the same in both cities of importance, but the additional influences differ. In "Barranquillero," the sound is informed by the 1970s New York movement, with horns taking a prominent role throughout. In Cali's music, however, there is a slightly more rural aspect, with elements of folklore rhythms and farmers' songs. The artists cover the full spectrum of age and style from the classic Joe Arroyo to the legendary Fruko and the Latin Brothers to the contemporary singer Yolanda Rayo. What becomes interesting is the play between styles from one side of the country and the other, as nondescript factors come into play noticeably differentiating the sound but barely leaving an impression of what made it different. The performers are all standouts, so the concept of a highlight becomes somewhat moot, but the album is full of quality performances. There are some omissions here, certainly, but the album makes an excellent start for any listener accustomed only to the salsa of the islands. Adam Greenberg