A burner of a set from Tito Puente – very well titled to suit the energy of the session! The tracks are all highly rhythmic numbers – short, but filled with jazzy horn flourishes and the kind of snapping rhythms that made the Puente group one of the biggest crossover favorites of the 50s. Tunes nicely mix up vocals with some more pronounced jazz soloing – getting a heck of a lot into a relatively small space, and really keeping up the energy of the record overall. Ray Barretto's
on congas – and other players include Vincent Frisaura and Frank LoPinto
on trumpets, Gerry Sanfino and Rafael Tata Palau
on saxes, Ray Conception
on piano, and Robert Rodriguez
on bass. A few cuts have lead vocals – sung by Santos Colon – and titles include "3-D Mambo", "Hong Kong Mambo", "Mambo Gozon", "Saca Tu Mujer", "Varsity
Drag", and "El Cayuco". Amazing 2CD edition – with the full bonus Dance Mania 2 album, plus rare bonus tracks from both sessions too – a massive 45 tracks in all!