A really great project from Tito Puente – maybe not his only collaboration with Celia Cruz, but maybe one of the best – a top-to-bottom album of unified vision, topped with sublime vocals from the legendary lady! The set was arranged and produced by Tito – and brings together tunes that are maybe a bit rootsier than some of his other work – that return to tradition that Puente was clamoring for as the 70s began, as a way of shaking off what he felt were the worse influences of the Latin Soul youngsters (not something we agree with ourselves!) The vibe of the album is quite different than its 1970 date – more like something from pre-Castro Havana at times, but with an updated, more sophisticated sense of arrangements and percussion. Titles include "Guiro 6/8", "Chango", "Alguien Vendra", "Cuyi", "Sahara", "Elegua", and "Salsa De Tomate". LP, Vinyl record album

An early 70s session from Celia Cruz & Tito Puente – but one that's recorded with much rootsier touches than you might guess from the date! The album's kind of a precursor to Celia's further rise in the 70s salsa scene in New York – and offers up a nice reworking of older themes and sounds, put together here with a sense of clarity that stands out from some of the earlier Cruz/Puente collaborations. The mighty Joe Cain produced, and arrangements are all by Tito – on titles that include "Vaca Pinta", "De Noche", "Bonco", "Tatalibaba", "Extrano Amor", "Mi Rico Son", and "A Todos Mi Amigos". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive batch of boogaloo gems – all wrapped up in one mighty package! Tico Records was one of the first great New York indie labels to focus on Latin music in the postwar years – and by the time of the huge late 60s boom in the world of Latin Soul, the label were definitely in a great position to turn out some killer work from a variety of artists! Some of the label's artists were aging, but reinvigorated by the energy of the younger generation – who also got access to the top shelf Tico presentation, as they brought in some of the best soul styles from East Harlem to trim things down from the larger Latin ensembles of the previous generation, and really send things home with a funky sort of groove. This set's a great overview of these key years at Tico – and titles include "Sock It To Me" and "Psychedelic Baby" by Joe Cuba, "Tighten Up" and "The Horse" by Al Escobar, "Fever" by La Lupe, "Be's That Way" and "Bobo Do That Thing" by Willie Bobo, "El Watusi" and "Babalu" by Ray Barretto, "Hit The Bongo" and "Coye Como Va" by Tito Puente, "My People" by Joe Panama, "Come An Get It" and "The African Twist" by Eddie Palmieri, "Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In" by Celia Cruz & Tito Puente, "Madrid" by Candido, "Times They Are A Changin" by Jimmy Sabater, "El Pito" and "Bang Bang" by Joe Cuba, "Fat Mama" and "TP's Shing A Ling" by Tito Puente, and "Yes I Will (part 1)" by Gilberto Sextet. LP, Vinyl record album

The second volume of legendary Fania in the Leyendeas De La Fania series – featuring hard driving salsa and soulful Latin sounds from the fertile 70s years at the label – with numbers by Ismael Rivera, Willie Colon, Celia Cruz & Tito Puente, Charlie Palmieri, Bobby Valentine, La Lupe, Joe Bataan, Pete Rodriguez and more!. t's great mix of Fania hits andl and some perhaps lesser known numbers that are just as incredible. "Me Tienes" by Ismael Rivera", "Chonqui" by Willie Colon, "El Hablador" by Sonora Poncena, "Coco" by Charlie Palmieri", "Para Puerto Rico Voy" by Joe Bataan, "Sin Tu Carino" by Fania All Stars, "Tinicue" by Celia Cruz & Tito Puente and more. CD