The Rough Guide to Salsa

This selection by Pablo Yglesias (aka DJ Bongohead) has been tested on the dance floor and is aimed at the salsa music virgin. Excellent liner notes provide a potted history of salsa in English and French, plus a paragraph on each track, artist and why they were chosen. It’s a CD that certainly boasts variety. The slower pace of a classic Cuban son – Roberto Roena’s ‘Vigilandote’ – is sandwiched between iconic and familiar tracks from the golden years of salsa by Colombia’s Joe Arroyo and Grupo Niche. Uptempo salsa comes courtesy of Puerto Rico’s La Sonora Ponceña, characterised by their thick and jazzy horn arrangements and interesting percussion breaks. Choco Orta provides the token female vocal and ‘Iyáñlá’ by La Excelencia tells a story with a piericing clave that you can really feel. Grupo Fantasma’s ‘Gimme Some’ is a fun and funky boogaloo. This compilation would be great for the beginner without the inclusion of a bonus album from Bio Ritmo, which is salsa dura at its most basic. The arrangements are clumsy and difficult for dancing, with an under-produced sound that’s harsh on the ears. Overall, this is worth buying for the sleeve notes and seven well-chosen tracks.