Alberto Vazquez - El Estilo Ranchero De Alberto Vazquez Vol. 2

Here is a little something for Cinco de Mayo.  It is a beaten up record, but I think it might get you into the spirit of the festivities.  I digitized this record long before I had Click Repair and I haven't gone back to clean it up.  It is listenable, thought.

I can't tell you much about Elberto Vazquez other than he sang Ranchero music and apparently is popular enough to warrant a second volume of tunes.  The first track is one of my favorites and I think will liven up any Cinco de Mayo party.  How could it not?  It is called "Viva Mexico."  I also really like track 7 "Ay! Jalisco No Te Rajes."  I don't speak any Spanish, but the song sounds like a celebratory song, an eating or drinking song perhaps?  I have no idea really.  I just think it sounds like another good Cinco de Mayo song.  I'm probably way off and it may be completely inappropriate.  Give it a listen and you decide.

Enjoy!

01 Viva Mexico
02 La Embarcacion
03 Por Un Amor
04 La Carcel De Cananea
05 Brindo Por Ella
06 Traigo Un Amor
07 Ay! Jalisco No Te Rajes
08 Que Manera De Perder
09 Anillo De Compromiso
10 Corrido De Chihuahua
11 Psicosis
12 No Volvere

El Estilo Ranchero De Alberto Vazquez Vol. 2

Miguel Aceves Mejia - El Gallo Colorado

A little something for Cinco de Mayo. You gotta love a record with a cock fight on the cover. 'Nuff said.

Enjoy!

01 La Malaguena.m4a
02 Ni El Dinero Ni Nadie.m4a
03 Adorado Tormento.m4a
04 El Gallo Colorado.m4a
05 Homenaje A Pedro Infante.m4a
06 Eso Merece Un Trago.m4a
07 Fiesta En El Corazon.m4a
08 Amor Se Dice Cantando.m4a
09 La Cecilia.m4a
10 Esta Sellado.m4a
11 Prieta Linda.m4a
12 La Espiga.m4a

Miguel Aceves Mejia - El Gallo Colorado.zip

Tito Puente - Dancing Under Latin Skies - 1958

Today is the first record to be posted that has undergone some audio clean up. I purchased ClickRepair finally and used it to get rid of some of the pops and extra noise. I must say I am quite pleased with the results. There is still a little bit of vinyl sound on there, but I like that. It still feels like a record, but without sounds that stand out.

I picked this record up just a few months back in a thrift store. I have a couple Tito Puente records already in the collection so I was already pretty sure I wouldn't be disappointed. Other than a little dust, which I did my best to clean off, the record was in pretty good condition. I think it was the first record I threw on the turn table the afternoon I purchased it along with some other records. Right off the bat, from the first horn blasts I knew I had found a gem.

If you like some of those lounge compilation discs that were so popular in the late 90's, you'll love this record. This is bid band easy listening lounge music at its finest. Playing this in the house really sets a nice mood when you want to relax. I also was playing the record in the car this morning on the way to work and it made the morning, that much brighter. I'm so happy I've digitized it now and can have it with me on the go.

As a bonus I've found this clip on YouTube of Tito on The Simpsons.



Chances are that this was my first exposure to Tito. Certainly I had heard the name as a kid, but I think this was the first music I had ever heard from him. Thank you Simpsons. That is really my only personal story or experience with Tito Puente.

More info on Tito of course can be found on Wikipedia.

Enjoy!

Tito Puente - Dancing Under Latin Skies.zip

01 Brazil
02 Perfidia
03 Acapulco
04 Yours
05 Dancing Under Latin Skies
06 Tampico
07 Frenesi
08 Port-au-Pleasure
09 Chattanooga Choo Choo
10 Juanita
11 Sand In My Shoes
12 Cuban Pete

SAP Music Cinco de Mayo Mix 2009

This is a first for me. I've never made a Cinco de Mayo mix before. To be perfectly honest, I've never really had any reason to celebrate the holiday. But I've been digitizing some fun ranchera records lately and have been listening to a lot os Spanish music and I thought why not throw something together.

You'll notice that some artists appear on here more than once. Usually I try to avoid that when making a mix. But I have two reasons for this. The first is that in those instances, both songs really are pretty good and I couldn't decide which to cut. The second reason is that I'm not exactly rolling in Spanish music. Actually I have a bunch of more contemporary Latin music, but I didn't think it fit in with the vibe of everything else.

A bunch of these tracks or from records and so there is lots of cracks and pops, but I think that adds to the flavor of the mix. Some tracks are pulled from CD's. I don't know the exact rules of the holiday as in if it is primarily a Mexican holiday or if it is in all of Latin America. I'm in Southern California and I know it is big here. That is all I know. So while some of these songs are definitely Mexican in origin, I've pulled from other sources as well. I hope my broad brush isn't offensive to some people. I've basically gone by the rule of if it is Spanish and sounds Latin and I like it I put it on the mix.

Most of the mix is quite traditional. Towards the end I've gone for some covers and for a couple songs that are a little more punk or in the case of Voodoo Glow Skulls ska-punk. Actually Burro I guess wouldn't be considered a cover since it is Beck just singing a Spanish version of Jack-Ass. And then I brought it all back home with some very recognizable songs that even English speakers should recognize.

So have a listen. Hopefully you'll like what I put together. Then you can impress your friends by having some interesting music for your Cinco de Mayo party or maybe just have it playing in your office during the day.

Enjoy!

01 Viva Mexico - Alberto Vazquez.m4a
02 Ratón Vaquero - Francisco Gabilondo Soler.m4a
03 Ay! Jalisco No Te Rajes - Alberto Vazquez.m4a
04 Esta Noche Voy a Verlo - Yolanda del Rio.m4a
05 La Tequilera - Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles.m4a
06 Canción Del Mariachi (Morena De Mi Corazón) - Los Lobos With Antonio Banderas.m4a
07 Contigo Con Ellas Y Con Todas - Little Joe & The Latinaires.m4a
08 Amor Gigante - Compay Segundo.m4a
09 El Gallo Colorado - Miguel Aceves Mejia.m4a
10 La Llorona - Lila Downs and Mariachi Juvenil de Tecalitian.m4a
11 No Me Olvides Amor - Yolanda del Rio.m4a
12 Las Ciudades - Lola Beltran.m4a
13 El Cuarto de Tula - Beuna Vista Social Club.m4a
14 Chipi Chipi - Gustavo Santaolalla.m4a
15 El Conejo - Los Cojolites.m4a
16 La Pistola Y El Corazon - Los Lobos.m4a
17 ¿qué Grande Es Tu Amor? - Optimo.m4a
18 Hotel California - Gipsy Kings.m4a
19 Burro - Beck.m4a
20 El Clavo Y La Cruz - The Plugz.m4a
21 Sin Berguensa (Si Habla Espanol) - Voodoo Glow Skulls.m4a
22 Guantanamera - Compay Segundo.m4a
23 Cielito Lindo - Trini Lopez.m4a

Here's the whole thing.
SAP Music Cinco de Mayo Mix 2009.zip

The Border Brass - Tijuana Christmas

Found this record in an Arizona thrift store. I could hardly contain myself. I mean, look at that cover. What goodness could be contained in it's vinyl grooves. Even after buying the record I have to wait until I traveled back to Cali to put it on my record player. In the words of Tom Petty, "the waiting is the hardest part". But it was worth it, because the record was exactly what I hoped it would be. Herb Alpert style faux Tijuana border music with plenty or horns. And for what it's worth, the record is comparable to any of the A&M artists like Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendez, Brasil '66. This is truly a great find, that you won't find on CD anywhere to my knowledge.

Enjoy!

01 We Wish You A Merry Christmas.mp3
02 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.mp3
03 What Child Is This.mp3
04 Deck The Halls.mp3
05 Jingle Bells.mp3
06 Tijuana Christmas.mp3
07 Jolly Old St Nicholas.mp3
08 Christmas Bells.mp3
09 The First Noel.mp3
10 Silent Night.mp3

Border Brass.zip

Baile Con Sus Favoritas - 1988

I've been excited about this record for weeks now. This is one of those "find" records. I picked is up for the ridiculous album cover. I had hopes from some good cheesy music as well. I see what I think looks like movie posters and I thought, maybe this will be some kind of Latin disco music from some movies or something. As it turns out I still don't know if any of these songs are from films, but the music is not cheesy disco. It is actually some good Latin music that to my ignorant ears sounds a little more traditional. I don't know anything about these artists, but I can say that I like quite a few of the Latin Brothers and Sonora Dinamita songs. I like "Sobre La Olas", "El Carretero", "La Conga", "Las Caleñas", Lindo Maridito", "El Caminante", "La Vaca Vieja" and "La Perra". There is also music from Fruko Y Sus Tesos and I don't know much about them either. I can say I tend to not favor their numbers as much. I don't understand a word but I can say the music is very enjoyable.

If anyone has any information or input on any of this music I'd love to hear it. If not then just have fun with these selections.

Enjoy!

01 Sobre Las Olas - Latin Brothers.m4a
02 Charanga Campesina - Fruko Y Sus Tesos.m4a
03 El Carretero - Latin Brothers.m4a
04 La Conga - Sonora Dimanita.m4a
05 Pegaso - Latin Brothers.m4a
06 El Patillero - Fruko Y Sus Tesos.m4a
07 Todo Lo Que Tengo Es Tuyo - Sonora Dinamita.m4a
08 Las Caleñas - Latin Brothers.m4a
09 Lindo Maridito - Sonora Dinamita.m4a
10 Como Suenan Los Cueros - Fruko Y Sus Tesos.m4a
11 Cuando Calienta El Sol - Sonora Dinamita.m4a
12 El Caminante - Fruko Y Sus Tesos.m4a
13 La Vaca Vieja - Sonora Dinamita.m4a
14 Los Characos - Latin Brothers.m4a
15 Que Me Coma El Tigre - Latin Brothers.m4a
16 La Perra - Sonora Dinamita.m4a

Baile Con Sus Favoritas 1.zip
Baile Con Sus Favoritas 2.zip

Richard Hayman - Havana in Hi-Fi - 1957

This record is good on all accounts. Great cover. Excellent condition as far as how it sounds. The music is top notch as well as far as easy listening music with a Latin flare goes. This is from 1957. The 50's were a great time for this big production easy listening records that were made to really show off your new stereo hi-fi. This of course is one of those records and as you can see has "hi-fi" in the title.

Richard Hayman does a great job here conducting and arranging. Richard Hayman is famous for conducting the Boston Pops for over 30 years.

Highlights are "Rhapsodero", "My Hopeful Heart", "Tropical Merengue" and "Love And The World Loves With You", at least those are my highlights.

Enjoy!

01 Rhapsodero.m4a
02 My Hopeful Heart.m4a
03 Cordoba.m4a
04 Tropical Merengue.m4a
05 Maria-La-O.m4a
06 Caminito.m4a
07 La Comparsa.m4a
08 I Won't Stand In Your Way.m4a
09 Love And The World Loves With You.m4a

Miami Sound Machine - Conga 12" - 1986

I never was into Miami Sound Machine or Gloria Estefan as a kid. Too mainstream and poppy for my tastes back then. When I was in college, though Gloria released Abriendo Puertas in 1995. I heard it in a record store and had to ask what the album was. I instantly bought it and fell in love with it. Well, that helped open my mind to her earlier mainstream pop work. And now that I'm a complete sucker for just about everything 80's this one is a classic, a great mixture of American pop and Latin rhythms. Here you get an extended dance mix and an instrumental version.

Enjoy!

01 Conga (Special Dance Mix by Pablo Flores).m4a
02 Conga (Instrumental).m4a

Edmundo Ros - Hollywood Cha Cha Cha

Everything I read about Edmundo Ros declares him the king of Latin music in the UK for "The Greatest Generation". I don't know enough about what kind of competition he had to get that title, but after hearing the music it seems deserved. What do I know. I do know that before getting this record I had come across Edmundo on some of my lounge music CD collections. Just about every track here could fit onto some Latin lounge collection. The songs are wall pretty well known themes from Hollywood movies re-intepreted with Edmundo's Latin flare. There are interesting and odd percussion instruments peppered throughout the compositions. The album truly is a joy to listen to on a big stereo where you can hear how he and the producers took full advantage of the new stereo technology.

The opening song is great. It has a wide range of instruments and has a fun "cha cha cha" male chorus. Toward the end some funny little instrument comes in that sounds like some kind of little mouth organ or something. It makes the Moulin Rouge Theme sound like it is a Popeye the Sailor tune. if anyone knows what that is let me know.

"As Time Goes By" is another really good one in my book. It takes this nostalgic, sentimental song and has fun with it. Like many of the other songs there is some fun cowbell action going on. I just find it particularly entertaining to hear it in the context of this song which is so strongly related to "Casablanca".

The "Third Man Theme" is another one that I've been playing a lot recently. It has this fun organ thing happening that reminds me of the Adams Family. That to me is a nice flavoring to add to this already fun song. The "Third Man Theme" is one of those touch stone songs. I think it is a really fun song and when I see it on a record I get excited. it is one of those songs that is hard to mess up.

As a whole the record is nice to throw on for a quiet evening at home. It sets the mood quite nice. It truly is an "easy listening" record if there ever was one.

Enjoy!

01 The Moulin Rouge Theme.m4a
02 It's Magic.m4a
03 Tammy.m4a
04 Theme From _Picnic__Moonglow.m4a
05 Third Man Theme (The Harry Lime Theme).m4a
06 Around The World.m4a
07 Love Is A Many Splendored Thing.m4a
08 As Time Goes By.m4a
09 High Noon.m4a
10 Fascination.m4a
11 Three Coins In The Fountain.m4a
12 True Love.m4a

The whole thing here.

Al Caiola - Percussion Espanol

I've had this one waiting in the wings for quite a few weeks now. I digitized the record a while ago, but I hadn't taken photos of the jacket, so I couldn't post the record. Yes, I am that concerned with making sure the posts are top quality. So when I had my recent free weekend I finally photographed the jacket and put this in the cue of things to post.

I'm not exactly where this record fits into the time line of "percussion" records that seemed to be so popular back in the day. Anyone who looks through the thrift store record bins knows that there are a boat load of records with names like Persuassive Percussion or Percussion Festival or some other variation on that idea. It seems like every label and band had to release some record on this theme. So I don't know that this record is special in any sort of ground breaking way, but it is quite good.

If you are a fan of the big band Latin music from the 50's and 60's you'll like this record. It also features some great stereo effects. The album takes full advantage of the new technology and makes sure you know that you have a right and left speaker. No center mixing here. This is something that has kind of been forgotten in recording today. Maybe it is for the better, maybe not, but I certainly enjoy it here. I enjoy the fun the engineers seem to be having playing and experimenting.

The music has one foot in the Latin tradition and one foot in the big polished lush I dare say "Hollywood" production style. The music is big and bold. It's not background music for a Spanish restaurant. It's more like music in a film set in Spain or sound of the border starring Elvis. I don't know if that makes sense, but maybe after listening to it it will.

Start to finish the album is strong. It is a great one to throw on in the evening when you're cooking or settling down for the evening. You don't have to really hit skip on any track. That isn't to say some tracks are better than others, but on a whole the album holds together as one piece.

If you listen to any track I recommend the first one "Macarenas". It's got a great guitar and what I think is dancing intro. It then kicks in with this really boisterous and bold music, that I think reminds me of something Tarantino would use if he had the chance. The song has that sort of Leone/Morricone epic quality to it that I love. This really shouldn't come as a surprise. One of Al Caiola's first hits was his recording of the theme to "The Magnificent Seven" which fits in perfectly with the sort of macho men movies Tarantino Leone and Morricone are identified with. So if you are down with any of those three entertainers I think you'll be down with "Macarenas" as well.

Enjoy!

01 Macarenas.m4a
02 Noche De Ronda.m4a
03 Malaguena.m4a
04 Grenada.m4a
05 Cielito Lindo.m4a
06 Tico Tico.m4a
07 Espana Cani.m4a
08 La Spagnola.m4a
09 El Relicario.m4a
10 La Paloma.m4a
11 Andalucia.m4a
12 Lady Of Spain.m4a

The whole thing here.

Francisco Gabilondo Soler - Cri Cri MKE 4 7"

This is part 2 to a post from February 19th. I posted the "Cowboy Mouse" record by ole Franciso. I bought this record at the same time as the other record and I enjoy it almost as much as the other. To be honest it is really hard to beat that "El Raton Vaquero" song. On this record I really like "Negrito Bailarin". On this one I really don't know what it means. I assume Negrito has something to do with black, but Bailarin is a mystery to me. I'm sure there are people out there shaking their heads in utter disgust that I don't know what it means and that I haven't taken the time to look it up. To be honest I kind of like staying in the dark on this one.

Why do I like this song? Well the chorus is sweet and catchy. Also it has this bit near the end, where is sounds like tap dancing. I don't know if that is the intention, but that is what I hear.

"Jorobita" is pretty good, but my next favorite song on this record is "Marcha De Las Letras". I can make out just enough to get that the intro is setting up what the song is going to be about and then what proceeds is your basic kids song about letters marching by. At least that is what I think it is about. I could be wrong. The song has a great little marching thing going on, but not in the big military sense of the word. This is more like Christopher Robin and the wonderful characters of the 1000 acres woods having a parade. It is sweet and innocent.

Enjoy!

01 El Chorrito.m4a

02 Negrito Bailarin.m4a

03 Jorobita.m4a

04 Marcha De Las Letras.m4a

Francisco Gabilondo Soler - Cri Cri MKE 21 7"

Today's selection is one of two records I have from what I assume to be a series. I have another record by the same artist with the same record name "Cri Cri", but it is yellow and has four different songs. I didn't know anything about these records when I bought them, but I did find the songs catchy. The "Raton" song is pretty great.

A funny story is that I had this record at work a couple years ago and a friend of mine from Guatemala said he had this record when he was a kid. He told me that "El Raton Vaquero" is translated to mean the cowboy rat. I think he also said that at least in his family Fansisco Gabilondo Soler was well known.

Anyways take a trip south of the border with these kids songs.

Enjoy!

01 El Raton Vaquero.m4a

02 Di Por Que.m4a

03 La Merienda.m4a

04 La Olla Y El Comal.m4a