Viva Arsenio – Arsenio Rodriguez & The Afro-Cubano Sound Of Now!
This 1966 LP has a style in which Arsenio is featured in a larger group ­ playing with a raspy edge that really steps out in front of the fuller instruments and voices! The group`s a great one ­ playing here with a few early Latin Soul touches, and in a way that mixes together different modes in a really unusual approach to the grooves. Arsenio`s sound is still quite rootsy, but the larger backings are quite tight ­ and often done with a nod to more popular soul modes of the time. The whole thing was put together by producer Bert Berns, with arrangements by the great Artie Butler ­ and it`s got a freewheeling New York groove that`s as close to Latin Soul as Arsenio ever came! Includes Latin Soul versions of "Hang On Sloopy" and "La Bamba", plus the tracks "La Yuca", "Tres Marias", "Randy", "Vaya P`al Monte", and "El Elemento Del Bronx", a groovy guaguanco track!
Side A:
1. Hang On Sloopy (2:52)
2. La Yuca (2:54)
3. Baila Con Migo (2:53)
4. Que No Llegue La Noche Y La Pared (3:56)
5. La Bamba (2:51)
Side B:
1. Tres Marias (3:07)
2. Cielito Lindo (3:06)
3. Para Bailar El Montuno (3:43)
4. Randy (2:43)
5. El Elemento Del Bronx (2:43)
6. Vaya P`Al Monte (3:32)