Dance Mania

4,5

Pretty fun

Fascinating rhythms galore!!

Good music, fun listen! I was definitely bopping.

I feel like I would appreciate this album more if I knew how to dance to it like the celebrities in the tv show Dancing with the Stars. I enjoyed that it was different it just wasn't something I would seek out again.

This type of salsa/latin vibe is not exactly my thing, but I definitely didn't mind. It did make me want to go back ad go to the dance club with my high school friends. Good nostalgia.

Nope!

This is probably very well performed for exactly what it is. It's just so narrow this music has never appealed to me. I'm curious if it was groundbreaking in Latin jazz land?

Just wonderful. I love mambo.

Fav song: El Cayuco

Nice and relaxing

I've been listening to a lot of Latin influenced music recently, so this album being served up was a pleasant coincidence. It's a very strong album, plenty of good tracks.

Nice, smooth, had me boogying in the kitchen. I'm still not familiar enough with the genre to be able to tell what sets this apart as a particularly good album, though.

Just another simple case of I can appreciate this, it's just really not my thing. To give credit where credit is due, her voice is absolutely amazing, and I can really hear the passion even if I can't understand a word she is saying. But to be completely honest, outside of that I just found this really boring. Every song sounds pretty much exactly the same, and her beautiful voice really isn't enough to carry the whole album.

Yeah, it’s good, but its background. Scene 1: Perched high in the hills of Southern California, the evening glow from shimmer Los Angeles far below providing backdrop for the spacious hillside villa and the boisterous 1960’s era cocktail party in full swing. The air is warm and dry. The men in chinos, linen, and loafers. No hats, no beards. Plenty of smoke and cologne. The women in sleeveless evening dress. Makeup just right, best jewels, and not a hair out of place. Caucasian all. Everyone was three deep into their rums, their gins, their bourbons. No business tonight, this was pleasure. The music is loud, the chatter and laughter raised to levels to match the volume from the 10 piece salsa band playing in the corner by the pool. Perhaps 75 guests in attendance, with another 15 Mexican servants dressed in white with trays of offerings, swaying through the throngs to the beat of the drums. Everyone is having a wonderful time. Their guard down, the evening has promise. As if on cue, the band breaks into a lively number. Tito Puente’s Mambo Gozon, and the guests surge toward the stage, ladies in full gyration, fellas flapping their arms in awkward acceptance. White people dancing has never been pretty. No one payed much attention to the 6 men working security around the perimeters of the house. They knew they were there, and that was good enough. Thus it went unnoticed as each man fell silently at their posts, all within seconds of each other, as the band thundered to a finale and the crowd begged for more. A quick transition into a lively Variety Drag had the dance floor full, and even those reluctant to join before soon caved. Bodies were tight. People were feeling great. Sins of the past forgotten. For a moment, all was as before. Innocent. A small army of men move carefully down the dark hillside in spread formation towards the bright lights of the villa. Dressed in black. Automatic weapons held at the ready. Quietly the servants slip unseen and out a side door and into waiting vans at the bottom of the driveway. The men in black reach the low fence that surrounds the grounds and pause. They don’t crouch; there is no more threat. They wait for the order. The band’s leader steps to the front of the stage, smiles broadly, and points toward an older man standing at the rear of the crowd. The man squints back at the stage with unexpected confusion, his smile slowly slipping from his face. The dancers shout for more, unaware of the sudden tension around this man. The band leader stares, smile gone, and blows a kiss. The crowd roars, and the band tears into Tito’s Cuando Te Veo! The dancers scream with approval, and the floor jumps! The older man pales, his drink slips silently from his hand. No one noticed it shatter at his feet. No one noticed the men in black slipping soundlessly over the fence.

311. nice

Makes me want to play the sax again, which is probably the highest praise I can give in this genrr

Faded into the background pretty quickly

So my only knowledge of Tito Puente was his appearance on The Simpsons many years ago. His song on that, Señor Burns, is an absolute banger. This album however was completely banger-less. I’m writing this three hours after finishing it and I remember absolutely nothing about it.

Extremely fun listen.

El Cayuco - 8/10. Smooth Latin dance music. Complicacion - 8/10. Three D Mambo - 9/10. Llego Mijan - 9/10. Cuando te Vea - 9/10. Hong Kong Mambo - 8/10. Feels like a Mambo in a Bond Movie. Mambo Gozon - 9/10. Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembe - 9/10. Varsity Drag - 9/10. Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti - 8/10. Agua Limpia Todo - 8/10. Saca tu Mujer - 9/10. Overall Rating - 4.21/5 (8.42/10). Somehow, I feel like both dancing and writing a scandalous, slanderous Latin tune about a multi-billionaire who owns a nuclear power plant. In seriousness, though, the brass cooks, the percussion is tight, the rhythm varies, but always has a swing to it. Would listen to this again, many times.

I can understand it has importance in the history of music, and it is well made and played. But, it feels a little like elevator music to me at this point

I don't know how many tracks I listened to on Spotify after the album finished because it all sounds exactly the same. If music is primarily your soundtrack to dancing then it's fine, but if you want to sit down and listen to something that genuinely moves you then this style is unlikely to be it.

Catchy and makes me want to dance!

Now I want Mexican for lunch.

Sounds of a 60s Spy movie where a Latino detective with a pencil thin mustache tracks down French bank robbers to a villa on the island of Mallorca

This was delightful, made me want to jump on a plane to Puerto Rico!

Man there is just so much influence this album had on things to come. Its fingerprints on modern Latin music can be seen coming from pretty much every track. It’s catchy and does this amazing balancing act with the horns between dissonance and perfect tight harmonies, often within seconds of each other. Also love how the horns often join the rhythm section.

Just a lovely album that feels like a slightly earlier Juan Esquivel sort of space age bachelor pad deal. I, for one, really love that stuff. Four stars.

Typical 1950s South American music

ok

A bit unusual to me, but in a good way?

🕺

Que Rico

Si si siiiii! A very fun listen.

🪘‼️

Didn't do anything for me in this pass. Would give another chance, but not as a priority

A vibe. I’m not often in the mood for this vibe, but it’s nice regardless. I mean you can’t deny the musicianship

qiaqiaqia

Nice

Technically awesome but not my jam

I called out the list's lack of Puerto Rican artists earlier this month and the list has delivered again. Thank you.

Ah this reminds me of my salsa dancing days. Good times. It feels like the sort of album you’d only listen to while dancing, not relaxing at home on a record player. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this with my morning coffee… and it gave me just as much energy!

not for me

listen again next time you see this

First Listen Favorites: El Cayuco Complicacion Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembe Honorable Mentions: Varsity Drag Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti Llego Mijan

I'm just not into fun/samba/dancing music. I really couldn't wait for this to finish. Thanks for the suggestion, album generator, but this is not for me.

This is one of the albums that where ment to reduce a sound of a culture into a mass produced product. But you know what? It fucking worked. From the very start it just sounds great. It employs the great art of big band arrangements to latin grooves. The vocals are incredible, check out track 5, for example. Very cool marimba on other tracks. There's not a lot of innovation in here, but it's really enjoyable. The sound is warm and detailed. The harmonies lovely, and the rhythm gives it a lot of life. Not much else to add, a lovely lovely listen. It's a 4 from me.

Great Latino vibes

I like this style of music, but this album isn’t doing much to draw me in. It’s decent but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to it

This was a fun pull. I don't know enough about mambo, or Latin jazz depending on how far down the genre rabbit hole we want to delve, to have any firm opinions about quality of music presented. What I can say is for the most part, while the songs tended to sound extremely similar to my ear, there were only two tracks that didn't work for me. "Three D Mambo" had the off-beat percussion lines that threw me for a loop, and the slower "Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti" just didn't match the energy and tempo of the rest of the album.

As an anglophone living in Belgium I often find myself using invented words and descriptions to try to communicate words I don't know. If I ever found myself in Spain trying to communicate the word 'nipple' there is a real possibility I would say 'Tito Puente'.

Wallpaper

Probably a fine album but not for me

Well ok

Gut

To quote the movie "Stripes": "Y'know, one day, Tito Puente will be dead, and you'll say, 'Oh, yes, I've been listening to his work for years.'" it's catchy. feel like having some chips and SALSA.....

This was shockingly good! Wow! Loved the brass! Loved the songs. Loved the energy. Loved the singing. I can think of a dozen bands that borrowed this sound one way or another.

I liked it. Very fun alblum. Enjoyed. I would describe as Spanish Jazz. I wouldn't purchase but would definitely listen to again. Sort on a precursor to Santana

I kind of enjoyed this… I’d listen to it again when I’m in the mood.

I'm still sick but I really enjoy that it's something new and different

Great music!

Really liked this one, easy listening, every song was on a consistent level of quality, nice to hear some diverse instruments. Would be a good album to have on vinyl.

I think I'm going to be unfair on this one. It's come off the back of an Iron Maiden album and never stood a chance. Sorry Tito

Such a fun album - got my toes tapping and my hips swinging!

Not my thing. Nice to hear in the background of a hotel lobby for a few seconds before moving on to other things. I didn’t need to listen to this album. The horns and voices are so shrill and constant it honestly became painful to listen to pretty quickly.

AY DIOS MÍO 4/5

Day991 - everything i know about tito puente is from the simpsons. uno, dos, tres. slanderous mambo time. and this is good too

I genuinely don't know if this music existed before him and he made it popular, he invented it, or was just capitalizing off an existing genre, but... It's fine? I listened to volume 1 for over an hour in the car and had no idea when I one song ended and another started. But it wasn't terrible or worse brain melting boring. But it was just like having white noise on. It was. Fine.

9/10

Great percussion. Very lively. Hard not to move to this.

A surprisingly great listen. When it started, I figured it was gonna be an easy three. Didn’t think I would hate it or love it. But I liked it more than I thought I would. Never got boring.

Loving the latin America vibes. Would listen to this again when I am in the mood for some Spanish music

Any given Tito Puente song is a nuclear beam of fun and you have to have a heart of stone too not enjoy it. Any subsequent Tito Puente song, you are either teaching mambo to masochists or working on a torture tape.

Rhythmically rich, joyful music that puts me in the mood for a tropical drink with smoke spilling out the top while wearing a sharp seersucker suit. But two-plus hours of this high-energy music more than gets the point across, thank you very much.

Like knowing what a Horatio Alger story is, to be a well rounded 20th Century American, you should know what Tito Puente sounded like. Like Alger, it isnt necessary to consume the whole canon to get the gist immediately.

Yeah I can see this a genre defining

Good

What’s happening to me… my hips won’t stop moving! I love mambo, bossa nova and other groovy Latin genres. This is something I could passively listen to for background noise as I work, do chores or cook. At the same time, I could get up and dance to it. “El Cayuco” and “Llego Mijan” are my favorites so far.

Decent album just not for me lol

Fun album, though not something I'll probably come back to (because it's too passionate and joyful for my wretched ass)

Is there such a thing as a ‘coffee table record’? If there was, this would be one. It’s all a bit John Lewis. The sort of record that's played at dinner parties hosted by people who use words like 'alfresco', and who serve their pasta 'al dente' even though they prefer it boiled to mush. But it doesn't get listened to as everyone’s talking too loudly about house prices and the car they're 'driving these days'. Which is fine, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed thus but it also highlighted my ignorance. It sounds to me like a more polished (dare I say poppier!?) version of Buena Vista Social Club or Ibrahim Ferrer but that is the full extent (or lack of) my knowledge of this genre of music, to my shame. I must pay more attention.

A bailar !!

Pretty fun but not my idea of an album to have on for myself.

I was doing the samba all over the place today. All the songs kind of bleed together, but the fun is undeniable. I really enjoyed this. 7.5/10 Top song... Cuando Te Vea

Fun little mambo jam.

Outstanding production. For something that was recorded in 1958, it sounds like it was recorded in a studio yesterday with modern equipment. Is it good? Sure. But I can't decipher why this is any different than any other music I've heard at a taco joint before. Happy I listened, respect the talent and the arrangement but don't feel the need to listen to it again. Unless I'm making tacos.

Good playing, good singing. Quality album. Just haven’t been able to get super into it.

Good dance music, feels wrong to listen at home. 3.1/5

Bangers

Neat

The music is rather unusual to modern ears. Back then, it was fashionable to perform with full orchestras. Tito Puente played dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz. The tracks are highly varied and feature performances by various male and female vocalists. There are plenty of trumpets, but also some exquisitely played marimba—which sounds truly fantastic—on "Hong Kong Mambo." A beautiful saxophone also makes recurring appearances. Anyone familiar with the music of Carlos Santana will recognize where he drew his inspiration. It is no coincidence that he covered Tito Puente’s "Oye Cómo Va" on his 1970 album Abraxas. Tito Puente was a star of his era; he was a force to be reckoned with—especially in America—where he and his music were omnipresent. He was hailed as the "King of the Timbales" and the "King of Mambo." He usually played the timbales at the front of his orchestra, often from an elevated position. He put on an incredible show, much like later rock 'n' roll stars did with their instruments—think of Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard. I wouldn't listen to this album all the time, as it does sound unusual to modern ears, but it was an enjoyable experience and the recording quality is superb. Listening to it at home on a good stereo system, it sounds stunning. And we are talking about a recording from 1958! You can hear every single instrument—prominent when necessary, and in the background when another instrument takes the lead.

The horns on this sound so good!

Joyful

They understood the assignment, and they nailed it

Sterk 3

Overraskende bra løpe-musikk

A spark and tinder to light the soul, to warm and enliven it, to consume it, a gozar.

What a vibe. Instantly put me in a good mood. Mid 4