The Soul Of Spanish Harlem

Tony Middleton

Another mouth watering CD from the Ace/Kent peeps out on BGP in the New Year:

The mid-to-late 60s produced an explosion of Latin soul, emanating a few blocks east of Harlem's Apollo Theater in East or Spanish Harlem. This compilation features the sweet harmony sounds of artists from the area - including Joe Bataan, Ralphi Pagan, the Lebron Brothers and a host of unknowns who recorded for labels such as Fania, Cotique and Speed. It also includes rare 45s by Parrish and 125th StreetCandy Store.

It gathers up some of the rarest and most sought after recordings of the era, including three-figure singles by Frankie Nieves, Tony Middleton and Harvey Averne which are collected by dancers, as well as Olivieri and Ralphi and the Latin Lovers which are sought-after by vocal group fans. Other tracks come from very rare and hard-to-find LPs such as 'El Solitario' by King Nando and 'Blackout' by Monguito Santamaria. We include two previously unreleased tracks - one by Ray Jay and the Eastsiders which will have the soul boys baying for more and one by the Nitty Sextette, a Latin super-group that included Tito Puente and Jimmy Sabater.

The booklet features a wealth of rare or previously unseen memorabilia and photographs from the labels and artists. The sleeve notes are built on a series of in-depth interviews with several of the key players. They tell the story of a unique and very brief period in the history of Latin music in America. A story with the sweetest of soundtracks.

1. Ain't No Big Thing - RALFI PAGAN
2. True Love - THE TERRIBLE FRANKIE NIEVES
3. Heaven (Is Not For Everyone) - TITO RAMOS
4. Central Park - THE HARVEY AVERNE DOZEN
5. Crying Time - MONGUITO SANTAMARIA
6. Don't Be Afraid - THE LEBRON BROTHERS ORCHESTRA
7. That's How Rumours Start - JOEY PASTRANO
8. On Old Broadway – 107TH STREET STICKBALL TEAM
9. Same Old Sad Song - RAY JAY & THE EASTSIDERS
10. Reflections Of My Life – 125TH STREET CANDY STORE
11. Your Smile - PARRISH
12. Some Lonely Heart - RONNIE MARKS
13. There's No Other Girl - OLIVIERI
14. Maria, Maria - KING NANDO
15. Already Satisfied - TONY MIDDLETON & BOBBY MATOS
16. I'll Never Let You Go - THE LAT-TEENS
17. Nitty Boo Boo - THE NITTY SEXTETTE
18. I'm Gonna Leave You - RUSSELL COHEN & THE NEW YORKERS
19. Lonely Has Been My Day - RALPHIE & THE LATIN LOVERS
20. Ordinary Guy - JOE BATAAN