Salsa Around the World

[coll.]: SALSA AROUND THE WORLD
Putumayo, 2003

Just what the title says: salsa music from places you don't expect to find salsa – Africa, Europe, even India and Japan. The selections are up to Putumayo's usual standards, elevating this from a mere novelty to a serious survey of Latin music's global appeal. So don’t look for wacky fusions; this is (mostly) straight-up salsa.

Try any and all tracks. Fo's Picks: 5, 6, 8, 12

01. 5:53 – midtempo: straight-up, with just a few hints of Celtic melody. Good flute.
02. 3:47 – midtempo, with touches of Italian street music & jazz, + string section
03. 5:24 – midtempo, with a nice Caribbean sway; good vocals & guitar solo.
04. 3:46 – midtempo, smooth cha-cha, good horns, husky Greek vox (+ panpipe!)
05. 3:48 – uptempo, really good percussion here, creole vocals have an African touch
06. 3:37 – uptempo; Arabic vocal adds a cool new flavor; nice guitar/trumpet solos
07. 2:21 – Santana goes Bollywood! Elec. guitar, Hindi vox; lightweight but fun
08. 5:32 – midtempo; relaxed feel, Wolof vox, very fine band: everything just fits.
09. 4:28 – mid/uptempo bomba rhythm: straight-up salsa from Japan
10. 4:14 – uptempo latin jazz; Douala vocal, sophisticated rhythm, nice backup vox
11. 3:27 – relaxed Cuban-style son from Finland, steady swing & good guitar work
12. 5:10 – bouncy midtempo: Haitian creole lyrics, nice perc/violin; a sweet, lazy air

[Fo] – 8/30/03