Guapapasea!

GECKO TURNER – “Guapapasea!”
Quango, 2006

SPAIN – Hard-to-classify blend, mostly old-school soul with dollops of reggae, jazz, and even blues mixed in. Vocals in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. I find the r&b jams less successful than the jazzy numbers, but any track on the album could probably find a home on somebody’s show. 1 & 3 are home runs.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12

1. cover of Bob Dylan’s beatnik-rap! Sweet tropical-soul groove, low flute, cool vox
2. relaxed, lazy-day jam, ‘70s-retro feel (sounds like the Spinners’ “It’s a Shame”)
3. uptempo samba-funk with super-catchy vocal refrain (you WILL start singing it), muted trumpet, CUICA (hi, don!)
4. reggae, relaxed & bouncy, good-time groove with a very steady pace
5. another retro r&b groove with (silly) laid-back English vocals
6. Bob Marley cover with flamenco guitars and handclaps!
7. catchy latin-jazz riff: cool piano loop, acoustic bass, lots of percussion, cool vox
8. cute reggae rhythm, blues guitar, light African percussion, fun vocals
9. another retro-soul groove, with peppy ryhthm & tricky-smooth vocal
10. midtempo swirl of tropical soul, smooth-jazzy guitar, a bit of Marley in the vocal
11. keyboard-heavy slow jam, bluesy vocals remind me of Lou Rawls
12. afrobeat strut / hangin’-on-the-corner vibe, bluesy break & jazzy sax solo

[Fo] - 3/31/06