Monday, August 06, 2007

La Sonora Santanera


How could a sane person pass on a record that featured 11 mostly shirtless men on horse back? Not me. Yet, I do not value this record only for its superb cover. Many of the tracks on this record have inspired me to turn my speakers up, open up the windows, and dance, hoping that the rest of the neighborhood would join in. I would have to say my favorite song, or at least the one song that drove me to listen to it at least six times in a row when I first came across it, is "Te Equivocaste" which I believe means "You made a mistake." I think what really blows me away with this song are the changes and those horns. Those horns make me put my hand in a fist and pull inward like a quarterback that has successfully completed a touchdown pass. And, I don't even watch sports! I won't even try to explain what I do when they go into the "Ay mi vida" part. The other track I'm sharing is called "Como Tu Ninguna" or "Nobody Like You" which starts off with those horns going off right away until the group comes in singing about how they have known women, "perro como tu ninguna." I really love how the percussion is up front in most of their tracks. You can basically pick out every instrument from the individual hits on the bongos to the rhythm on the cowbells. I could only imagine what the dance floor looked like when these guys took to the stage back in the day.

Te Equivocaste by La Sonora Santanera from Sonora Santanera y Sus Once Compositores

Como Tu Ninguna by La Sonora Santanera from Sonora Santanera y Sus Once Compositores