10 most important Salsa albums

Richie Blondet

Richie Blondet

Son Montuno
What are "Salsa's" 10 most important albums from a production perspective.

That means the era of the LP. (1950s-Present)

It doesn't have to be listed numerically by importance. But you can do so, if you wish.

Try to avoid listing your personal favorites and stick to an LPs stature in the context of historical impact across the generations.
 
That's really difficult! I can think of artists that were very influential in salsa and its precursors, but knowing which of their albums were most influential takes it to another level. 'From a production perspective' makes it even harder.

So off the top of my head, Dance Mania by TP: an iconic album that was commercially and critically successful at the time.

In terms of other highly influential artists: Arsenio, Machito, Celia Cruz with La Sonora Matancera, Tito Rodríguez, Eddie Palmieri (I assume Lo que traigo es sabroso was very influential), Pacheco, Barretto, Rubén Blades (maybe Sembra), and I believe Noche Caliente was the album that kickstarted the massive salsa romántica movement. Van Van should be on that list too really.

I may think of additions to that.
 
I've not been a salsero for long enough to give a more definitive answer. But I'm interested to see other responses.
 
DJ Yuca said:
That's really difficult! I can think of artists that were very influential in salsa and its precursors, but knowing which of their albums were most influential takes it to another level. 'From a production perspective' makes it even harder.

So off the top of my head, Dance Mania by TP: an iconic album that was commercially and critically successful at the time.

In terms of other highly influential artists: Arsenio, Machito, Celia Cruz with La Sonora Matancera, Tito Rodríguez, Eddie Palmieri (I assume Lo que traigo es sabroso was very influential), Pacheco, Barretto, Rubén Blades (maybe Sembra), and I believe Noche Caliente was the album that kickstarted the massive salsa romántica movement. Van Van should be on that list too really.

I may think of additions to that.
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Believe it or not "Dancemania" was a commercial flop. In terms of sales. That comes straight from the horse's mouth, and those close to TP at that time. Signing with RCA records was probably the worst mistake TP did for his career. Strategically it presents itself as a sound decision. They weren't an indie label like SEECO or TICO with limited distribution. RCA was one of the big boys (Columbia, Victor, etc)They just didn't believe in Afro Cuban music having any crossover appeal. Or, at best, they didn't have faith in TP. The "Dancemania" sessions were recorded in a studio in 1954 and RCA didn't release it until 1957. I'm guessing they weren't crazy about his previous albums ("Cuban Carnival," "Top Percussion") and waited for the worst time to release it. 1957. Right at the peak of the Rock N' Roll and emerging Doo Wop movement in the U.S. It was all the rage locally, but outside of NY it was pffffffffftttttt!
 
Richie Blondet said:
Believe it or not "Dancemania" was a commercial flop. In terms of sales. That comes straight from the horse's mouth, and those close to TP at that time. Signing with RCA records was probably the worst mistake TP did for his career. Strategically it presents itself as a sound decision. They weren't an indie label like SEECO or TICO with limited distribution. RCA was one of the big boys (Columbia, Victor, etc)They just didn't believe in Afro Cuban music having any crossover appeal.
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Maybe in the long run it was for the best: RCA had, for the era, very good recording equipment and, perhaps even more importantly, kept hold of the masters. Meaning in the 90s they could remaster and repress Dance Mania and other significant albums with an audio quality that is noticeably better than most recordings from that era.

Of course it's a shame they couldn't have made more effort at the time. I do recall that Dance Mania was chosen for some sort of time capsule in the 50s that suggests that at least someone back then, outside the Latin music scene, realised its significance.
 
DJ Yuca said:
I'm sure I'm not the only one awaiting your list. You can even have 11 albums if you want.
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I honestly haven't thought about it. An adjunct professor asked me something similar surrounding HipHop-Rap and, for some reason, I found that easier to respond to. My guess it's because modern HipHop-Rap has had a shorter window of life than Afro Cuban dance music. And, again, most important from a "production perspective." Not what your favorite LPs are and what sold millions. I'd really have to do a deep dive into a musical era (the LP era) I no longer cater to. For the past 16-17 years I've strictly been listening to pre-1950 popular music.

I was just curious what you all thought. Like you said, it's not an easy specific question to answer based on the criteria.
 
Richie Blondet said:
I honestly haven't thought about it. An adjunct professor asked me something similar surrounding HipHop-Rap and, for some reason, I found that easier to respond to. My guess it's because modern HipHop-Rap has had a shorter window of life than Afro Cuban dance music. And, again, most important from a "production perspective." Not what your favorite LPs are and what sold millions. I'd really have to do a deep dive into a musical era (the LP era)
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The thing is, some records that were highly significant were 78s not albums, e.g. I suspect Machito with Bird and Flip Phillips guesting. Not so much that they could record with such high calibre guests as that the combination of modern jazz's finest with a Latin big band featuring authentic Afro-Cuban rhythms worked so well. I imagine that will have opened a lot of people's eyes and given NY mambo a boost.

Those tracks were soon compiled onto album, but maybe by then they had already become significant?

The initial popularity of Celia Cruz with La Sonora Matancera must have been a pivotal moment in Cuban music history - but did a particular album mark her arrival in the public conscious? No idea.
 
In this context I was wondering which album has been most quoted in other albums by other bands? That should be somewhat objective measure, no?
 
DJ Yuca said:
The thing is, some records that were highly significant were 78s not albums, e.g. I suspect Machito with Bird and Flip Phillips guesting. Not so much that they could record with such high calibre guests as that the combination of modern jazz's finest with a Latin big band featuring authentic Afro-Cuban rhythms worked so well. I imagine that will have opened a lot of people's eyes and given NY mambo a boost.
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Of course. However the specific question is exclusively revolved around LPs. Not 78rpms. I'm sure a solid list could be made during the L.P. era

Those tracks were soon compiled onto album, but maybe by then they had already become significant?
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Whether they were or weren't important isn't as significant to the question as it is how significant tgey were from a production perspective. That's the reason the focus is on the LP era. When production value was much higher than the Zeros, 19-teens, '20s, '30s, '40 78 rpm era. Full blown multi-track recording SESSIONS. And not just recordings.

The initial popularity of Celia Cruz with La Sonora Matancera must have been a pivotal moment in Cuban music history - but did a particular album mark her arrival in the public conscious? No idea.
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In retrospect, while she had several recordings throughout the 1960s, accompanied by orchestras led by Memo Salamanca, Rene Hernandez, Vicentico Valdes, Tito Puente, and Larry Harlow, in my opinion the LP "Celia & Johnny" released in 1974, that featured Papo Lucca & Justo Betancourt, in addition to Pacheco and his conjunto, is what fits the bill. In terms of what you described. Marking her arrival, or moreso, marking a arrival for the 2nd stage of her career. That album had the mega hit Quimbara and literally reimagined Celia from La Guarachera de Cuba to La Reina de la Salsa.

Is CELIA & JOHNNY one of the 10 most important LPs from a production perspective? It certainly is in the running of being so. Just have to look at everything else.
 
Richie Blondet said:
in my opinion the LP "Celia & Johnny" released in 1974, that featured Papo Lucca & Justo Betancourt, in addition to Pacheco and his conjunto, is what fits the bill. In terms of what you described. Marking her arrival, or moreso, marking a arrival for the 2nd stage of her career. That album had the mega hit Quimbara and literally reimagined Celia from La Guarachera de Cuba to La Reina de la Salsa.

Is CELIA & JOHNNY one of the 10 most important LPs from a production perspective? It certainly is in the running of being so. Just have to look at everything else.
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I'd put it on the list.
 
Sorry I can’t really contribute much to this thread as my interest in Salsa history is young and marked by Spotify etc.
However, from a production perspective, “el cantante” comes to my mind? Or not?
 
…aaand… productionwise - from a composing/arranging perspective - Ray Barretto is god to me.
I advice to listen to “Guararey de Pastora” in his version and los Van Van’s version - both recorded the same year! I use this a lot to show differences from “real” Cuban music and Salsa
 
Latinjazz said:
…aaand… productionwise - from a composing/arranging perspective - Ray Barretto is god to me.
I advice to listen to “Guararey de Pastora” in his version and los Van Van’s version - both recorded the same year! I use this a lot to show differences from “real” Cuban music and Salsa
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Funnily enough Barretto is God to me too, but that track isn't one of my favourites by him. It is amazing I admit. Maybe I've heard it too many times (as opposed to numerous other tracks by him that I've heard insufficient times).

As re. the Barretto and Van Van versions: it's true that the former is salsa and the latter is Cuban as in made in Cuba. One big difference between the 2 is that the Barretto remains a perfect example of NY salsa whereas the Van Van nowadays is a snapshot of a period in Cuban music that has largely been forgotten. I couldn't imagine any Cuban salsa event or dance classes using that track - or any others from the 1970s - whereas the Barretto version still gets rinsed in Colombia and I suspect in the international salsa scene.

Incidentally if you ever want to broaden the theme of comparing versions of that track, I think quite a few more traditional Cuban artists in the US in the 70s/80s recorded more typical versions. I can only recall the Conjunto Yumurí but I think I've heard or even have others.


You could summarise this as being a traditional Cuban approach - but I can't imagine anyone outside NY (or maybe Miami) recording this.
 
Richie Blondet said:
What are "Salsa's" 10 most important albums from a production perspective.

That means the era of the LP. (1950s-Present)

It doesn't have to be listed numerically by importance. But you can do so, if you wish.

Try to avoid listing your personal favorites and stick to an LPs stature in the context of historical impact across the generations.
Click to expand...
I would say too of the list is "The only salsa album you'll ever need in case of a world wide emergency of any kind...... Volume 14"
 
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