Songs you like to listen to but not to dance to

A

AndrewS

Changui
Does anybody else suffer from this?

There are some songs that I really like listening to but I find them quite difficult to dance to. One example is "Guaguanco con Rumba" by Johnny Polanco. I love this song but I tried dancing to it on Monday and it's full of rhythm changes (from 1 to 5 and back again a few bars later) and there's this long repetitive bit near the end which isn't the best to keep dancing to.

I like Merecumbe too but if I dance to it I generally need a couple of songs' break to cool down after!
 
In general, since I know the version of Merecumbe that I usually hear is on the longish side, I try to pace myself in the early part. The song lends itself to a gradual buildup anyway, so it seems fitting.

Similarly, the version of Ran Kan Kan and Mama Guela that I usually hear tend to be on the fast side (with Ran Kan Kan having a particularly long & fast percussion solo towards the end), so those are two songs that I might sit out and prefer to listen to. I do like both songs.
 
And on the other side, Acid is a bit too slow to social dance to. It's perfectly ok for practice sessions, but the BPM is slow for salsa dancing, IMHO.
 
Almost anything by Joe Bataan. I love his funky style but it's usually deceptively too fast or too slow.

Also, anything with too many beat changes: nice to listen to, but frustrating on the dance floor. And there's at least one song I hear a lot (and I wouldn't like to listen to it at home either) that switches to 3/3 time in the middle and no matter how much I concentrate it always takes me ages to get back on beat after this bridge finishes.
 
I looove fast songs, but mama guela on the fania allstars album is crazy fast, and the band even loses the rhythm during that. I usually enjoy clave reversals and treat them as a game or a test of my ability to anticipate them. You rarely get boleros when it's a DJ but I love to hear them live, and have no clue how to dance to them. Afro 6/8 is entrancing, though I'll usually try to figure a way to interpret them... basically, if I like a song, I will dance to it. I might have to get the basic down to 2 inches and miss out most steps, but - well, it's dancin' music innit!
 
tj said:
And on the other side, Acid is a bit too slow to social dance to. It's perfectly ok for practice sessions, but the BPM is slow for salsa dancing, IMHO.
Click to expand...

Ooh Acid is just great for cruising along to! Not any hardcore moves.. Just slow smooth cruising. It can be bliss sometimes! :)
 
narcosis said:
tj said:
And on the other side, Acid is a bit too slow to social dance to. It's perfectly ok for practice sessions, but the BPM is slow for salsa dancing, IMHO.
Click to expand...

Ooh Acid is just great for cruising along to! Not any hardcore moves.. Just slow smooth cruising. It can be bliss sometimes! :)
Click to expand...

I love Acid, but would probably shine for most of the song!
 
sweavo said:
narcosis said:
tj said:
And on the other side, Acid is a bit too slow to social dance to. It's perfectly ok for practice sessions, but the BPM is slow for salsa dancing, IMHO.
Click to expand...

Ooh Acid is just great for cruising along to! Not any hardcore moves.. Just slow smooth cruising. It can be bliss sometimes! :)
Click to expand...

I love Acid, but would probably shine for most of the song!
Click to expand...

One of my instructors clearly loves this track too – don’t know which type of drum it is, but she can perfectly time shoulder rolls and shoulder ‘pops’ to the big percussion section.

A couple of Angel Canales’ tracks mess me up real good and Tipica 73’s Baila Que Baila (???spelling???) has an odd clave pattern that confuses me a bit – I should probably just stop thinking about it and dance.
 
AndrewD said:
sweavo said:
narcosis said:
tj said:
And on the other side, Acid is a bit too slow to social dance to. It's perfectly ok for practice sessions, but the BPM is slow for salsa dancing, IMHO.
Click to expand...

Ooh Acid is just great for cruising along to! Not any hardcore moves.. Just slow smooth cruising. It can be bliss sometimes! :)
Click to expand...

I love Acid, but would probably shine for most of the song!
Click to expand...

One of my instructors clearly loves this track too – don’t know which type of drum it is, but she can perfectly time shoulder rolls and shoulder ‘pops’ to the big percussion section.
Click to expand...

IIRC first after the brass is a timbale solo - the slightly metallic sounding drum (my fave instrument) then conga solo (more rounded, wooden tone)

A couple of Angel Canales’ tracks mess me up real good and Tipica 73’s Baila Que Baila (???spelling???) has an odd clave pattern that confuses me a bit – I should probably just stop thinking about it and dance.
Click to expand...


Hmm, don't think I have those tracks, I'll have to dig around.
 
La Malanga!
Such a great song, but who on earth really wants to dance to it in the course of a normal evening?!? A live band played an extended extended version of it in Hamburg last month...that was a killer. But then here in Barcelona, where I am on vacation, the DJ woman (is there a correct female term??) had it between 2 other fast songs...ouch, I just sat dow and enjoyed listening :)
 
Adoracion by Eddie Palmieri

It's a masterpiece, a Latin Classical. Descargas and tunes like Adoracion are not meant to be danced to; They are performance numbers meant for places like Carnegie Hall.

EDIT by Moderator: Links removed. Please use the video section for video links.
 
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