*EDIT*
If you downloaded the songs as single tracks, the way I originally posted them, some of the songs will be messed up. So, I've reposted them, all in one big zip file. Sorry for the confusion, but now there are even more songs than I originally posted. Enjoy!
A quick primer on his music: Lavoe collaborated extensively with Willie Colón, an important man in the NYC salsa scene from the '70s on. Colón was a trombonist, and his extensive use of trombone in the horn section (including all-trombone horn sections) was innovative and, IMO, appropriate. It created a mellower, darker sound, appropriate for salsa of the time, when so many lyrics dealt with gritty or serious subjects.
For those new to salsa, my favorite feature of the music is that you have so many disparate elements come together to make one great texture. It's kind of like that ice-breaking game where one person repeats a motion and sound, and one by one, people join in until they've created a huge machine. To truly appreciate the musical features of salsa, a fun exercise is to isolate each instrument and sing along with it. Feel the rhythmic tension in the places where you're not singing and something else is.
And now, the songs. Here is the MegaUpload link. It's a large file, so just get it started, and before you know it, you'll have 22 songs for your summer soundtrack. It includes non-Lavoe songs, but for now, I've only written notes for some of the Lavoe songs.
Here's the tracklist:
Abuelita- Hector Lavoe
Aguijon- Willie Colon
Ah Ah, Oh No- Hector Lavoe
Bandolera- Hector Lavoe
Barrunto- Hector Lavoe
Calle Luna, Calle Sol- Hector Lavoe
De Ti Depende- Hector Lavoe
Fue Varon- Ruben Blades
Juanito Alimaña- Hector Lavoe
La Fama- Hector Lavoe
La Maleta- Ruben Blades
La Mora- Ruben Blades
La Murga- Hector Lavoe
Me Voy a Pinar del Rio- Celia Cruz
Periodico de Ayer- Hector Lavoe
Pintame- Elvis Crespo
Plantacion Adentro- Ruben Blades
Segun el Color- Ruben Blades
Soñando Despierto- Hector Lavoe
Todo Tiene Su Final- Hector Lavoe
Un Amor de La Calle- Hector Lavoe
Dom's Original Notes:
La Fama- a rumination on how alienating it is to be famous.
Ah-Ah, Oh No- my new favorite: a dude is getting mixed signals from his honeycakes.
Periodico de Ayer- classic!!!
"Your love is like yesterday's newspaper, that no one buys to read anymore.
Sensational when it appeared in the morning,
It was confirmed news by noon,
And at evening, forgotten material...
And why would anyone read yesterday's newspaper?"
Abuelita- this song makes me wish I knew my grandmothers better. Actually, they were both mean-ass women, so I mean this in a completely idealized-grandmother way.
"Thinking about my grandmother (abuelita)
The things she told me make me smile,
And now it's I who say them,
Listen, because you'll say them too."
De Ti Depende- this is bolero- a slow, romantic ballad with an easy, intimate dance. Turn the lights down low and get close, y'all.
Un Amor de la Calle- another slower selection, but this time a rumba. I think the rumba might be the sexiest dance ever. Yup, I say that with full knowledge that the tango is shaking it's sexy finger at me, but really, the tango is way too obvious. In the rumba, the passion is simmered down- the difference between balsamic vinegar and a reduction. Maybe I'm full of shit. Strangely enough, this song's lyrics are pretty rough. Paraphrasing:
"I thought you were different and sincere, and I let you in my life without conditions, but it all turned out to be a dream. You're just one of many. You're like any one out there. A love like yours is found in the streets."
Ouch.
Soñando Despierto- God this song rocks so hard. By the time the coro (background singers) comes in halfway through the song, I'm bouncing as if I were listening to Southern rap, or something. The arrangement is so tight- the trombone chorus, the tension created when the cowbell enters; this is not a flashy song, rather, it's like a simple dish where you have just a few amazing elements that when combined, magnify each other's loveliness in perfect delight. The tight and insistent piano rhythms clash perfectly with the temporarily lazy cowbell. Then the cowbell tightens up, accompanying a trombone riff so fierce, it sounds like a shark is gonna come and gobble you up. The conguero throws in just a few extra hits that almost sound like he's fucking up the rhythm, but then you realize that he's totally right, and it makes your spine tingle and your body release. I'm getting hyped just writing about it. Songs like this make me want to go practice on the congas my brother misguidedly bought this past Christmas. (That's an entry in the making.)
Bandolera- back to something faster, a very traditional salsa. This is what salsa should sound like. A clear mambo influence (jazzy horn writing and traditional instrumentation) but with that NYC spin on it. There's a really long piano solo in this song that I have memorized note for note. This song is a 'fuck off' to the shit talkers. The PR slang for shit talking is bochinche, and it's one of my favorite words. A shit talker is a bochinchero/a. To be honest, I have no idea what a "bandolera" is, but it don't seem good. Anyone want to educate me?
Juanito Alimaña- when you live life in the fast lane, you might get hemmed up. "The streets are a jungle of concrete and fierce savages. Everywhere danger is waiting for you."
Calle Luna, Calle Sol- one of the fiercest songs for its background vocals alone. Another song of warning: "Camina pa'lante no mires para el'lao"- "Walk straight ahead, don't look to the side." Sounds like when I go to NY.
Todo Tiene Su Final- "Everything has its end, nothing lasts forever. We need to remember that eternity does not exist."
Hope you all enjoy the new tunes.
4 comments:
Just reading the words Periodico de Ayer makes my heart drop a little.
Vaya!
I know- he's so flippant with the text in the first half of the song, just like you'd throw away a newspaper. It's amazing.
Dude I CANNOT get these shits to download. Is there another way? I go to the site and enter the little three letter verification, and I can see the name of your file, but no download starts. Do I have to join or something?
Yes, it's a pain in the ass, and the designers could make it more clear. Basically, once you enter in the code, a page comes up, showing a comparison of the premium and free services. At the bottom of the "free" list, there will be a countdown going on, and when the countdown is finished, the button will read "free download". Click on that bitch, and you should be good to go.
I know, it sucks, but for now it's what it is.
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