Joe Bataan with Los Fulanos - King of Latin Soul
(Vampi Soul VAMPICD111)
From Aural Innovations October 2009 update
Joe Bataan, the King of Latin Soul, joins forces with Los Fulanos from Barcelona, Spain on this pretty cool release. The booklet is a great read as Joe has had a hell of a life and been deeply embedded in the NYC music scene especially in the 60’s and 70’s. Joe reminds me of Toots Maytal sometimes. The music is really well produced and must sound great on vinyl. The band is very solid and so are most of the songs, which will remind you of War, Santana, and other Latin bands that mix rock and funk. Quite a number of tracks really had me bouncing around the room. I was not too wild about the rap like tracks but it was cool that Joe mixed up his styles. Damn cool stuff
Check out the Vampi Soul site at: http://www.vampisoul.com
Reviewed by Scott Heller