Héctor Lavoe’s EL SABIO was originally released in 1980 and blends rhythms and contemporary sounds with some Puerto Rican attitude.
El Sabio turns a piece of folk wisdom into a danceable platform, punching up the power through a line of charging brass leading to Lavoe’s defiant verses to “El Sabio”, an impertinent boastful snob. This is a confrontational song full of Lavoe’s bravura—recounting rivalries wrapped in hypocrisies. Sporting the similar tinge of strings as many Fania productions of this time. “Para Ochun” y “Yemaya” goes back to the African basics evoking the saints of the Ifa’s Regla de Ocha in a call-and-response coro to these two deities. It departs from the traditional, replacing the sonero with the various instruments alternatively taking turns soloing the verses.
Luis Marquetti’s bolero “Plazos Traicioneros” falls on Lavoe like rain from the sky. Smooth, melodic and seamless and fused with emotional sentiment, it is a laid-back break from the rest of the dance tunes. “Noche de Farra” gets an updated New York beat on this otherwise laid-back cha cha cha style popularized by La Sonora Matancera in the 1950s.
Fania All-Stars
Héctor Lavoe’s EL SABIO was originally released in 1980 and blends rhythms and contemporary sounds with some Puerto Rican attitude.
El Sabio turns a piece of folk wisdom into a danceable platform, punching up the power through a line of charging brass leading to Lavoe’s defiant verses to “El Sabio”, an impertinent boastful snob. This is a confrontational song full of Lavoe’s bravura—recounting rivalries wrapped in hypocrisies. Sporting the similar tinge of strings as many Fania productions of this time. “Para Ochun” y “Yemaya” goes back to the African basics evoking the saints of the Ifa’s Regla de Ocha in a call-and-response coro to these two deities. It departs from the traditional, replacing the sonero with the various instruments alternatively taking turns soloing the verses.
Luis Marquetti’s bolero “Plazos Traicioneros” falls on Lavoe like rain from the sky. Smooth, melodic and seamless and fused with emotional sentiment, it is a laid-back break from the rest of the dance tunes. “Noche de Farra” gets an updated New York beat on this otherwise laid-back cha cha cha style popularized by La Sonora Matancera in the 1950s.
EL SABIO is out today, and available in HI-RES AUDIO for the first time!
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