Salsa Music Album: El Gran Combo “50 Aniversario”

In “50 Aniversario” El Gran Combo re-recorded some of their more contemporary past Salsa hits, including some they had not played much since they were originally released.

True to El Gran Combo’s anniversary celebration recordings, this studio recording sub-titled “Primer Volumen” (Volume 1) looks back at their discography. This time it focuses on songs from the 1970’s and 80’s. No more songs from their first decade (1960’s and early 70’s), as they have re-done those in previous anniversary albums.

The album is dedicated to Eddie “La Bala” Perez, who passed away last year in the middle of a legal dispute with his former group for unlawful termination. When Eddie fell seriously ill, the lawsuits were put aside and the group showed their support to their co-founder. “50 Aniversario” was Eddie Perez’s last recording.

What I Liked About “50 Aniversario”

Great Songs – there were many times when in live presentations I saw El Gran Combo’s director Rafael Ithier ask the audience what song they wanted to hear. People start shouting an infinite number of songs from El Gran Combo’s vast discography. And since Ithier knows its impossible for an audience to reach consensus on one song, he ends up playing whatever he wants, even when the audience may mistakenly feel they were considered in the decision.

It’s virtually impossible to for all to agree on the songbook for an anniversary album from El Gran Combo, but I liked that the selection included popular and not so popular songs. There are songs like “Cupido”, “A Natalia”, and “Te Vas a Arrepentir” that El Gran Combo had not played much since their original release. These songs didn’t get all that much radio play time either after their release, which makes them ideal for a refreshing comeback.

Good El Gran Combo Sound – the legendary Salsa music band still sounds sharp in “50 Aniversario”.  El Combo is impeccable in their execution with a sound that has evolved some since Willie Sotelo took over at piano from Rafael Ithier.

Musical Arrangements – There are good and bads regarding the arrangements. I’ll mention the good here, and leave the bad for the next section. For the most part I liked El Gran Combo’s arrangements of the old songs. They gave some songs a little variation (“Te Vas a Arrepentir” and “La Cumbancha” are examples) in the musicality in order to give them a face lift.

Some songs were extended a bit, the coro in “La Cumbancha” varied a little from the original, and Charlie and Jerry did their best to mix old “soneos” from the original recording with new “soneos” to add freshness to the songs.

What I Didn’t’ Like About “50 Aniversario”

Musical Arrangements – ..and here’s the bad part. I thought El Gran Combo could have done more to add new twist to old songs and still maintain the original flavor of it. A 2nd “coro” or a mambo with a different twist (which they did on a couple of songs) could have made the old songs more interesting.

Where is “Ahhiiiiiiiiiiii”? – As a tribute to Eddie Perez it would have been nice if El Gran Combo had taken one of Eddie’s famous song ending yells of “ahhiiiiiiiiii” recorded in one of their live albums, and inserted it at the end of the last song of the album as a final ending. They may still be on-time to add this in “Volumen 2” whenever it comes out.

Recommendation of “50 Aniversario”

Overall I liked “50 Aniversario”. I liked the songs selection of the 70’s and 80’s with the 2013 sound of El Gran Combo. It’s incredibly hard to replicate the essence of old recordings. However, El Gran Combo did their best in giving a modern twist to old songs that take us back into memory lane. I believe Salsa music fans will enjoy this anthology of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.

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Video of El Gran Combo “Cupido”

Here is a video of El Gran Combo playing one of my favorite songs in “50 Aniversario” titled “Cupido”. And the “ñapa” is that you can hear Eddie Perez’s “AHIIIIIII” at the end of the song; a Gran Combo signature that will be missed!