Search - Various Artists :: Maxi Salsa

Drawing mainly from the glorious Fania and Tico labels of the '60s and '70s, the four-CD Maxi Salsa contains 60 tracks of pure dynamite. Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colon, Johnny Pacheco, Hector Lavoe, Joe Cuba, and Ismael Riviera are just a few artists in full flight, gleaned from one of the great periods of salsa--when Cuba and Puerto Rico met head on with soul music in New York. Also included are Caribbean artists like Malavoi and Dede Saint Prix together with the current French salsa group Fatal Mambo, giving a certain depth to this glorious overview of the Latin experience. Classics and rarities rub shoulders in an indispensable box set that should be snapped up by salsa aficionados and novices alike. --Derek Rath