Search - Malo :: Best of Malo

MR OPINION APPEARS AGAIN!

Peppino | 05/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"MALO!! Yea, for hard street funk,Tower of Power, Panama's MANDRILL & MALO gave it to us, streetwise, hot Latin--con sonido, ritmo y estilo! Unfairly referred, I still hear it "CARLOS SANTANA'S LITTLE BROTHER'S BAND".here's somrthing to think about;In the mid 70s, Carlitos grabbed Malo's keyboard player Richi Kermode & bassist Doug Rauch( one of the best unknown electric bassists , along with Itibere from Hermeto and Rocco Prestia from Tower of Power)and put 'em in his Caravanserai /Welcome period bands, the best Santana ever sounded. MALO was always a bit jazzier and a little truer to the New York salsa/rock of Fania records, and Luis on trumpet and Abel Zarate" jazz/rock guitar kicked Jorge Santana's "Carlos sound" 1 notch higher, preventing them from becoming "Santana imitators". Malo really deserved more than just to be a "1 hit wonder"(and what a hit "Suavecito" was!!)Some of the tracks here still kick just as they did inna "old days",and even the dated tracks are nice nostalgia for us "veteranos" who remember the days when music was creative , as record companies didnt force the "homogenious bottom line" as they do today.See where all the "new" groups return to get "ideas". Malo got jazzier as the years moved on, and Abel went on to work with Willie Bobo... Malo stopped "making money", and now, this cd is left for history. VIVA MALO!"

Latin Rock at its best

A. P. Monblat | Sutton, Surrey United Kingdom | 06/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A marvellous find this generous helping of Malo's best tracks. A bit like Santana but not copyist. Perhaps a little more raw and natural and without quite as much of the blues and near-heavy metal influences which Santana sometimes embraced, and which for some could be a possible distraction. (But don't get me wrong, Santana are absolute heros in my book). Great playing across the piece, and above all always highly tuneful and melodic. "Pana" is great, as are "Cafe" and "Nena", but with nearly 75 minutes, there's plenty of other good stuff too. For the full length version of "Cafe" check out the first album "Malo" as well. I first discovered Malo on a live Fillmore album where "Pana" is featured. At the time in the mid-70s all their records were sadly deleted, but I got them as "cut-outs" to my immense good fortune. Now, close on 30 years later, some of Malo's material is available again and has been for a while - this time hopefully for ever, but not necessarily. Get it while you can, starting with this Best Of compilation."

Malo Es Bueno...

Armando M. Mesa | Chandler, AZ | 07/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Was way too young to remember Malo when they emerged in the early 70's. Thanks to my older cousins who introduced me to their sounds years later, I have a new found respect for this type of Latin music. I can also see where Malo and Santana have been compared to each other(brothers Jorge Santana from Malo and Carlos Santana from--well, you all know). However, the distinction I can make is that Santana uses more of a rock edge sound than Malo. Malo has a more romantic Latin dance flavor.Even in the new millennium both groups still sound hot !"