Pete El Conde Rodriguez El Rey Fania Records (JMLP-663) No other sonero has tackled the son, the guaguanco and the son montuno with the verve, musically and sheer flavor of Ponceno Pete El Conde Rodriguez. During his many performances with the Fania All Stars around the world, and even when he traveled to Africa with Johnny Pachecos Tumbao Anejo group, many people wondered if he was Cuban when they heard him singing and improvising. El Conde had the same flavor that defined Cuban luminaries such as Miguelito Cuni and Beny More, El Barbaro del Ritmo. From his recording debut with Conjunto Sencacion in the early 60s, Pete Juan Rodriguez Ferrer, nicknamed El Conde was destined to succeed. He spent most of his career collaborating with his compadre Johnny Pacheco, which suggests a uniformity of style 1990s El Rey, that last salsa session recorded by the Fania Record label, is no exception. Produced by Johnny Pacheco, El Rey was El Condes response to the salsa romantica boom. It includes a number of bolero and ranchera covers adapted into salsa, such as Yo Quiero Ser and Yo Soy El Rey by Jose Alfredo Jimenez, as well as Que Te Pedi, the composition by Fernando Mullens and Gabriel de la Fuente immortalized by La Lupe thanks to her interpretation coupled with Tito Puentes arrangement. Here, it is orchestrated by Papo Lucca and sounds as if it was performed by La Sonora Poncena. The insipid rhythm of salsa romantica did not adjust well to his style, since El Conde was more a streetwise sonero with a passionate sense of phrasing and a peerless understanding of the Afro-Cuban clave. In that respect Petes best performances on El Rey include Ramon Rodriguezs Hipocrita, Tite Curet Alonsos Reliquias, La Rumba Es Mia, by Junior Cepeda (composer of the famous composition Quinbara), the bolero con montuno Rie and Gandules by Peter Velasquez. The arrangements were signed by Luis Garcia, Luis Cruz and Papo Lucca. Hipocrita which includes a brief tres solo by Jose Garcia tells the story of a young girl who is engaged to her boyfriend and appears to act like a saint. And yet, she runs away with a friend for a night of misbehaving. Tite Curet Alonsos Reliquias is a metaphor for absent love, in which the memories of a shared passion are presented like a treasure in ones memory. Pete plays maracas and a bongo solo on La Rumba Es Mia, a guaguanco in which El Conde expresses his pride about his heritage as a real rumbero. The record concludes with Gandules, a son by Peter Velasquez which follows the classic style of Pachecos Tumbao Anejo. The track mocks the abundance of friends when times are good, and their absence when, in the songs words, la piña se pone agria (when the pineapple goes sour). In his recordings with Larry Harlow, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Jimmy Bosch, as well as the 1993 album Generaciones that he produced with his children Cita and Pete Emilio for his own company Maraca Records, Pete El Conde proved that he could go beyond the Sonora Matancera tradition, performing in other styles. But he was never a successful bolero performer, unlike Monguito, Chivirico and Justo Betancourt. This may explain why the 1990 bolero session Pete & Papo was largely misunderstood. Pete El Conde Rodriguez died on December 1, 2000. In the realm of the heavenly rumba, he is still El Rey. Enjoy! Side A 1. Que Te Pedi *** 2. Yo Quiero Ser * 3. Hipocrita * 4. Reliquias ** Side B 1. Yo Soy El Rey * 2. La Rumba Es Mia * 3. Rie * 4. Gandules ** Personnel: Pete El Conde Rodriguez: Maracas, Bongo Solo (B2) Isidro Infante: Acoustic Grand Piano Papo Lucca: Acoustic Grand Piano (A1) Johnny Pacheco: Guiro Hector Bomberito Zarzuela: Trumpet Danny Jimenez: Trumpet Johnny Torres: Ampeg Baby Bass Andy Gonzalez: Ampeg Baby Bass Eddie Montalvo: Conga Tony Saydat: Bongo, Cowbell Jose Garcia: Tres Lead Vocals: Pete El Conde Rodriguez Coro: Yayo El Indio Adalberto Santiago Musical Arrangements by: Luis Garcia * Luis Cruz ** Papo Lucca *** Produced by: Johnny Pacheco Executive Producer: Jerry Masucci Musical Director: Johnny Pacheco Album Cover Photo: Ed Brown Album Cover Design: Drago Recording Engineer: Irv Greenbaum Recorded @: La Tierra Sound Studios, NYC FANIA RECORDS, 1980 A FANIA RECORDS PRODUCTION
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 19:07:35 +0000
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