Latin​-​Soul​-​Rock

In the early ’70s, musicians in every genre — rock, jazz, funk and R&B, even country — were feeling themselves, stretching artistic boundaries and experimenting and joining forces in surprising but brilliant new combinations. On this half-studio, half-live album, the Fania All-Stars, a collective that included leader Johnny Pacheco, vocalists Héctor Lavoe and Cheo Feliciano, trombonist Willie Colón, and many more, brought in some heavy hitters from the worlds of rock and jazz fusion: keyboardist Jan Hammer and drummer Billy Cobham from the original lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango, and guitarist Jorge Santana, brother of Carlos and leader of the highly underrated Malo. The result is a head-spinning blend of salsa, jazz, and hard rock (on the centerpiece “El Ratón,” with an all-time Feliciano vocal and searing Santana solos).