The House That Al Built - The Alegre Records Story 1957-1977 (2008)

×

The House That Al Built - The Alegre Records Story 1957-1977 (2008)

Close

Long after the deluxe treatment was awarded to some other seminal labels in popular music history (Sun, Chess, Specialty, Fania), the Alegre label finally received its due with The House That Al Built: The Alegre Records Story 1957-1977. And this two-disc set is an incredibly welcome addition to the catalog, since Alegre is the only label that rivaled (and often surpassed) the mighty Fania in terms of quality and innovation within Latin music during the 1960s. The label was originally formed by Al Santiago as a mid-'50s record store named Casalegre, and his ear for great music naturally turned from selling it to organizing its recording and production. He was the first to record a parade of great Latin artists, from Johnny Pacheco to Eddie Palmieri to Willie Colón. (Given the inspiration Santiago gave to Pacheco alone, it's easy to reach the conclusion that Fania would never have existed in the same form without him.) He also organized, produced, and released many of the best Latin albums of the '60s, from Palmieri's first few La Perfecta records to the Alegre All-Stars dates, which are better than virtually any other descarga jams (barring only the originals by Cachao), which makes them better than virtually any Latin record extant. Despite considerable outside influence from its artists, Alegre did have a house style – light and nimble playing but in a brassy salsa style that emphasized freewheeling musicianship more than the in-the-pocket grooves that came to characterize Latin music after Fania's founding in the mid-'60s. There are only two caveats to this wonderful set: the two-disc program could have easily allowed for another 45 minutes of music, and compilation producer Bobby Marin gives just a little too much time to the last half of Alegre's lifespan, the late '60s and '70s. Most of what made Alegre special – and continues to languish in semi-obscurity – happened before 1967. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide