AMG Review of Historia de la Salsa

Thom Jurek
All Music Guide

The Willie Colón volume in Fania’s Historia de la Salsa series isn’t exactly a best-of, but it’s not meant to be. This ten-track selection focuses on Colón the innovator, and particularly on his years with Héctor Lavoe fronting his killer orchestra from 1967 through 1975’s The Good, the Bad, the Ugly. In addition to early classic tracks recorded by the two --“Juanito Alimaña,” “Che Che Colé,” “Borinquen,” and “El Dia de Suerte,” there are some later cuts including “Volare Puerto Rico” from Fantasmas, and “Sin Poerta Hablar” from Solo. In addition, the track “Todo Tiene Su Final” is included here, just as it is on the Lavoe volume in the series, perhaps indicating the moment they knew the split was coming. While it may seem like a casually assembled collection, one listen will inform the listener that it is sequenced to denote key moments in the development of salsa.