Dance Latino

AMG Review of Dance Latino

Tony Wilds
All Music Guide

The rarest and last of his U.S. Victor recordings, Dance Latino is pitched as a dance album with the "provocative Prado beat," but it is no more so than previous albums. The calypso piece (played Latin-style) offers a mildly interesting vocal; more compelling is the play on words, "Cucara, Cha Cha Cha." "Romana," "Cricket Serenade," and others curiously explore percussion somewhat in the manner of earlier "Stereo Action" albums. In fact, most of this album sounds like leftovers from Prado albums of several years earlier. The dominant style is syncopated ("for dancing") cha cha cha at a moderate tempo. "La Rubia" starts off the livelier second side, and "Be True to Me" revisits some of the torpor of "Cherry Pink." "Abulaby Laby," has a muddy sound and never goes anywhere, but its unique exotic flavor is priceless. "Keep Dancing" is as good a swan song as any, though too brief, hitting just the right tempo with quirky punctuations in high Three Suns style.