Description
Release Date Friday 24th January 2025
All pre-orders will be dispatched/made ready for collection on that day.
“Libre – Free” is the now legendary second album by the short-lived Brooklyn Sounds and is arguably even better than their self-titled debut, displaying a more mature and practiced sound, no doubt honed by their experiences playing more gigs in support of their first record.
Brooklyn Sounds were one of a handful of garage salsa bands from the independent scene that was gathering steam in the early 1970s in the New York boroughs, despite little support or exposure in the mainstream Latin music industry from more dominant labels like Fania, Mericana, Cotique and Alegre. As with many others, Brooklyn Sounds briefly fluoresced in a burst of creativity and defiance, yet flamed out shortly thereafter, dying like a flower among the ruins of burned-out apartment blocks in the barrios of its home city.
Though the band only cut two LPs and a couple singles in their brief half-decade of existence, and never really broke out of the cuchifrito circuit in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, their music gradually spread far and wide, eventually becoming a sought-after global commodity by the late 1990s.
In contrast to the first album “Libre – Free” is uptempo and ebullient, with fewer slow songs and more confident, creative arrangements, full of heavy Nuyorican underground salsa dura propelled by raw trombones, off-kilter piano and in-your-face percussion. Standout tracks include the uplifting, anthemic ‘Libre soy’, and ‘Ha llegado el momento’, with its minor key ‘Moliendo café’ quote at the beginning—both of which have become dance floor anthems over the years. Another mid-tempo killer is ‘Guaguancó tropical’, a favorite in Colombia since the 1970s.
A perfect blend of barrio attitude and Caribbean swing, the album proves Brooklyn has sabor y salsa!
TRACKLIST
Side A
1. LIBRE SOY
2. CHANGO SANTERO
3. LÁGRIMAS NEGRAS CON LOIZA ALDEA
4. ESTA VIDA SWEET MY WOMAN
Side B
1. GUAGUANCÓ TROPICAL
2. HA LLEGADO EL MOMENTO
3. LAS MARGARITAS
4. CALMA TU LLANTO
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