Joe Bataan’s classic 1973 studio album Salsoul was a genre defining freshman release on the fledgling Salsoul label, which Bataan started after growing disagreements and accusations of financial mismanagement led him to a less than amicable split with the Fania label to which he had been signed to since 1966. Salsoul, the title of the album and the label, is literally an amalgam of two genres of music, salsa and soul, musical styles that Bataan soaked up during his youth in New York’s Spanish Harlem. Bataan would later go on to have a best-selling single on Salsoul in 1979 entitled Rap-O-Clap-O which would vary hugely in sound from this first release as the label eventually pushed towards disco—even early rap territories. Salsoul was the ninth studio album recorded by the Afro-Filipino vocalist, where Bataan’s vocal talents and musical direction as a bandleader are on full display.
The set is a heady mixture of Latin soul and salsa, soulful melodies and crooning, heartfelt vocals that imbibe a unique sense of romance, despair and toughness at the same time. The classic Bataan track Ordinary Guy features in its Spanish itineration, Muchacho Ordinario, an upbeat salsa rendition of the original that was initially recorded in English—even on the Fania Label!—possibly a song that he stole back from the catalogue and translated to avoid infringement. Set to the backdrop of the classic Latin rhythm section (timbales congas and upright bass) while slightly off key guitar and upright piano give the track a rootsy, low-budget appeal and a gritty urban edge. One of the album highlights includes the Eumir Deodato cover Latin Strut—lifted from the original Super Strut on Deodato 2 (CTi)—an up tempo and funky rendition with audible Bataan tropes, one of the only instrumental tracks on the album and an extremely funky piece of music with galloping congas, rattling percussion and a raw, innate danceability. This is a trait that Salsoul records would exploit moving into the disco years.
In all, a high quality set that bridges the space between salsa and soul as succinctly as its title suggests. They were certainly 2 sides of the same coin back in seventies New York.
Buy the LP HERE
Listen to the tracks HERE
