{"id":31784,"date":"2026-07-28T05:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T09:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=31784"},"modified":"2026-07-28T07:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T11:42:34","slug":"album-review-ray-barretto-acid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/album-review-ray-barretto-acid\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Ray Barretto \u2013 Acid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Launched in New York City in 1964, Fania Records quickly became a major force in the salsa music world. Over the years, Fania has released important works by some of the genre\u2019s biggest exponents, including Willie Col\u00f3n, Rub\u00e9n Blades, Celia Cruz and many others. I wrote a bit about Fania in early 2025 when reviewing the excellent compilation Fania Records: The Latin Sound of New York (1964-1978)<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Fania focused nearly exclusively on salsa, the label did what it could to break out to a larger audience. And while Ray Barretto was already a well established and respected artist in his own right, he wasn\u2019t above trying to earn more fans by broadening his appeal. So both label and artist should be forgiven for a bit of misdirection in releasing Barretto\u2019s 1968 with the title Acid<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Housed in a lurid red cover with suitably \u201cfreaky\u201d title lettering, Acid<\/em> is not, in fact, an acid-rock LP. In fact it\u2019s not an acid-anything<\/em> record. What it is, however, is a superb and highly exuberant showcase of soulful salsa, late sixties version.<\/p>\n

Barretto was already known for his crossover forays; previous albums sported titles that telegraphed the intent: Viva Watusi!<\/i> and Se\u00f1or 007<\/i> (both 1965), and 1967\u2019s Latina Con Soul<\/em> made it plain that the percussionist and band leader wanted a piece of the larger action.<\/p>\n

But Barretto did it boldly and on his own terms. Leading an eight-man band and reigning behind a set of congas, Barretto delivered eight spirited tracks on Acid<\/i> (as it were). A familiar signature riff and classic Cuban-style rhythms are the basis of \u201cEl Nuevo Barretto.\u201d In truth it\u2019s not all that nuevo<\/i>, but boy-oh-boy is it fun. Irresistibly exciting and alluringly hypnotic, the tune has that sawing rhythm paired with ganged\/harmony vocals and bursts of lead trumpet bringing even more thrills. (And it goes without saying that the polyrhythms are first-rate, as is the piano solo).<\/p>\n

\u201cMercy Mercy Baby\u201d digs deep into groove territory; it\u2019s sexy stuff. The tune is quite short on lyrics, but words aren\u2019t the point here. The indelible groove reigns supreme. The title track features some impassioned trumpet work and even more thrilling percussion. It\u2019s less a song than a sonic groove-canvas for soloing, but within that framework, it\u2019s classic.<\/p>\n

The final song on Side One will be well-known to fans of \u201890s alternative rock. In 1990 Dutch band Urban Dance Squad released a song called \u201cDeeper Shade of Soul,\u201d and earned a Billboard<\/i> hit single for their trouble. The song is said to \u201csample\u201d Barretto\u2019s Acid<\/i> track \u201cA Deeper Shade of Soul\u201d (note the leading \u201cA\u201d), but that description is too generous to the Netherlanders. Fine as their tune is, it simply couldn\u2019t exist without Barretto\u2019s original. Their track isn\u2019t so much sampling the 1968 track as it is completely and utterly built upon and around it. And as much as UDS\u2019 tune is an undeniably fun listen, it pales when held up again Ray Barretto\u2019s recording. (In a bit of retrospective irony, Barretto\u2019s \u201cA Deeper Shade of Soul\u201d itself lifts directly from Eddie Floyd\u2019s \u201cKnock on Wood,\u201d but that\u2019s another story.)<\/p>\n

Side Two\u2019s \u201cThe Soul Drummers\u201d is more infectious groove. Hypnotic in the extreme, it may well move non-dancers to, well, move<\/i>. \u201cSola Te Dejar\u00e9\u201d is the most authentically salsa-fied track on Acid<\/i>; it\u2019s rooted less in groove (albeit still mucho groovy) and more in melody and polyrhythms. It also sounds a lot like the live music I heard all over Cuba when I visited the beleaguered island nation last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeacher of Love\u201d is as sexy as its title telegraphs. More vocal-forward than most of the other Acid<\/em> tracks, it\u2019s built around a two-chord foundation with bursts of horns, varied vocal textures and a very with-it bass line from a musician credited only as \u201cBig Daddy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acid<\/i> concludes with \u201cEsp\u00edritu Libre,\u201d which translates as \u201cTrue Spirit.\u201d The tracks is a bit of an outlier on the album, as it takes its time to get going; all the other cuts are immediate, delivering the goods right out of the gate. It\u2019s jazzy and dissonant in a way that the rest of the record is not, but it\u2019s fascinating nonetheless. At eight-plus minutes, the exuberant exotica of \u201cEsp\u00edritu Libre\u201d might be a bit much for those lured in by the groove, but it\u2019s a worthwhile listening experience.<\/p>\n

Vocalist and guiro player Pete Bonet lent a deeply idiosyncratic liner note essay to the back of the original LP, and it\u2019s reproduced here along with the album art. It\u2019s must-read stuff, though it will leave those unfamiliar with Barretto\u2019s body of work more than a little perplexed. But if it \u2013 and the fine music on Acid<\/i> \u2013 leads them in the direction of more from Ray Barretto and\/or Fania Records, that will be muy bueno<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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