Some would say the title of this package is deceptive, as it only covers his mid- to late-'60s period with
Columbia (and should not be confused with other
Mongo Santamaria releases with similar titles covering different eras, such as
Fantasy's). Furthermore, some would also say that it's not representative of
Santamaria's best work, or that representative of
Santamaria at all, since it's largely devoted to some of his most
pop-oriented material. That's the purist stance, anyway. Because actually, this disc is for the most part a gas, even if it is not among the more
Latin-esque or jazzy of his recordings. His
Columbia stint saw the influence of
soul become ascendant upon his studio output and indeed, many of the tunes here are
soul covers:
"Cloud Nine," "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay," "Twenty-Five Miles," "Cold Sweat," and
"Green Onions." Being commercial, however -- and this was an attempt by
Santamaria and
Columbia to be commercial, as both
Santamaria and producer
David Rubinson state in the liner notes -- does not always lead to bad music. Sometimes, indeed, it leads to pretty good music. And the 1964-1969 cuts on this disc are cool, often smokin'
boogaloo, that mixture of
Latin,
jazz,
soul, and
pop that briefly became in vogue during the '60s. If
Mongo and his large bands were disenchanted with this direction, it certainly doesn't show at all in the performances, which have an irresistible verve, whether on tailored-for-
Santamaria compositions like
"Fatback" or shopworn material like
"La Bamba." The 2000 CD reissue's a big improvement on the original 1970 LP, adding five bonus tracks, including a live version of his famous
"Afro Blue." The 1965 reading of
"Watermelon Man," incidentally, that kicks off this comp is not the original hit rendition, but it's good just the same. ~ Richie Unterberger
