El Nuevo Montuno Llego

Description

Roberto y su Nuevo Montuno recorded their first album, "El Nuevo Montuno Llego" (1970), when Roberto Berrios was just 22 years old. This was also the debut release on Haddock's own Uniart label. Berrios remembers that they did the recording in two sessions, splitting it up into four tracks per visit. The engineer was the famed Pedro "Pedrito" Henriquez, who recorded El Gran Combo, Roberto Roena and many others. The band had a mix of tasty, powerful originals, from Tony Cintron's title track that announced the band had arrived, 'El Nuevo Montuno Llego,' to Quique Davila's mournful 'Triste Arrabal.' Then there was the hit Santeria themed tune, 'Llame a Chango,' which was a song that Quique Davila brought to the band, but had been originally composed by Carlos Pinto, though Quique was given the credit. Davila also composed 'Me Queda Un Guaguanco,' which is Roberto's favorite song on the record (as well as a fan favorite), with Papo sounding like his friend Hector Lavoe, and Quique Davila's proud manifesto declaring that Puerto Rico now had its own son montuno, 'Oye Tu Son, Borinquen,' featuring the pianist's tasty but brief solo. The cover versions came from the group's earliest period when most of their repertoire consisted of renditions of beloved but lesser known tunes, and include Louie Ramirez's 'Balanceate' (a favorite of Roberto's from Ray Barretto's songbook), Bobby Valentin's 'Monina y Ramon' (recorded during his stint with Willie Rosario), and a bolero indelibly sung by Cheo Feliciano when he was with the Joe Cuba Sextet, 'Dichoso,' written by Joe Cuba's talented pianist, Nick Jimenez. Some of the arranging was done by Cintron and some by Davila, though Quique had some help from his old friend from El Combo Moderno, Freddie Miranda, who at that time was with Roberto Roena's Apollo Sound. Roberto says that the arrangements of the cover tunes were made specifically to be different and more contemporary sounding than the originals. "El Nuevo Montuno Llego" has become a legendary salsa dura classic from Puerto Rico and we are thrilled to present this first legitimately licensed and remastered vinyl reissue. It includes detailed liner notes that reveal the untold story of the band and their debut album, and rare photos.