Good Vibrations (Remastered)

This is Gilberto Santa Rosa's maiden effort as a bandleader, the one that kicked in one of the most successful salsa stories in history. At that time, the band had an overall sound that great resemblance to the Mario Ortiz Orchestra's (incidentally, the album's musical director/producer), and it certainly was not oriented to look for a new sound as opposed to the bright content that it sported. Nevertheless, it scores heavily, with tunes like "Sin un Amor," Charlie Donato's tailor-made "Cantante de Cartel," "Mañana al Mediodía," and "Encrucijada" (oddly enough, this tune somehow anticipates his success with Omar Alfanno's "Conciencia," as far as content). Of course, Gilberto's deft improvisations are the main ingredient here, one that will be honed to greater effect in future ventures. ~ José A. Estévez, Jr., Rovi