Craft Latino is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary Latin music label's historic album release: "Fania All Stars' Latin-Soul-Rock" which will receive a special 180-gram vinyl reissue and is now available digitally with 192/24 hi-res audio.
Remastered from analog sources by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, the tip-on single-pocket gatefold jacket-housed LP replicates its original design and includes liner notes from Fania founder and producer Jerry Masucci.
In addition, a deluxe Fuego vinyl color exclusive, limited to 300 copies, with an exciting bundle option that includes a "Fania All Stars Live at Yankee Stadium" commemorative baseball T-shirt is available for pre-order at Fania.com.
About the 'Fania All Stars' LP's Origins
In August 1973, over 40,000 salsa fans (a record-breaking crowd at the time for a Latin music event) piled into New York's Yankee Stadium to witness some of the world's preeminent artists collectively grace the stage.
Among those performing, however, are Fania's "All Stars" comprising legends Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colon, Ray Barretto, and Héctor Lavoe, all of whom were eager to highlight their versatility not only through Latin hits but also with soul and rock hits of the era.
Joining them on the platform were a variety of special guests, including Mongo Santamaria, Manu Dibango, Jorge "Malo" Santana, plus Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
With all of them combined, the "Fania All Stars" live set exuded monumental amounts of funk and energy through hits like DIbango's "Soul Makossa," Edwin Starr's "There You Go," and the Joe Cuba Sextet's "El Ratón."
However, the concert itself was cut short due to a horde of overly excited fans pouring onto the field where the artists were performing. Thankfully, what was captured on tape sufficed in reverberating the momentous set of performances for the evening.
After subsequent recordings were thrown into the mix to round out the collection and effectively showcase the talent of everyone involved, 1974's "Latin-Soul-Rock" came into existence and quickly became a much-beloved classic.
The upcoming Craft Latino and Fania Records reissue for the legendary record is now available for pre-order and streaming on select platforms by clicking here. Sample the racks right below.
