Formula V

Artist: Formula V

LP: 7" single

Song: "Loco, Casi Loco"
[ listen ]

After spending a couple of hours in awe while roaming in and around what I'm sure is one of the most magnificent churches on the planet... 

...with a guided audio tour provided by a lovely woman named Maria...

 

  
...I discovered my cell phone was dead from taking too many pictures. I figured "first things first," so I got some ice cream. I then set out with my photo-copied Google maps and no modern technological navigation device in hopes of making my way through a large and unfamiliar city to find some record stores. My maps weren't actually so bad, and I was able to locate Disco 100 on Carrer de l'Escovial. It's one of several record stores in the northern section of the city, near La Sagrada Familia.

[ Disco 100 — Barcelona, Spain ]

The thrill of finding this retail needle in an ancient haystack of a city was slightly diminished when it turned out they only sold new vinyl and CDs. Undaunted, I went in search of Carrer de Ramón y Cajal, the street a few blocks away where I hoped to find Vinil Vintage. A store with a name like that simply must sell used vinyl, right? I managed to find Ramón y Cajal, and as I strolled its narrow sidewalk, I passed by a small and neat-looking shop with some groovy music wafting through its open door. 

The place was called Novecento Música i Llibres and it's fantastic! Not only do they peddle Llibres, but they've got lots of bins of used Música too! By the time I finished rummaging, I ended up with a big stack of interesting-looking 45s (I tended to focus on singles on this trip, since they're easier to carry back on the plane and because if you end up with a dud you only have to suffer through two songs instead of twelve). The friendly proprietor offered to play records for me to help me reduce my risk. 

I was especially curious about a group called Formula V, since I'd found six singles by them there. They looked pretty nifty, but you never can be sure. I didn't want to buy all six and then have them end up sounding like The Everly Brothers, but I didn't want to buy only one and then later discover they're dynamite! Knowing me, I'd end up booking a flight back to Barcelona to pick up the other five.

The fellow at the store suddenly had to dash off to tend to a family emergency, but not before playing Formula V's "Loco, Casi Loco" for me, which immediately made me dump all six of the group's records into my 'must have' pile. It's Spanish '60s candy pop! (Though this single is actually from 1974.) I snatched up all other Formula V singles I found in the bins of Barcelona, and I think I ended up with nine. You can read a little about the group here and find their official website here.  

Formula V on YouTube:

[ "Ahora Sé Que Me Quieres" ]

 [ Novecento Música i Llibres — Barcelona, Spain ]

Los Impalas

Artist: Los Impalas

LP: Regresan Los Impalas
Song: "Cada Vez Que Vienes a Mí"
[ listen ]

Song: "Todo Gira" 
[ listen ]

I swore I'd stay away from record stores when I was visiting my brother in Portland two weekends ago. But of course we all know how that goes. The first store I ended up at was Music Millennium. It's a super cool shop with lots of nooks and crannies, but they mainly sell CDs and new vinyl. I picked up the new David Bowie CD there.

[ Music Millennium — Portland, Oregon ]

Once I stopped pretending I wouldn't be going record shopping in Portland, I was eager to check out Crossroads Music, which, according to people on the Internet, held a collection of vinyl inventory supplied by more than 20 different dealers. I was not disappointed, it was sublime. This 1975 release by Los Impalas from Venezuela is one of the things I picked up there. I'm guessing it's a retrospective collection, since, according to their Wikipedia entry, Los Impalas were active from 1959 to 1970. Plus, from looking at the cover, I'm pretty sure bands weren't still wearing duds like these and recording Beatles covers in 1975, not even in Venezuela. But who cares. It's good stuff. You can read more about Los Impalas and listen to some of their other songs on the Barraezo website here.

 [ Los Impalas de Venezuela ]

 [ Los Impalas de USA ]

[ Crossroads Music de Portland, Oregon ]

The Latin Souls

Artist: The Latin Souls

LP: Boo-Ga-Loo & Shing-A-Ling With The Latin Souls

Song: "Hey Lulu!"

[ listen ]

Here's a bunch of boogaloo, with a side of shing-a-ling, for a sunny and warm Friday morning in Seattle. Not to be confused with the Mexican street gang of Chicago, these Latin Souls were a group of musical teens who helped spread the boogaloo dance craze across North America in the 1960s—which you can read about here. The English and Spanish-language notes from the back of this 1967 record are included below, and I'm pretty sure that's Melanie Griffith shing-a-linging on the front cover.

Sweeties

 Artist: Sweeties

LP: 12" single

Song: "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps)"

[ listen ]

Here's some happy Latin disco for a partly-sunny Friday in Seattle. I like Sweeties' version of "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas" almost as much as the one by Doris Day! My copy of this 12" single seems to be autographed, but I can't really tell by whom.

Latin Rascals

Artist: Latin Rascals

LP: 7" single

Song: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

[ listen ]

"Rascals" is probably too strong a word, but you have to admit that this hunky Latin duo is kinda' cute in a stupid-ass way. With their unbuttoned shirts and sultry, come-hither expressions, it's unlikely these guys will be misunderstood. But in case you don't understand, there are pink clues splashed across the cover of their 1988 single—even a pair of pink triangles! You can read about Albert Cabrera and Tony Moran, aka Latin Rascals, on the answers.com website here and here.

[ Don't let him be misunderstood. ]

[ Don't let him be misunderstood either. ]

 

 

 

The Latin Poets

Artist: The Latin Poets

LP: 7" single

Song: "Viva La Musica!"

[ listen ]

Though "poets" may be too strong a word, you've got to admit this 1988 rap song by Mexican-American duo The Latin Poets is awfully catchy. The single was co-produced by Michael Sembello and executive produced by Jellybean, who also did lots of work with Madonna in the early '80s when he was extremely sexy. It's hard to imagine a grown man wanting to be called "Jellybean"—but then I also wouldn't have imagined grown men wanting to wear their sports socks yanked up over their pant legs.

Emilia Conde

Artist: Emilia Conde

LP: In a Pop Mood / In a Latin Mood

Song: "Where, When & How"
[ listen ]
Song: "Mi Calle Triste"
[ listen ]

Here are a couple tunes (one in the pop mood, one in the Latin) from a wonderful 1970 Emilia Conde record I picked up for $3 in NYC's East Village on Monday. Sadly, there's very little info on Ms. Conde on the web—ie. nothing on Wikipedia, Google turns up no images, etc.—which is surprising, considering her resume outlined in the LP's liner notes and the fact that the Puerto Rican Cultural Association presents an "Emilia Conde Award" to an outstanding young artist every year. I did find an autographed copy of this same LP available for $10 here, if anyone's interested. I'd say it's worth it just to experience the "sense of discovery" and for the chest full of sparkly gems you'll end up with. Read the LP liner notes here:

Stunning! Masterful! Glamorous! Exciting! Beautiful!

The preceding exclamations are just a random sampling of the
superlatives with which concert, night club, radio and television
critics, and record reviewers, greeted the extraordinary artistry
of Emilia Conde as a classical vocalist and musician.

But if such response has exhausted the critics' bag of adjectives,
this new Audio Fidelity album in which Miss Conde reveals a new
dimension of her astonishing talent, is surely going to provoke
the necessity to invent new adjectives.

Although she has been singing popular songs for several years
now, it was not until very recently that Emilia made the decision
to enter the popular music idiom in a total way. "Something,"
she says, "was missing in classical music. With so much
discipline I could not express myself freely."

But if Emilia has freed herself from the restrictions of classical
music in order to involve herself full time in a style that permits
her the greatest opportunity to express herself, the expert
musicianship and the sophistication which she acquired in
the classical field has not been abandoned. Indeed, while
Miss Conde makes it abundantly clear, in this album, that
she can out-"now" the most "now" of contemporary pop singers
(that is, be responsive to and draw upon all elements of current
popular music from the cabaret genre to rock), there is nothing
shallow or ephemeral about her work. She brings to popular
music a high artist's grace, intelligence and polish that makes
everything she sings substantial and enduring.

In this album, one side of which is devoted to songs sung in
Spanish, her native language, and one side of which is in
English (she can sing, incidentally, in nine languages), Emilia
demonstrates an authority, vocal range and emotional
depth that makes of each song a true experience whether
you are familiar with the language in which it is sung or
not. Go immediately to Sunburst or I Can't Forget San
Francisco or Mi Calle Triste or Dia Tras Dia for the most
outstanding examples of her versatility and impact.

Born in Puerto Rico of French and Spanish parents, Emilia,
when she was just fifteen, received a government scholarship
to the renowned Eastman School of Music where she studied
classical piano, harmony, theory and voice. She began her
singing career as a protege of Pablo Casals and was
encouraged to develop her voice by such luminaries
as Jose Iturbi and Alexander Schneider.

Upon graduating from the Eastman School, Emilia played piano
concerts at New York's Carnegie and Town Halls and later
appeared as a soloist with various symphony orchestras
throughout the country. Extensive tours of Europe and Latin
America were followed by twenty weeks as singing star of
the Folies Bergere at the famed Tropicana in Las Vegas.
Immediately after that she was moved to the club's
Fountain Room as the star of a one-woman show. Also
among Emilia's credits are smash night club appearances
in Madrid, Mexico city, San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad,
Lisbon, London and Toronto. Among her American triumphs
are an eleven week booking at Bimbo's 365 club in San
Francisco and an engagement at Act IV in Detroit which
prompted the Detroit Free Press critic to remark, "She
sends you away with a sense of discovery."

This "sense of discovery" with which the Free Press critic
left the Act IV that evening is something which everyone
who owns this recording can now share. And it will be a
"sense of discovery" that is repeated many times over,
for the multi-dimensional talent of Emilia Conde has a
weight and substance which gives forth
new gems with each hearing.