Afro and Fillipino from the barrio, baby
J. Frankel | CT , US | 04/05/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I've been meaning to write this review for some time now. One hesitates because it's not really clear who, if anyone, is listening to Brother Joe Bataan these days. But lemme tell you, every one of all y'all should be - because Joe Bataan was and is a true original. Born of Black and Filipino parents Joe was raised in the barrio of New York City and soaked in all the sounds. As a byproduct of his environment, Joe's music is a rich tapestry of vibes: latin rhythms, street corner doo wop, jazzy inflections, rhythm and blues, and of course salsa and boogaloo.
This release spans the 4 seminal Bataan releases spanning 1974-1983. Disk one is the treasure trove of this collection featuring Joe's best studio recordings - the Salsoul and Afrofilipino LP's. The latter of which, from what I can tell is completely out of print and unavailable outside of this release.
While Salsoul is generally regarded as Joe's masterpiece (and it is an amazing little brew of, what else, salsa and soul) "Afrofilipino" seems to be Joe hitting his stride - making it all work. Latin, Jazz, Funk, Soul and a little disco - but just the underpinnings and never to a point of bad taste - permeate the sound. "Chico and the Man" is outstanding, "The Bottle" (a Gil Scot-Heron oirignal) became a 70's dance classic. "What Good is a Castle" a remake of an old tune split into two parts - one slow one racing, both to tremendous effect.
The only reason a white boy like myself knows of Joe Bataan is because I got passed a cd compilation which contained the masterful "Ordinary Guy" - the song which Joe proclaims himself an "Afrofilipino, average sort of guy." Tongue out of cheek though, this song totally grooves and grabs you with it's beautiful melody a plaintive balladry - Until the breakdown hits - Joe yells "Salsa," a hand crashes a Hammond B-3 organ and a propulsive latin groove takes hold of you for the last minute of the song. Amazing, heady, genre-bending stuff. And so unique because, I don't believe Joe was an instrumentalist, his voice often strains for higher notes and the production is spotty at times. But it's all so perfect in that scrappy endearing way. Ain't nobody like Mr. Joe Bataan."
