Help wanted (Fania-related)

DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
edited October 2007 in Strut Central
One of my boys works for Universal's catalogue marketing division here in London. Due to their recent acquisition of V2 Records, they now find themselves with the rights to the Fania back catalogue. These rights had recently been picked up by V2, who were in the midst of a pretty extensive reissue/remaster/remarket program that's now been put on hold. However, me and my boy were talking about it over a beer the other night, and he asked me if I had any ideas for it. Now, I know a little about Fania, but on the whole my knowledge is limited to the well-known acts/releases, and is generally kinda sketchy otherwise. I know that a few people on here are much more knowledgeable, so I would like to offer those people, and others, the opportunity to flex their "big dude" muscles in return for a little of their wisdom.Bear in mind that several of the big Fania albums you might expect to have been reissued, such as Riot, Afroindio, Acid, La Voz, Hard Hands and La Perfecta, have recently had the treatment, so I would be very grateful to know what the collective Soul Strut brain feels are some of the great lost pieces on Fania or its imprints - rare, extraordinary, or even extraordinarily rare; if it's something you feel deserves a wider audience, speak on it. Likewise on the essentials/key pieces - there may be some of those they haven't got to yet. Also, if there are any DJs that have always wanted to see a particular certified dancefloor bomb available on 12", feel free to chip in. I think they want to continue the 12" series they started last year as well.Thank you in advance for your input. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
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  Comments


  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    speak to faux rills

    if not i would enjoy some justo betancourt re-releases...

  • current fania faves:

    pete bonet & louie ramirez - the beautiful people
    ralfi pagan - i can see
    grupo folklorico y experimental nuevayorquino - concepts in unity (thx magroman!)


    The Fania catalogue is pretty deep, which isnt strange when you consider they were the leading latin label for a number of years.

    re: the v2 reissues: if theres one thing Fania doesnt need in my opinion is another compilation of over-obvious stuff like Barretto's "soul drummers". The comps the "new" Fania put out in the last 12 months came across as hastily-assembled in the sense that all tracks on them have featured on pretty recent (4 years) comps on labels like Harmless and Soul Jazz.

    what i would like to see:

    * 12's without remixes trying to update tracks
    * not using the label for stuff that wasnt originally on fania (eg the 12's by the moon people and ricardo marrero)
    * high-quality reissues of the Bataan albums that have been booted and / or cheaply done the last few years.


    my 0.02,

    RC

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    current fania faves:

    pete bonet & louie ramirez - the beautiful people
    ralfi pagan - i can see
    grupo folklorico y experimental nuevayorquino - concepts in unity (thx magroman!)


    The Fania catalogue is pretty deep, which isnt strange when you consider they were the leading latin label for a number of years.

    re: the v2 reissues: if theres one thing Fania doesnt need in my opinion is another compilation of over-obvious stuff like Barretto's "soul drummers". The comps the "new" Fania put out in the last 12 months came across as hastily-assembled in the sense that all tracks on them have featured on pretty recent (4 years) comps on labels like Harmless and Soul Jazz.

    what i would like to see:

    * 12's without remixes trying to update tracks
    * not using the label for stuff that wasnt originally on fania (eg the 12's by the moon people and ricardo marrero)
    * high-quality reissues of the Bataan albums that have been booted and / or cheaply done the last few years.


    my 0.02,

    RC

    Thanks! This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for.

  • kalakala 3,361 Posts
    early mono first 3-4 bobby valentin joints
    ralfi pagan
    the latinaires
    george guzman -in line/intro
    joe bataan-riot,subway,gypsy woman,singin soul,poor boy
    harvey averne-brotherhood,s/t
    mongo santamaria-hey sister,on top
    grupo libertad de mexico-rarerest fania
    also there are a bunch of 45s that are non lp cuts that are really scarce

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    also there are a bunch of 45s that are non lp cuts that are really scarce

    This sounds like it would be a good idea for a stand-alone compilation.

  • A lot of older rare Fania stuff has already been reissued or booted, especially on cd. I would possibly look into the late, late 70s and 80s Fania catalouge to find some overlooked albums. I think the audience who would buy these reissues is older and would like more of that to be excposed. I think when it comes to beat digger type dudes, the stuff they would be interested in is out already in one form or the other.

    What really deserves to see the light of day, that all people would be interested in, is the unreleased material. There is the lost Joe Bataan album for example. I've also heard rumors that Ronnie Marks (Monguito's english speaking singer) has an unreleased album too. And then most if not all of Fania's major artists have unreleased songs, apparently they recorded like crazy. These are the type of things I would most like to hear.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    Did they also acquire the rights to Fania's films?

    I'd like to see better-quality reissues of those w/ DVD extras, like commentaries from some of the people involved. Something like the jobs done on Wattstax and Soul to Soul.

    Garcia Vega is right, though--most of the pieces that would be of interest to people on this board are already available, albeit often in very low quality.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    grupo libertad de mexico-rarerest fania

    What's the story on this?


  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    what i would like to see:

    * 12's without remixes trying to update tracks

    major cosign on that!

    I would also like to see some high quality reproductions of mono gold label titles. Along the line of what Classic Records does with Blue Note. These are generally geared to the audiophile market.

    (I often wonder if vinyl sales are better these days for the audiophile vs the DJ/Producer markets re: microwave etc.)

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    The "lost" Bataan album became "Salsoul" from what I understand, albeit with a few changes in the songs.

    I don't have a problem with Fania releasing Tico/Allegre stuff. Bottomline: they own those catalogs, those catalogs have great material, end of story.

    I heartily agree that I'd like to see 12"s or 45s of original songs and none of this remix gimmickry.

  • I think quality, licensed reissues of some of the titles that are currently available on dodgy boots would be well worth the effort. There's no reason that those classic albums shouldn't get the treatment, just because someone booted them off the vinyl years ago.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts


    Anybody seen this yet? Im watchin this tonight.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts


    Anybody seen this yet? Im watchin this tonight.

    Saw it in the theater. Too much J.Lo/not enough music.

  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    Did they also acquire the rights to Fania's films?

    I'd like to see better-quality reissues of those w/ DVD extras, like commentaries from some of the people involved. Something like the jobs done on Wattstax and Soul to Soul.

    .

    this is the truth...fania in africa and that symphony sid in the bronx movie would be great and good sellers

    I agree withn all of red clays comments especially abouyt no gimmicky edits (worse for latin imo)

    Reissuing classic albums needs to be done
    they should runn them as a gold label series or something with estended liner notes and features on the main artists

    honestly i would pray for a Fania Documentary in the quality/direction of the recent PBS Stax one that wuold be incredible

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    I would possibly look into the late, late 70s and 80s Fania catalouge to find some overlooked albums.

    Should my boy be looking anywhere in particular?

    What really deserves to see the light of day, that all people would be interested in, is the unreleased material. There is the lost Joe Bataan album for example. I've also heard rumors that Ronnie Marks (Monguito's english speaking singer) has an unreleased album too. And then most if not all of Fania's major artists have unreleased songs, apparently they recorded like crazy. These are the type of things I would most like to hear.

    I'll definitely mention this to him. I'm not sure exactly what's covered by the pre-existing V2 deal - I don't recall whether it's a long-term sub-licensing agreement, or whether they actually bought the masters. It'd be cool if he had access to the Fania vaults.

    Did they also acquire the rights to Fania's films?

    I'd like to see better-quality reissues of those w/ DVD extras, like commentaries from some of the people involved. Something like the jobs done on Wattstax and Soul to Soul.

    This sounds interesting. Again, it'd depend on how far-reaching the deal is, I guess. Did Fania produce a grip of movies, then? I recall a couple of documentaries, albeit very vaguely. Are you talking about concert movies? Anything specific?

    I would also like to see some high quality reproductions of mono gold label titles. Along the line of what Classic Records does with Blue Note. These are generally geared to the audiophile market.

    Unfortunately, this is a major we're talking about

    Appealing an idea as this sounds, the simple economics involved in putting out lavish vinyl reissues of what are fairly specialist titles may prevail here. Another interesting idea, though.

    what i would like to see:

    * 12's without remixes trying to update tracks

    I heartily agree that I'd like to see 12"s or 45s of original songs and none of this remix gimmickry.

    This is an interesting one, too. I presumed that the existing V2/Fania 12"s included these remixes in order to increase their appeal beyond those DJs who specialise in Latin music. Personally, I think they're cool so long as they're sympathetic and they don't mess with the musical integrity of the o.g.'s too much, but I do understand the purist argument. What's the feeling on re-edits?

    I don't have a problem with Fania releasing Tico/Allegre stuff. Bottomline: they own those catalogs, those catalogs have great material, end of story.

    This is what I meant when I mentioned Fania imprints, which I guess these are? Anything particularly noteworthy amongst the catalogues? I realise I'm doing a lot of brain-draining here, but I do plan on doing some extensive research of my own, and I really do appreciate the help I'm getting from you guys.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I swear the Local Latin Exp music stores in my hood sell a gang of Fania DVDs.

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts

    this is the truth...fania in africa and that symphony sid in the bronx movie would be great and good sellers

    Was Our Latin Thing a Fania flick? And is it out properly?

    Reissuing classic albums needs to be done
    they should runn them as a gold label series or something with estended liner notes and features on the main artists

    Has Ralfi Pagan gotten extensive reissue treatment? He was one of the few Fania artists, if not the only one, to cross over to the pop and soul charts, and the only reissues I've seen are the CD repros from 10-11 years ago or so.

    honestly i would pray for a Fania Documentary in the quality/direction of the recent PBS Stax one that wuold be incredible

    And if they do that, they can always hit up Don Cornelius for Pagan's 1971 appearance on Soul Train...

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    this is the truth...fania in africa and that symphony sid in the bronx movie would be great and good sellers

    Was Our Latin Thing a Fania flick? And is it out properly?

    Yes, that and Salsa--both are available as very low quality DVDs from Vampisoul.

  • I would possibly look into the late, late 70s and 80s Fania catalouge to find some overlooked albums.

    Should my boy be looking anywhere in particular?


    Honestly I'm not too familiar with the later part of the Fania catalouge as the music they made in those years is not to my liking. I do know that older salsa collectors go crazy for it, and a lot of those dudes buy the remastered cds. The 80s were a time when LP's on Fania were hardly produced or distributed so there is a lot of records from that time which are really rare. Sorry I can't point out anything more concrete.

  • the soundtrack to our latin thing is nice!

    Ismael Miranda with Orquesta Harlow. I know they re-issued the psychdelic Harlow one but the others are really good as well, oportunidad and some others.

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I would possibly look into the late, late 70s and 80s Fania catalouge to find some overlooked albums.

    Should my boy be looking anywhere in particular?


    Honestly I'm not too familiar with the later part of the Fania catalouge as the music they made in those years is not to my liking. I do know that older salsa collectors go crazy for it, and a lot of those dudes buy the remastered cds. The 80s were a time when LP's on Fania were hardly produced or distributed so there is a lot of records from that time which are really rare.

    Funny you should say that...when I first started getting into Latin music (particularly the bugalu era), for years the ONLY Fania albums I saw were the late-period albums. And it was already 1989-91 by then. Nothing but Ruben Blades for days; no Acid or The Hustler or nothing. I was always hesitant to buy them, 'cause I figured disco took the edge off of the salsa sound the same way it diminished black music, so I let that stuff slide.

    Exactly when did Fania go out of business, anyway?


  • this is the truth...fania in africa and that symphony sid in the bronx movie would be great and good sellers

    Was Our Latin Thing a Fania flick? And is it out properly?

    Yes, that and Salsa--both are available as very low quality DVDs from Vampisoul.

    I don't think its Vampi Soul's fault that they are low quality. Fania used shitty film stock and low budget crews to shoot these movies.

    As much as I love "Our Latin Thing" as a cultural document, the editing is horrendous and Geraldo makes me cringe. The commentary on latino presentations in US popular culture was so amature and poorly produced that they make the film an embarrassment.

    A PBS style doc on Fania would be incredible, but I doubt it would ever come to fruitition, and if it did it would miss a very key player in Jerry Masuchi. From what I understand his estate wants nothing to do with the music business anymore, and rightly so, that fucked so many artists over that he had to move to Argentina to keep his head. I could be wrong, but I doubt they would agree to talk or to agree to publishing interviews and the like even though Jerry was a very private person.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    this is the truth...fania in africa and that symphony sid in the bronx movie would be great and good sellers

    Was Our Latin Thing a Fania flick? And is it out properly?

    Yes, that and Salsa--both are available as very low quality DVDs from Vampisoul.

    I don't think its Vampi Soul's fault that they are low quality. Fania used shitty film stock and low budget crews to shoot these movies.

    As much as I love "Our Latin Thing" as a cultural document, the editing is horrendous and Geraldo makes me cringe. The commentary on latino presentations in US popular culture was so amature and poorly produced that they make the film an embarrassment.

    A PBS style doc on Fania would be incredible, but I doubt it would ever come to fruitition, and if it did it would miss a very key player in Jerry Masuchi. From what I understand his estate wants nothing to do with the music business anymore, and rightly so, that fucked so many artists over that he had to move to Argentina to keep his head. I could be wrong, but I doubt they would agree to talk or to agree to publishing interviews and the like even though Jerry was a very private person.

    Yeah, it may well be that nothing can be done about the quality of the print, but I'd still like to see some extras. Commentaries, definitely, and maybe there's some unutilized footage out there. I mean, I own all of them--I'll take what I can get--but I think that more could be done with that material.

  • I would possibly look into the late, late 70s and 80s Fania catalouge to find some overlooked albums.

    Should my boy be looking anywhere in particular?


    Honestly I'm not too familiar with the later part of the Fania catalouge as the music they made in those years is not to my liking. I do know that older salsa collectors go crazy for it, and a lot of those dudes buy the remastered cds. The 80s were a time when LP's on Fania were hardly produced or distributed so there is a lot of records from that time which are really rare.

    Funny you should say that...when I first started getting into Latin music (particularly the bugalu era), for years the ONLY Fania albums I saw were the late-period albums. And it was already 1989-91 by then. Nothing but Ruben Blades for days; no Acid or The Hustler or nothing. I was always hesitant to buy them, 'cause I figured disco took the edge off of the salsa sound the same way it diminished black music, so I let that stuff slide.

    Exactly when did Fania go out of business, anyway?


    Yeah, I should've said that apart from some of their major artists (Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, Cheo Feliciano, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, etc) there were some albums that fell through the cracks. And it wasn't so much disco that influenced the salsa from that period as it was the money. Things got really overproduced, glossy, and formulaic that salsa lost its edge as you say. Also the market changed, people were more interested in ballads and songs about relationships than anything else, they call that era "salsa romantica" (romantic salsa). It sold well so those songs were pushed more than anything else. That's all good and all, but not my bag. I say its the "modern soul" period of salsa.

    In regards to going out of business, they never really went under I think. They just got bogged down by lawsuits, and stuck their resources to their big name artists, instead of developing new talent. Masucci became tired of the business and tried to sell his share, but he was tied to the debt and court cases. Eventually the label got sold off a few times and was in limbo, rereleasing old records on cd, until it was bought out again recently and here we are now. Take all this with a grain of salt because there is a lot of rumor floating around about what really happened with Masucci and Fania's legal woes.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts


    Anybody seen this yet? Im watchin this tonight.

    Saw it in the theater. Too much J.Lo/not enough music.

    True. It seemed like music throughout the film never evolved yet it spaned 15+ years.

    Anyone Recommend which Hector Lavoe album i should start with? Do I start w/ his Colon collabos first?

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Batmon, there's a decent Fania comp (new) called "La Voz" that is a 2-CD anthology of Lavoe's songs, half of which include his collabos with Colon.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Batmon, there's a decent Fania comp (new) called "La Voz" that is a 2-CD anthology of Lavoe's songs, half of which include his collabos with Colon.



  • grupo libertad de mexico-rarerest fania

    What's the story on this?


    Seconded... never seen or heard of it?

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    grupo libertad de mexico-rarerest fania

    What's the story on this?


    Seconded... never seen or heard of it?

    I half-suspect that it's not a Fania release at all but, rather, a record that one of Fania's international licensees threw a Fania logo on.

    Apparently released in 1977.

  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    And it wasn't so much disco that influenced the salsa from that period as it was the money. Things got really overproduced, glossy, and formulaic that salsa lost its edge as you say. Cheo Feliciano, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, etc) there were some albums t Also the market changed, people were more interested in ballads and songs about relationships than anything else, they call that era "salsa romantica" (romantic salsa). It sold well so those songs were pushed more than anything else. That's all good and all, but not my bag. I say its the "modern soul" period of salsa.

    Salsa Sensual

    Horrible and most repetitive genre ever

    BATMON satrting with that boxset will be good for you cause you will get all the classics

    seriously get a translation of the lyricks to really understand why these songs are great
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