Hector Lavoe – Comedia (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Hector Lavoe – Comedia (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 46:11 minutes | 1,83 GB | Genre: World, Salsa
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings

A masterpiece! After a couple of years out of the music scene trying to get his life back in control, Héctor Lavoe made his anticipated comeback with the album “Comedia“.

Following his first two albums as a soloist, “La Voz” (1975) and “De Ti Depende” (1976), “Comedia” (1978) was also well received by Salsa fans. “Comedia” was carried mostly by two songs; the iconic “El Cantante”, and the flavorful “Songoro Cosongo”.

“Comedia” was produced by Willie Colon, just like the previous two albums. It was Willie that orchestrated Hector’s comeback, as he knew Salsa needed Hector as much as Hector needed Salsa to get over the hump in his private life.

“Comedia” Defied Music Industry Standards: In the ’70s, music hits were around 3 minutes, with long songs having a max of about 6 minutes. Willie Colon and Ruben Blades decided to defy that with the “Pedro Navaja”, the main hit of “Siembra” (1978).

Ruben Blades has mentioned several times that Fania didn’t think “Pedro Navaja” would be a hit because the song was too long at over 7 minutes. “If these people would’ve been the editors of ‘El Quijote’, it would’ve come out a comic book,” Ruben says half-jokingly about the issue in his album “Live”.

Since Willie Colon was also producing “Comedia” at the time, he decided to continue breaking the industry standard for song durations in this album.

“Comedia” had 3 songs over 7 minutes; “Songoro Cosongo” (7:46), “Bandolera” (9:32), and “El Cantante” (10:17).

As said, “El Cantante” and “Songoro Cosongo” were big hits, and “Bandolera” was a lesser hit. However, “Bandolera” caused a backlash by women groups in Puerto Rico due to the women abuse in the song “..pow, pow, pow, te voy a dar, te voy a dar una pela..” (…pow, pow, pow, I’m going to hit you, I’m going to give you a beating…).

“Héctor Lavoe’s third solo release benefited from Willie Colón’s production, Rubén Blades agreeing to give his new composition “El Cantante” to him (Lavoe promptly made it his own), and the varied arrangements of Colón and Luis “Perico” Ortíz. But setting all that firepower aside, it’s still true that nobody could make a song sing quite like Héctor Lavoe (there was a reason they called him “La Voz”), and his commanding air over this record made it his third straight classic. As on the previous two, Lavoe and company strive for stylistic range more than anything else, adding a heavy syrup of strings to “El Cantante” for an elegant touch, getting streetwise for “Bandolera,” and finishing the album with a surging montuno titled “Songoro Cosongo.” (John Bush, AMG)

Tracklist:
1-01. Hector Lavoe – El Cantante (10:25)
1-02. Hector Lavoe – Comedia (03:30)
1-03. Hector Lavoe – La Verdad (05:33)
1-04. Hector Lavoe – Tiempos Pasados (04:29)
1-05. Hector Lavoe – Bandolera (09:34)
1-06. Hector Lavoe – Porque Te Conocí? (04:49)
1-07. Hector Lavoe – Songoro Cosongo (07:48)

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