Tito Puente – Dance Mania! Vol 1 (Remastered) (2009/2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Dance Mania, Tito Puente’s best-known and best-selling album, came ten years into his career, but at a time (1957) when the craze for mambo and Latin music was beginning to crest. (Another landmark LP, Pérez Prado’s Havana 3 A.M., had been released the previous year, and Prado’s “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” had hit number one in 1955.) Recorded as part of a just-signed exclusive contract with RCA and appearing in vibrant sound as part of the label’s Living Stereo series, Dance Mania exploded with a series of tight arrangements, propulsive playing, and the features of new additions in vocalist Santos Colón and conguero Ray Barretto (who helped, in part, make up for the recent loss of Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria to Cal Tjader’s group). Puente didn’t dilute his sound for Dance Mania unlike the many commercial crossover LPs that were released by both established groups and ad hoc studio collectives but his hard mambos here were performed at tempos that encouraged dancing by more staid LP-buyers, slightly slower than the high paces of his Tico sides or Palladium shows. Brassy and swinging, yes, and certainly as precise as a great Latin band could get, but not as torrid as Spanish Harlem dancers would be accustomed to. Most were Puente originals, spanning mambo and cha-cha and guaguanco, and Dance Mania built the foundation for great Latin LPs to come.

Tracklist:
1. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – El Cayuco (Remastered) (02:37)
2. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Complicacion (Remastered) (03:23)
3. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – 3-D Mambo (Remastered) (02:27)
4. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Llego Mijan (Remastered) (03:14)
5. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Cuando Te Vea (Remastered) (04:16)
6. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Hong Kong Mambo (Remastered) (03:48)
7. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Mambo Gozon (Remastered) (02:48)
8. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembe (Remastered) (03:57)
9. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Varsity Drag Mambo (Remastered) (02:52)
10. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Estoy Siempre Junto A Ti (Remastered) (03:14)
11. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Agua Limpia Todo (Remastered) (02:56)
12. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Saca Tu Mujer (Remastered) (03:07)
13. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – El Cayuco (Outtake Version Remastered) (02:37)
14. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Estoy Siempre Junto A Ti (Outtake Version Remastered) (02:44)
15. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Mambozooka (Remastered) (02:51)
16. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Havana After Dark (Remastered) (02:50)
17. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Cual Es la Idea (Remastered) (03:20)
18. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Tito Guajira (Remastered) (02:38)
19. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Yambeque (Remastered) (03:46)
20. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Son De La Loma (Remastered) (02:07)
21. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Guaririambo (Remastered) (03:27)
22. Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Pa’ Los Rumberos (Remastered) (03:21)