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Artists include: Willie Colon, Jose Alberto (El Canario), Sonora Poncena, Orchestra Harlow&Ismael Miranda, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Los Pleneros De La 21, Manny Oquendo's Libre, Plena Libre, Trupo Y Zaperoko, Jimmy Bosch, Nava, Yomo Toro, Paracumbe and Hector Lavoe&Willie Colon
There's something inherently wrong about an anthology of Puerto Rican salsa that fails to include the genre's most notable exponents—namely, El Gran Combo and La Sonora Ponceña. Fortunately, this otherwise worthy entry in the excellent Rough Guide series makes up for that near-fatal omission by including a number of legendary Puerto Rican expatriates. The expected tracks by Eddie Palmieri (a recent number from the pianist'srevamped La Perfecta reunion) and Tito Puente (the joyful Latin jazz nugget "Espresso Por Favor") are complemented with tunes by lesser-known but equally important artists, fromtimbaleroManny Oquendo and Libre (the orgiastic dance jam "Qué Humanidad") to the very best salsa singer of all times, the late Héctor Lavoé, joined here by partner in crime Willie Colón on the smoldering "Qué Bien Te Ves" and the fatalistic "Todo Tiene Su Final." Reaching out beyond the confines of salsa, the compilation devotes a handful of songs to thebombaand theplena, Puerto Rico's infectious--and achingly beautiful-- folkloric genres.--Ernesto Lechner
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< Home Grown: Guide to Understanding the Roots 2 >

Of course, as evidenced by album titles like Phrenology and The Tipping Point, The Roots have always taken a very cerebral approach to making music. ?uestlove’s musings on each song in the liner notes shows just how much thought the group puts into their creative process. Each volume has a 20-page insert that is filled with behind-the-scene insights that offer amazing glimpses into the group’s experiences. Gems like their unbelievable tale of havingto go through 11 different singers before finding someone to sing on "Break You Off" or dealing with the controversy surrounding Eve and Jill Scott on "You Got Me," makes this as worthwhile a read as a listen.
With the Roots signing to Def Jam, their soon-to-be-old label Geffen has taken advantage by releasing a two volume anthology of the Roots' best songs from this perioid (1994 - 2004). Unlike other greatest hits compilations by artists who can't justify the hubris, the Roots catalog runs ocean deep and these two albums are able to pull from off-the-beaten-path album cuts ("Double Trouble"), rare remixes (Black Thought's "Distortion to Static" mix), live recordings ("It's Comin"), plus the occasional mega-hit ("You Got Me"). Even for hardcore Roots fans, they might yet be surprised by a few of the inclusions here, especially "Good Music," a song off The Roots' very first album, Organix, released independently before they signed to Geffen. Between the two volumes, #1 is far and away superior in terms of song selection. Volume 2 isn't nearly as strong but it has some interesting tidbits, including a live medley of "The Seed/Melting Pot/Web" from BBC's Radio One.--Oliver Wang
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