WILLIE COLON & HECTOR "ASALTO NAVIDEÑO #1- ORIG. FANIA

$

36

TITLE :ASALTO NAVIDEÑO - VOL 1

ARTIST :WILLIE COLON & ORQUESTA W/HECTOR LAVOE

LABEL & RECORD #: FANIA #399 (1970)

VINYL CONDITION: HEAR SOUNDS CLIPS INCLUDED: NM

LABELS CONDITIONS: SEE SCAN : NM

COVER CONDITION: SEE SCAN : VG++++ NO SPLITS ORIGINAL FANIA SLEEVE

REMARKS: O-R-I-G-I-N-A-L ....XMAS IN JULY!

(warning: there are some sealed Fania, Tico, Cotique circulating since 2009...I bought 12 and my opinion= GARBAGE...Seems they were recorded from a CD or a NM LP...They are being distributed by a Miami company not related to FANIA...Beware...the inside of the cover is white instead of the "grayish" cardboard color and the labels even have light grooves, they are part of the vinyl!"

CLEAR...THE BEST XMAS/SALSA (HOLIDAYS) ALBUM EVER MADE!!!! WILLIE & HECTOR AT ITS BEST!...OBVIOUSLY IF YOU ARE FROM PUERTO RICO OR A 'NIUYORRICAN" WHEN YOU HEAR "CANTO A BORINQUEN" YOU WILL BE INMEDIATELY "TRANSPORTED TO THE ISLAND MOUNTAINS AND WILL CELEBRATE WELL AFTER JANUARY 6 (THREE KINGS DAY) AND 7 MORE DAYS THAT WE CALL THE "OCTAVITAS" ....WOW.... HOW WE LIKE TO CELEBRATE THOSE DAYS!

"BRIEF" HISTORY OF ONE OF THE GREATEST SALSA LPs EVER!!!

“Asalto Navideño” is vintage salsa. The two parts of this two-record set came out in 1970 and 1973 (Vol 2 to be posted soon), respectively, the peak years of the salsa boom. Any list of the top ten all-time salsa classics would have to include “Asalto Navideño”, and there are many who would place it on the top shelf. Today, more than 30 years after its initial release, most would still agree that this is the best Puerto Rican Christmas album ever. There’s not a Puerto Rican Christmas party in New York, San Juan, or elsewhere, that isn’t heated up to the strains of this irresistible medley of holiday tunes.

Here the bad boy team of trombonist Willie Colón and vocalist Héctor Lavoe joins forces with premier cuatro player Yomo Toro and legendary percussionists Milton Cardona and José Mangual to cook up salsa versions of typical Christmas songs familiar to Puerto Rican audiences of all ages. This típico sound of traditional country music, called música jíbara, is mixed and blended, salsa-style, with a wide range of other rhythms, starting, of course, with Cuban guaguancó and African-American jazz, but ranging to Brazilian samba, Panamanian murga, Dominican merengue, and others. The overall effect is that of a party, or rather, a parranda, the traditional Puerto Rican and Latin American custom of going door-to-door at Christmas time singing and assaulting the houses of good friends and neighbors—hence the term asalto!—who then welcome the invading troupe with holiday treats and plenty of rum. And so the party begins!

After well-known disc jockey Polito Vega ignites the Christmas spirit and introduces the musicians (“Introducción”), the following two cuts “Canto A Borinquen” and “Popurrí Navideño”, evoke the religious and patriotic meaning of the holidays and offer samples of the musical styles of the three principals, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, and Yomo Toro.

The thematic core of the collection is provided by numbers four and seven, “Traigo La Salsa” and “Esta Navidad”, which are clearly intended to resonate with each other. The message is that while the holiday traditions are rooted on the beloved island of Puerto Rico, they also are celebrated by the millions of Puerto Ricans living in New York and other mainland communities who indeed have something special to bring to the party. Attention is drawn to this message at the beginning of “Traigo La Salsa”: Oigame señor, Listen to me, sir. What the band of musicians brings with them is, in fact, la salsa, the musical styles played and danced to by Puerto Ricans in the mainland diaspora. Wherever I go (dondequiera que me voy), the singer announces, I bear with me the typical Christmas spirit” and symbolically he does so in strains of rumba guaguancó, the Cuban-based improvisational forms that are at the base of what came to be called salsa. And in “Esta Navidad” the encounter between New York Ricans and those on the island is dramatized directly—first by condemning jíbaros who come back to the island with an attitude (con aires de superioridad) and then by insisting that they still have something to contribute, which is referred to toward the end of the number as mi tumbaito. Musically, the song starts off with the strong cadences of typical jíbaro music, contains a full minute in the middle of Yomo Toro improvisation on the cuatro, and ends with the conga and vocal improvisations of the tumbao.

This powerful thematic message, so important to modern-day Puerto Ricans and all Latinos, is interspersed with the song that has remained the best known and most popular on the entire album, “La Murga”, one of the classic dance tunes in the salsa repertoire. Its contagious rhythm and unforgettable trombone motive assures its place in the pantheon, and its loving reference to Panama attests to the pan-Latin American reach of New York Puerto Rican salsa. Though the main emphasis of “Asalto Navideño” is on the jíbaro strain of the traditional music, the collection ends with the playful tune “Vive Tu Vida Contento”, a plena with direct reference to the Afro-Puerto Rican form of la bomba.

Credits:

Willie Colón – Trombon, Leader

William “Sweet” Campbell – Trombon

Milton Cardona – Congas, Percussion

José Mangual Jr. – Bongos, Percussion

Johnny Pacheco – Percussion

Prof. Joe Torres – Piano

Louie “Timbalito” Romero – Timbales

Santi “Choflomo” González – Bass

Yomo Toro – Cuatro

Roberto García – Cuatro

Miguel “El Túnel” Matos – “band boy,” Minor Percussion

Lead Singer – Hector Lavoe

Chorus – Willie Colon, Johnny Pacheco, Justo Betancourt

Producer – Jerry Massuci

Recording Director – Johnny Pacheco

Engineer - Irv Greenbaum

Original Album Design – Izzy Sanabria

Original Album Photo – Len Bauman

TRACKS SIDE A"

 1: Intro   

 2: Canto a Borinquen

 3: Popurri Navideno   

 4: Traigo La Salsa

TRACKS SIDE B:

 1: Aires de Navidad

 2: La Murga Panameña   

 3: Esta Navidad 

 4: Vive Tu Vida Contento

WEB REMARKS:

1- "Es muy raro que usted vaya a una fiesta de navidad en Borinquen y no oiga este disco. Desde el 1972 ha sido consistentemente unos de los mayores disco de ventas tanto en el catalogo de Willie Colon como en el de Hector Lavoe. La combinacion de Hector Lavoe, Willie Colon y Yomo Toro es espectacular. Ademas, la secuela (Asalto Navideno Vol.II) es del mismo calibre."

2- "I had heard very good comments of this production since long ago and, in many opportunities, I was close to get one of those old vynil-made records but I didn't. For more than 30 years, I have listened to hundreds of times songs like "Canto a Borinquen", Traigo la Salsa", "La Murga Panameña" and the song which I like the most: "Aires de Navidad" (far the most famous of all of these group of salsas in my country, Perú). However, it is not the same to hear these songs evenly one here and other there than hearing all of them together, in the sequence presented in this CD. The context of them is really impressive and this makes the difference. This CD is really an outstanding production. The sound recorded is original all along and the presentation of the CD is quite illustrative, accompanied by a small brochure that gives us a good view of the history of these salsas and their meaning as a part of the culture of Puerto Rico. Dear friends, if you are fans of Salsa, buy it new or used but don't lose the pleasure of listen to all this precious music and let you be "assaulted" by Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe and their friens of Fania,no matter if Christmas time has gone.."

3- "Excelente, todas las canciones son clasicos. En Panama no hay navidades sin estas canciones, ademas de que contiene la cancion que es el himno nacional, "la murga de Panama". Se nota que se divirtieron produciendolo, que es lo mejor de los discos de Willie Colon, y Yomo Toro la boto en el cuatro como siempre. Its a must have."

SHIPPING CHARGES........FOR GATEFOLDS With 2 Lps ADD S&H FOR 2

ITALY CUSTOMERS:

ITALY……. ADD $11 FOR REGISTRATION!!! No exceptions! Sorry, I’m following Other Dealers Suggestions Regarding Problems With the Delivery/Handling of Items…I personally had 2 of 4 problems, Mexico was the Other) in ten years (Thousands Of Records Sold) in the business!!!

(Gli acquirenti italiani sono tenuti ad aggiungere 11 dollari per la spedizione registrata. Non si fanno eccezioni)

POSTAL RATES & WEIGHTS - LPs

LBS.

0.82

1.4

1.9

2.6

3

# of LPs

1

2

3

4

5

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Record Grading: Standard guidelines for grading records comes down to a subjective judgment that may vary from person to person. We grade records and LP covers visually AND (when possible) play-tested. We make every effort to give full disclosure (remember that the LP has at least 12 tracks and the grading may vary between each other)  and your satisfaction is guaranteed. Don't assume that our vinyl determination of "Very Good+" is the same as yours!

MM RECORDS: are shiny, with no visible defects. They might have some minor superficial (“Paper”) scuff but they should play without any noise. Writing, stickers or other markings cannot appear on the label, nor can any “spindle marks” from someone trying to blindly put the record on the turntable. Major factory defects also must not be present; a record and label obviously pressed off center is not Near Mint. If played, it will do so with no surface noise. (NM records don’t have to be “never played”; a record used on an excellent turntable can remain NM after many plays if the disc is properly cared for.)

NM COVERS: have no creases, ring wear or seam splits of any kind.
NM  PICTURES SLEEVES: should look as if they never housed a record. This is a great reason to remove your 45s from their picture sleeves and keep them separate. Just keeping the 45 inside the sleeve will cause damage than can reduce the grade of the sleeve.

VG++ (Excellent) RECORDS: Barely noticeable play wear and background noise. May have surface scuffs and/or superficial marks, which will be inaudible or indiscernible from the background, no scratches. Very nice, no flaws noted.
VG++ COVERS: Artwork is still as close to perfect as can be. Some impression to the cover (minor outer ring wear) but no ink wear! Some slight creases to the corners, but not wrinkled and obtrusive to the eye. The corners can show white (where the artwork pasted slick was) meaning, slight wear. No seam splits or writing on the cover or taped repairs can make this grade.

VG+ RECORDS:  may show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. Minor signs of handling are OK, too, such as telltale marks around the center hole, but repeated playing has not misshapen the hole. There may be some very light ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable

.VG+ COVERS:  should have only minor wear. A VG+ cover might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the most vulnerable location. Also, a VG+ cover may have some defacing, such as a cut-out marking. Covers with cut-out markings can never be considered Near Mint Unless Tiny/Small (EG: Tiny DH).

VG+ PICTURE SLEEVES: might show some very light creasing where it is obvious that a record once resided (or still does reside). A VG+ picture sleeve might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the sleeve’s most vulnerable location.

VG RECORDS:  have more obvious flaws than their counterparts in better shape. They lack most of the original gloss found on factory-fresh records. Groove wear is evident on sight, as are light scratches deep enough to feel with a fingernail. When played, a VG record has surface noise, and some scratches  may be audible, especially in soft passages and during a song’s intro and ending. But the noise will not overpower the music otherwise. Minor writing, tape, or a sticker can detract from the label. Many collectors who have jukeboxes   will use VG records in them and not think twice. They remain a fine listening experience, just not the same as if it were in better shape.

VG COVERS and PICTURE SLEEVES:  will have many signs of human handling. Ring wear  in the middle or along the edges of the cover where the edge of a record would  reside, is obvious, though not overwhelming. Some more creases might be  visible. Seam splitting will be more obvious; it may appear on all three sides,  though it won’t be obvious upon looking. Someone might have written or stamped  a price tag on it, too.

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