Faniaのアーカイブから発掘された「Cafe」は、50年前に伝説的なコンガ奏者Ray Barrettoがプロデュースしたラテン・ファンクとソウルの名作だ。その50周年を記念し、Craftから重厚なリイシュー盤が登場。特に「Si Dame Tu Amor」はBarretto自身の作品を彷彿とさせるファンク・グルーヴで、「Identify Yourself」もパーティーを盛り上げる一曲。全曲がオリジナルのマスターテープからカットされ、音質も最高だ。

A1. Si Dame Tu Amor
A2. Search For Love / Identify Yourself
A3. I Like To Be With You
A4. I Got To Be Away
A5. Move And Groove
B1. But Once I Loved You
B2. Siempre Mas Y Mas
B3. Someday
B4. Don't Let Me Cray Again
B5. My Chance Is Due

A deep dive into the Fania vaults has uncovered Cafe, a Latin funk and soul classic that was recorded half a century ago. To mark the 50th anniversary of this great album, which was produced by the legendary conguero Ray Barretto and originally released on Vaya Records, it gets this nice heavyweight reissue on Craft. The standout track 'Si Dame Tu Amor' delivers infectious funk grooves reminiscent of Barretto's own work, while 'Identify Yourself' is another one to light up any party. All the tunes have been cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio so sounds superb.