Acid

We Say...

Review by Oliver Wang

As the Latin dance craze known as the boogaloo exploded around New York in the mid '60s, Ray Barretto took notice but never fully indulged to the extent of peers such as Pete Rodriguez or Joe Bataan. The latter came to boogaloo as singers, but Barretto, with his background was as a percussionist and bandleader, was less interested in penning the next hit chorus and more invested in the range of things he could do with this budding fusion of r&b and Latin jazz. The result was Acid, a post-boogaloo album that ranks as arguably the greatest Latin soul album that Fania ever released.

What makes Acid remarkable is both its breadth and consistency. It was common for most Latin dance albums in the ‘60s to have a smattering of different styles, just to hit all the bases: a mambo or guajira here, a guaracha or descarga there. More often than not, you’d end up with one or two solid hits but also much middling filler. Not so with Acid. Almost ever song on here is exemplary for its style. The title song and "Espiritu Libre" are both beautifully brooding, slow-tempo groovers that patiently unwind through the interplay between the shiny brass section and Barretto’s expert percussion. "Deeper Shade of Soul" and "Soul Drummers" are both infectiously funky boogaloo cuts years ahead of what Joe Cuba or Pete Terrace were composing at the time. Add to this excellent salsa tunes like "El Nuevo Barretto" and "Sola Te Dejare" and you have an embarrassment of rhythmic riches. Barretto would go on to release other albums in a similar vein — Together, Hard Hands, etc. — but Acid was the prodigious leap forward for the venerable bandleader and little else — from Fania or any other Latin label — would surpass it.