Track Listing

1. Todopoderoso
2. Emborrachame de Amore
3. Paraiso de Dulzura
4. Amor de La Calle
5. Rompe Saraguey
6. Mucho Amor
7. Tus Ojos
8. Mi Gente

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69498 in Music
• Released on: 2006-03-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

About the Artist
HECTOR LAVOE

A great among greats, this great artist's life was marked by a tragic destiny. Héctor Lavoe's interest in music began in his native Puerto Rico. In search of new opportunities, he traveled to New York with a suitcase full of dreams and the firm goal of landing a job in the music world. The road ahead was not an easy one. There were many obstacles to overcome, and the price was high, as it often is for immigrants. He held down precarious day jobs for bad pay; but at night, he gave free rein to his dreams, performing in various night clubs. Johnny Pacheco happened to hear him perform at one of those night clubs. In Lavoe he discovered a powerful voice and the easiest of manners. He was so impressed that he told Willie Colón he had found a singer for the recording of his first album, "El malo." The combination of Héctor Lavoe and Willie Colón enriched the world of salsa and set the stage for their collaboration, which lasted seven years. It also gave birth to 10 albums, full of vibrant songs that spoke the language of the street, a type of musical narrative that the public identified with, one that cemented salsa as a genre. In 1975, Fania Records decided to launch its singers with the most hits as soloists. Thus began a new phase of Héctor Lavoe's career, just as brilliant and successful, boasting the release of many albums that are now part of his rich musical legacy. His life was an open book, each page of which documented the tragedy and heartbreak that marked and influenced the rise and fall of his brilliant professional career. Héctor Lavoe died on June 29, 1993, at 46.

HECTOR LAVOE

Grande entre los grandes, y marcado por el trágico sino que el destino les tiene reservado, fue imagen y semejanza la vida de este gran artista. Héctor Lavoe inició sus inquietudes artísticas en su Puerto Rico natal. Pero en busca de nuevas oportunidades y ampliar su horizonte, viaja a Nueva York con un equipaje de sueños y el firme propósito de labrarse un lugar en la música. El camino a transitar no le fue fácil, fueron muchos los obstáculos que tuvo que superar y pagar el alto precio que todo intento le tiene reservado a los inmigrantes. Trabajos precarios y mal remunerados durante el día, y por las noches, darle rienda suelta a sus sueños presentándose en clubes nocturnos. En una de aquellas presentaciones, coincide con el Maestro Johnny Pacheco que lo escucha cantar. Descubre en él, una voz potente y un personalísimo modo de comunicar. Tan impresionado quedó, que le habló a Willie Colón que buscaba un vocalista para la grabación de su primer álbum "El Malo" La fusión de Héctor Lavoe y Willie Colón, enriqueció el género salsero y marcaría pautas de una unión que duró siete años, y diera como fruto una rica cosecha de la que se derivaron diez producciones con un contenido de temas vibrantes que hablaban el lenguaje del hombre de la calle, una especie de narrativa musical con la que se identificó el público y solidificaría la salsa como género. En 1975 el sello Fania decide lanzar a sus cantantes de más éxitos como solistas. De este modo, Héctor Lavoe inicia una nueva etapa en su carrera, no menos brillante y exitosa con el lanzamiento de varias producciones que ya son parte de su rico legado musical. Su vida, un libro abierto en el que escribiera en cada una de sus páginas, trágicas y desgarradoras vivencias en el aspecto personal que lo marcaron e influyeron en la decadencia y ocaso de su brillante carrera profesional. Héctor Lavoe muere el 29 de junio de 1993 a los cuarenta y siete años.

Customer Reviews

Lavoe's first solo album!!!
Here is the remastered edition of Hector Lavoe's first album. This edition includes the original cover art and an essay. It does sound much better than the previous Fania edition and it's cheaper too!
Produced by Willie Colon and featuring Mark Dimond on piano, Nicky Marrero on timbales and Ray Maldonado on trumpet, this is a New York salsa classic (1975)from beginning to end. No weak or filler tunes here.
BUY IT!!!

A CLASSY SALSA CD
THIS IS HECTORS FIRST RELEASE AS SOLO ARTIST,EVEN THOUGH ISMAEL MIRANDA BEAT HIM TO THE SOLO CAREER IN THE SALSA GOLDEN AGE HECTOR CAME OUT A YEAR LATER WITH THIS SMASHING ALBUM, ALL THE TRACKS WERE HITS, MY FAVORITE TUNE IS ROMPE SARAGUEY HAS GREAT PIANO AND TRUMPET SOLO THAT WOULD WANT YOU TO KEEP DANCING.TODOPODEROSO THE PROMOTION TRACK WAS ON THE HIT PARADE FOR QUITE A WHILE THIS SONG HAS GREAT MESSAGE IN IT, PARAISO DE LA DULZURA IS A SONG THAT HECTOR SINGS TO HIS BELOVED P.R. . THIS ALBUM WAS PRODUCED BY WILLIE COLON . I HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS CD .

Hector's all-time classic debut album.
While never released as a single, Hector's truly superb cover version of the classic bolero "Tus Ojos" (previously recorded by both Santos Colon and Vicentico Valdes) is this album's crown jewel. In my opinion, said song is Hector's all-time best vocal performance--so much so, in fact, that I'd say it was nothing short of shameful that it wasn't issued as a single. "El Todopoderoso", "Rompe Saraguey" and "Mi Gente" were the big hits --which deservedly became classics--but "Tus Ojos" remains beautiful beyond compare.