Track Listing

1. Grazing in the Grass
2. Lisa
3. Black Coffee
4. Look of Love
5. Dreams
6. Evil Ways
7. Night Song
8. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
9. Roots
10. Spanish Grease
11. Shot Gun/Blind Man, Blind Man
12. Stuff
13. Night Walk
14. Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries
15. Sham Time

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #251762 in Music
• Released on: 1997-06-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
Willie Bobo was cool--and hot. This music swings in a boogaloo/Latin soul/'60s sort of way. Swing by definition means not staying in one place. Some of Bobo's music slow, some is fast, some is sappy, and some is just plain greasy. "Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries," anyone? Open your ears as Bobo tackles Hugh Masekela's "Grazing in the Grass" and Bacharach's and David's "The Look of Love" (with the bandleader tackling vocals as well as percussion). "Evil Ways" and "Spanish Grease" are a couple of songs that any Santana fan will recognize, but Bobo stamps them with his daring and idiosyncratic charm. --Jonathan E.

Customer Reviews

Acid Lounge perhaps?
I have to admit I never heard of Willie Bobo until a couple of weeks ago when I rented the film VERY BAD THINGS. Just for the record, my screen name was not inspired by him. However if people choose to think I adopted his last name for my moniker that is ok by me. Wilie Bobo is now on my list of favorite Jazz artists. I love the loungy feel of Bobos music. It captured that feel of a laid back bar of the 60's. What sets him apart from other lounge artists of his day is his versatility. There seems to be a melding of funk, rock, jazz and the Latin sounds. Willie Bobo is like Getz/Gilberto meets Burt Bacharach.

A Forgotten Icon of 60's Pop Culture
In the 60's, Willie Bobo created a bridge between Popular and Latin music using an ensemble of instruments that included electric bass and guitar and no keyboards. He used Popular songs and transformed them with Latin rhythms to create a truly unique sound. This allowed for an entire industry of songs to be created by many great artists and composers. Using Willie as an inspiration, Santana created many of his signature styles from these early recordings. If you listen to the music used in the first Austin Powers movie, you will hear Willie's style being used to signify the 60's culture. This man was never given credit for his contribution to the American Pop Culture of the 60's and beyond.

Tasty!
While I'd heard of Willie Bobo, it wasn't until I read somewhere that Santana covered his "Evil Ways" (written by one of his band members) that I was sufficiently intrigued and plunked down fifteen for this great, fun, greasy set of latin-jazz r&b/soul lounge music. It's got the feel of a lava lamp, the smell of patchouli, the hip of Peter Sellers' "The Party" written all over it. It's just a notch above Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (and believe me, in Keswick, I've seen every sixties album Herbie put out at garage sales!) and a level below Pancho Sanchez. That said, it's immensely fun and disarmingly toe-tapping. I repainted a backyard deck while listening to this CD last summer and it made the experience ENJOYABLE! A forgotten slice of sixties pop. Here's where you catch up...