Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ran Kan Kan
2. Swinging the Mambo
3. Four Beat Cha Cha, Pt. 1
4. Cuando Te Vea
5. Tito Guajira
6. Mambo Gozón
7. Night Hawk
8. Witch Doctor's Nightmare
9. Abaniquito
10. Picadillo
11. Mambo Beat
12. Cao Cao Mani Picao
13. Birdland After Dark
14. Obatalá Yeza
15. Chanchullo
16. Pa' los Rumberos
17. Hong Kong Mambo [Alternate Take]
18. What Is This Thing Called Love?
19. Complicación
20. Tito Timbero

Disc 2:

1. Oye Como Va
2. Cuál Es la Idea
3. Cayuco
4. Son de la Loma
5. 3-D Mambo
6. Cuban Nightmare
7. Oye Mi Guaguancó (Listen to the Guaguancó)
8. Take the "A" Train
9. Elegua Chango
10. Si Te Contara
11. Cha-Con-Cha
12. Dance Mania
13. Sácala
14. Ti Mon Bo
15. Yambeque
16. Lotus Land
17. Malibu Beat
18. Al Gozar Timbero
19. Havana After Dark
20. Mambo Buda

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9304 in Music
• Brand: RCA
• Released on: 2005-08-16
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Customer Reviews

The Esssential Tito Puente
This is by far the best Tito Puente Complation I have ever heard. It captures the Master Timbalero at his prime. The remastered CD is awsome and never sounded better. It is a must for Tito Puente Fans

Excelente!
This is not a complete set by any means but as the title says, it is essential in order to grasp the enduring career of Tito Puente if you are not familiar with his music or are just starting out. Its two discs cover a career by giving a sampling of his work from all periods, and of course featuring the popular favorites which may have drawn people to start to listen in the first place. I highly recommend this set for the individual who has no Tito Puente but would like a small collection of some of his best works. The sound quality is great and the songs are superb. Just TRY not to dance when you play these discs!

Tito Puente, the King of Latin Music
Very good compilation. If you are a fan of Tito Puente or a fan of Latin Music, now better known as Salsa, you can't go wrong with this two, 40 track CD set. Sony/Legacy has done a good job with their Essential series. I'm a fan of 'the old school' Latin Music, such as Tito Rodriguez, Joe Cuba, Willie Colon, etc. and not so much into the experimentation Tito Puente did with main street jazz or Latin Jazz. This compilation has some of that but not enough to turn me against it. It has a good balance of all that Tito did throughout his long and distinguished career. A good mix of all instrumental, vocals, mambos and Jazz/Latin Jazz. And who can complain when you have the original "Oye Como Va", and "Ran Kan Kan". If you are a lover of Latin Music as I am, then you must add this to your collection. It will one day be a collectors item for sure. I have many of Tito Puente's older recordings and this is one of the better ones. The remastered sound is great. You can't go wrong with this in your collection.