Malo

If ever there was a cd worth owning...
this is it. Put this up with the first 3 by cold blood and the first 3 by tower of power and you've got some of the best of the bay area's funk and soul, horns and rock and tight rhythms.. been playin this at home and everywhere else since it was released in the 70's. if you own this cd, you know, if you don't have this, get it! right now. don't wait. UhmmmmmMaaahlo.

san franciscos finest
coming out of the mission district the birth place of latin rock is malo this album is a must for all you latin rock fans this band was ran by aracelio garcia and jorge santana carlos brother other good bay area latin rock bands are sapo santana of course azteca dakila and chango .

When Malo(Bad) Is Good
The gorgeous single Suavecito in itself, deserves the purchase price of this CD that is one great Latin-Rock album that holds up today as it did then.In the emerging early 1970's, a whole slew of "ethnic" bands emerged on major labels that quickly faded but left it's imprint on others..Latin @ African bands like Azteca,Mandrill,Osibisa had their day capitalizing on artwork covers(Osibisa)by Roger Dean of prog-rock giants Yes fame and the hybrid funk of Mandril later gave way to a more commercial War. Malo boasted a steady lineup of 8, including 2 guitarists(Jorge Santana on lead) with 2 trumpet players adding a more Latin than Rock feel to the majority of the music.Heavy shades of Santana on Cafe" while the rest of the album moves along really smoothly. Guests include (Coke Escovedo) Timbales,Congas,bongos timbales and interesting that the lead vocal is a fellow named Richard Bean who is not a member of Malo but a co writer of the hit Suavecito that he sings lead vocal. Also of interest is the lush front cover of the Mexican warrior and his lady..indeed it is comparable (coincidental?) to Santana's 1970's Abraxas (both depicting themes of women looking up to a man/angel)...in any event further comparisons stop there since this debut is a fine one that deserves 5 stars recorded in California in 1972 whose emotional groove and joy remains intact.

4 and a half stars: Malo (1973)
Totally worth it just for ''Suavecito'', an amazing lowrider anthem, here's my grouping 1. pana (5 stars out of 5, an energetic intro to the album) 2. Just say goodbye (5 out of 5, some mellow parts, some crazy, great song) 3. nena (4 stars out of 5, good bit of percussion) 4. cafe' (3 stars out of 5, the weak track,) 5. suavecito (5 out of 5, one of the best songs you will hear!) 6. peace (5 out of 5, nice intro!) it's interesting to hear what carlos santana's brother is capable of! extremely talented band!

Santana 2
So what if they sound like a Santana clone. That's not half bad, plus they formed at about the same time so they may be the original Latin hard rock group. Unfortunately their catalog of music is about 1 cd long vs. Santana's multitude of music.