Emily: This album adds a new element into the never-predictable genre of world music: the conga drum. Sabu is a conguero, or Latin percussionist, and really shows his skill on Palo Congo. This album has so many influences that I'm sure I couldn't name them all: jazz, African rhythms, traditional Latin beats, big band, and more. The consistent theme is the driving drumbeat of the conga. Though I could do without the call-and-response vocals that were slightly more yelled than sung, I enjoyed the genre-bending variety of instrumentation and sounds that were all brought together by Sabu's deft drumming.
Favorite Tracks: Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso; Tribilin Cantore; Choferito-Plena
Zack: This is a strong bounce back from that last
salsa nightmare. Palo Congo avoids an easy fate of being repetitive and boring
through the inclusion of the bongo drums. They infuse just enough of something
special that the songs all avoid sounding just like another typical salsa song
but all stop short of dominating the songs completely. A few other alterations
to that typical salsa sound, like the prominent use of an electric guitar on
the final track, Tribilin Cantore, also help to diversify each song from the
Willie Colon and Ruben Blades of the world while also staying true to the type
of songs men like Tito Puente helped popularize.
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