1972 Joe Bataan “Sweet Soul” on Fania

My man Joe (real name: Bataan Nitollano) hits a really nice spot here, in the summer of ’72, sort of channeling his inner Ralfi instead of going full funky boogaloo, releasing this dynamite set of gospel-y, Motown-y soul ballads that have way less of a Latin feel than most of his other action, while still being totally Latin. It’s a hard trick to pull off, and requires juggling multiple influences and genres, and could have been a total disaster. In lesser hands it would have been, but like Tim Maia, Joe seems to effortlessly slide between language, intent, and backbeat. In fact, this record is smoother than clarified WD-40 butter AND pretty uptempo funky when required, but more like The Bar-Kays meet The Delfonics with uptown production. It’s harmony that’s heartfelt, soul that’s soulful, and also covers of Shaft and lots of lyrics about attractive young ladies Joe would like to buy a drink for, but knows better, mainly because they’re either too young, or his regular action would kill him is she found out. Hey, I didn’t write the lyrics. But I love listening to the tunes, love the Bataan gearshift, I bet this record pissed some people off back in the day, hey, maybe in the Latin community as much as Bitches Brew, but I bet all the die hards and purists, like with Miles, eventually realized they were dead wrong and it’s not only healthy but extremely gratifying when their music heroes stretch out and take chances.