Malo “Malo” (1972)

OK, let’s get the Santana vs. Malo comparisons out of the way. Yes, both had a Santana on lead guitar…Yes, both played Latin Rock…Yes…the both sang in Spanish and English…Yes, both were from San Francisco. That’s where the comparisons begin and end. Malo is an entity entirely unto themselves. While Santana played Latin Rock, with a Fusion/Spiritual flare, Malo’s brand of Latin Rock is true and real. You can hear the pulse of the barrio beating through the grooves: East L.A. and the Mission District. This is, in the most wonderful sense, Low-rider music… electrified salsa, meringue and bolero. It’s Chicano all the way. Please don’t let this stop you from indulging in this LP.

Malo's debut album remains their best and best-known work, primarily for the inclusion of the hit single "Suavecito." That track managed to make a Chicago-soul styled song sound hip with its smooth integration of Latin rhythms and irresistible "la la la" chorus. However, it represents just one facet of the band. The six extended tracks (all clocking in at over six minutes apiece) are lean and heavy with hot Latin jazz brass. The LP starts out with the cut “Pana”. It’s probably the best slice of rock-salsa this side of Little Havana. The song’s protagonist views the everyday life of the barrio...marijuana, unwed mothers, and police harassment. However, it’s not a song of woe and despair, it a celebration of life. Listen to the insistent percussion, the double-time horns, Malo invites you to dance and to Malo, to dance is to live. “Just Say Goodbye’, a ballad of love and loss, starts out in a Norman Connors “You Are My Starship” styled floating intro, lulling one into a state of peace. However, no sooner you are complacent, Malo rockets into an all out assault on your mind with a Fillmore West-like Jam, heavy on Wah-Wah guitars and thumping bass. Just as you recover from that jolt, they slip into silky R&B. The music in the song itself seems to serve as a metaphor for the ebb and flow of a rocky relationship ending. “Café” is the closest that Malo gets to duplicating Santana’s sound. It has a “Guajira” groove. It's both infectious and alluring. It’s full of Spanish double entendres--Coffee and Cream, if you know what I mean. The closing track, “Peace” is a suite beginning with a heavy Rock vamp leading into a swinging Jazz improvisation, similar to one of the extended workouts often encountered on Rare Earth LPs. Although many of their subsequent albums, due to constantly changing band line-ups, can be erratic and slightly decline in quality after the debut, Malo amply illustrate the band's importance as one of the most exciting outfits to fuse rock with Latin and jazz. –Ed