Tremendo Caché

Re-released and remastered on vinyl for its 50th anniversary, Tremendo Caché marked the second of a string of collaborations between Cuban superstar Cruz and Dominican bandleader and Fania Records-founder Pacheco. Featuring hits ‘La Sopa en Botella’ and ‘Tres Días de Carnaval’, the swoony torch song ‘Oriza Eh’, nostalgia-infused merengue standard ‘No Aguanto Más’, and the chart-topping signature ‘Cúcala’, the all-star line-up included the superb pianist Papo Lucca, and Justo Betancourt and Roberto Torres sharing backing vocals. This is a superb dancefloor-filler, every song powered by playful, vivacious piano, bouncing bass, energetic but never tricksy percussion and Hector ‘Bomberito’ Zarzuela’s stabs of tuneful trumpet serving as a sort of Greek chorus to sassy, joyous songs. This sound, sometimes known as the ‘Pacheco Groove’, lifts salsa to heady heights, immaculately balancing virtuosity and sheer verve.