This is the kind of album disc jockeys live for. Without sacrificing taste,
My Man Speedy is a very loose record -- loose enough to lead off with spoken word and then a tongue-in-cheek love ballad titled "I'm Insane." "Gimme Some Love" -- a track that on any other boogaloo album would be a standout -- raises the tempo and temperature for "Psychedelic Baby." With vibes and loads of echo, its true psychedelic power may be in the energy of the sextet shouting and getting the party started. The side ends with even crazier stuff. "Love Is the Thing" shows at least one of the
Sextet members can really sing -- not quite up to the level of the Latin Souls but certainly well. There is nothing especially magical about playing Latin but singing in English. What truly makes Latin soul work, when it does, is the intensity of the "soul." In "You Better Believe It" the emulation of non-Latin soul is so thick it borders on camp. But wait, that would be the next song, the sappy, doo wop-flavored "It's Love." Soulful or silly,
the Joe Cuba Sextet starts a party with every infectious note of vibes, conga, and voice.
My Man Speedy is as essential to boogaloo as the
Pete Rodriguez smash "I Like It Like That." ~ Tony Wilds