Cortijo And His Time Machine (Y Su Maquina Del Tiempo) (Vinyl LP)

One of Cortijo's greatest (and most underrated) recordings, this production was actually the brainchild of arranger/pianist Pepe Castillo and arranger/guitar player Edgardo Miranda. Rafael Cortijo allowed a flow of ebullient ideas from young talent; the result was an amalgam of Cortijo's plena/bomba concept that also blended other musical tendencies like samba, seis mapeyé, and jazz into one enigmatic and fiercely savory stew.

"Carnaval" is an outrageous plena/samba combination; "La Verdad" is Pepe Castillo's prophetic message on Puerto Rico's future of musical culture; "Lluvia" marks the recording debut of talented songwriter/composer José Nogueras. "Baila y Goza" is an unusual, heavily modernized comparsa. Unjustly ignored in its time, this document is a unique vision by some of Puerto Rico's greatest talent in where their musical legacy would head toward the near future. No LP title is more fitting is this amazing, avant-garde recording.