This nicely packaged four-disc box set is compiled from four previous single volumes from Fania's reissue department: Latin Funk, Latin Disco, The Bad Boogaloo, and El Barrio. If you haven't scored any of these yet, now would be the time. That said, even if you have some but not all of the volumes, there is a serious argument to be made for offering your existing copies to friends and purchasing the box, which is like a history of Nuyorican, Afro-Cuban, and salsa music from the biggest stars of the Latin music scene from the 1960s through the 1970s. If they recorded for Fania -- or any of its precursors or subsidiary labels -- they're here: Ray Barretto, Willie and Johnny Colón, Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, Ismael Rivera, Héctor Lavoe, Celia Cruz, Joe Bataan, Joe Cuba, Tito Puente, Lenni Sesar, Mongo Santamaría, Bobby Valentín, Larry Harlow, Cheo Feliciano, and many more. (Thom Jurek, Allmusic)

In the 60s and 70s, Puerto Ricans flooded into "El Barrio," as they called New York's Spanish Harlem. They brought with them the music of their homeland and mixed it with R&B, rock, and jazz to create a distinctive "Nuyorican" sound. It was an astonishingly fruitful period, and the Fania label captured it in all its glory.
This four-CD box set documents the development of Latin funk, disco, boogaloo, soul, and especially salsa, for which Fania is justly most famous. Such artists as Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Joe Bataan, Willie Colon, Tito Puente, Joe Cuba, Eddie Palmieri, and the Fania All Stars bring you spicy fusions of Latin and Black music that will blow your mind whether you're swaying on the beach or grooving on the dancefloor.
Central to this music is its relentless rhythm, played on congas and cowbells and funky bass guitars, accented by tight horn charts and shouts in English and Spanish. In addition to dozens of delightful hits and rarities, both vocal and instrumental, there are covers of James Brown's "I Got the Feeling," Lester Young's "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid," Patti Labelle's "Lady Marmalade," and Clarence Henry's "Evil Ways," which was first recorded by Willie Bobo and later made famous by Santana.
The discs come in a sturdy box with a Rolls-Royce and a couple of cigar-smoking gangsters on the cover. Two booklets contain liner notes detailing the songs, the singers, and the groups, as well as many photos, most of them from original album sleeves. Hours of good listening and dancing are here. It's both extraordinarily tasty and emphatically recommended. (Thomas E. Davis, The Guardian)

trax "Latin Funk" Nuyorican Funk 1968-1976 CD1:
1. Together - Ray Barretto 2. You Need Help - Monguito Santamaria 3. I'm Satisfied - Joe Bataan 4. Identify Yourself - Cafe 5. Everybody's Got Soul - Flash And The Dynamics 6. Pantaloncitos Calientes (She Got To See What She Got To Get What She Wants) - Gilberto Cruz 7. Black Dice - Mongo Santamaria 8. Dynamite - Harvey Averne 9. I'm Gonna Get To You Yet - TNT Boys 10. There You Go - Fania All Stars 11. La Vida - Ralfi Pagan 12. I Got The Feeling (Tengo Sentimiento) - Chollo Rivera & The Latin Soul Drives 13. Funky Felix - Seguida 14. Kool It Here Comes The Fuzz - Jimmy Sabater 15. Guajiro Bacan - Azuquita y Su Orquesta Melao 16. Stablishment - Harvey Averne
trax "Latin Disco" Dancefloor Grooves With A Latin Touch CD2:
1. Back To My Roots - Fania All Stars 2. Amor Verdadero - Willie Colon 3. Dance, Dance, Dance - Orquesta Novel 4. On Our Way To Tomorrow - Seguida 5. Waterbed (Vocal) - LTG Exchange 6. Smoke - Fania All Stars 7. Bad Luck - Louie Ramirez 8. Wata Wasuri - Tito Puente 9. Johnny's No Good - W.R.L.C. 10. Es Un Demonio Ella - Fausto Rey / Larry Harlow 11. Call Me - Joe Bataan 12. Afro Hustle - Lou Perez 13. "Mambo Rock (Theme from ""Salsa"")" - Seguida 14. Joe Cuba's Latin Hustle - Joe Cuba 15. Salsa - Louie Ramirez
trax "The Bad Boogaloo" Nuyorican Sounds 1966-1970 CD3:
1. Fever - La Lupe 2. Gimme Some Love (Dame Un Poquito De Carino) - Joe Cuba Sextet 3. Morris Park - Lenni Sesar 4. Come And Get It - Ralph Robles 5. Bad Breath - Bobby Valentin 6. Mercy Mercy Baby - Ray Barretto 7. Ay Que Rico - Eddie Palmieri 8. King Of Latin Soul - Joey Pastrana 9. Happy Soul With A Hook - Dave Cortez with The Moon People 10. Mama's Girl - King Nando 11. Marilu - George Guzman 12. Baby Boo Boogaloo - Vladimir and His Orchestra 13. Camel Walk - The Latinaires 14. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid - Ray Rodriguez And His Orchestra 15. What You Mean - Johnny Colon 16. Guajira Con Soul - Johnny Ventura
trax "El Barrio" Gangsters, Latin Soul & The Birth Of Salsa 1967-1975 CD4:
1. Do You Feel It (Tu Lo Sientes) - Joe Cuba Sextet 2. Big "T" - Tito Ramos 3. New York Soul - Ray Barretto 4. Lady Marmalade - Mongo Santamaria 5. Si, Dame Tu Amor - Cafe 6. Calle Luna Calle Sol - Willie Colon 7. Que Se Sepa - Roberto Roena 8. Puerto Rican Soul - Pete Bonet 9. Red Garter Strut - Fania All Stars 10. O Elefante - Ray Barretto 11. Safari - Tito Puente 12. Revolucionando - The New Swing Sextet 13. Chocolate Ice Cream (Helado De Chocolate) - Eddie Palmieri 14. Evil Ways - Pete Rodriguez/Louie Ramirez 15. Musica Del Alma - TNT Band 16. Crystal Blue Persuasion - Joe Bataan
...Many Thanks To Jillem For The El Barrio Share! served by Gyro1966...