Ray Barretto’s ‘Acid’ is one of those records that captures a scene mid-transformation, and on May 22 it returns as a wide mono vinyl reissue pressed on 180-gram vinyl, cut all-analog from the original master tapes by Dave Polster and Clint Holley, and housed in a tip-on jacket reproducing the album’s original psychedelic cover art. First released in 1968 as Barretto’s debut for Fania Records, the album arrived at a moment when New York’s Latin music scene was absorbing soul, funk, and jazz into its Afro-Cuban foundation, and The Ray Barretto Orchestra was built to carry all of it.
Recorded live in the studio without overdubs, ‘Acid’ moves across son montuno, R&B-inflected boogaloo, and jazz-forward improvisation with a working band’s instinct and discipline. The lineup featured vocalists Pete Bonet and Adalberto Santiago, bassist Bobby Rodriguez, timbalero Orestes Vilató, trumpeters René Lopez and Roberto Rodriguez, and pianist Louis Cruz. English and Spanish vocals sit side by side throughout, reflecting the Nuyorican identity at the heart of the record.
The album’s individual tracks each pull in a different direction while staying anchored to Barretto’s direction. “El Nuevo Barretto” opens with a propulsive son montuno whose opening figure would later surface in Carlos Santana’s version of Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va.” “A Deeper Shade of Soul” features Adalberto Santiago and was later sampled by Urban Dance Squad in 1990. The closing “EspÃritu Libre” runs eight and a half minutes, beginning with a percussive dialogue between Barretto and Orestes Vilató before moving through shifting time signatures and extended solos.
‘Acid’ became one of Barretto’s best-selling albums and remains a defining document of Latin soul. This reissue gives it the format it deserves.
Pre-order it here.