The Bottom Line
Here's a real treat for fans of Colombian salsa. Grupo Gale brings 15 dynamite musicians to the turntable and draws us in with 14 tracks of approachable, danceable salsa. Forget the playlist! Just slap this disc on your player and you and friends will be dancing the night away.
Pros
- "Quiero Besarte" and "Ave Maria Pues" - created for the dancer
- Better produced than some discs coming out of Colombia
Cons
- None
Description
- 14 tracks of Colombian salsa, packaged as CD/DVD set
- DVD contains behind-the-scenes, videos of studio sessions, interviews with bandmembers
- Released (in the U.S.) in February 2008 by Codiscos
Guide Review - Review: Grupo Gale - 'Autentico'
There’s a good reason that Autentico was up for ‘Best Salsa Album’ at the 2008 Latin Grammy awards - and might have won if the El Cantante soundtrack had been released in a different year. With infectious salsa performed with an impeccable instinct about what works for the dancer, Autentico contains 14 tracks of pure tropical listening/dancing pleasure.
Vocals are shared between 4 great voices, that of Charlie Torres, Christian Fernandez, Carlos Llamosa and George Valencia who bring energy to the coros and serenade us with both traditional harmonies and more modern ones, including some good rap on “El Galon.” The band is filled out with solid brass, driving percussion and spicy keyboards (including Sergio George on some of the numbers) bringing the band's number to 15 on this album.
In general, Colombian salsa is not as complicated or self-absorbed as other regional salsa, making for heat that goes out and draws the audience into the sound. Approachable and addictive, Autentico is Colombian salsa at its best.
