Nico Gomez & His Afro Percussion Inc.: Ritual (indie exclusive, red vinyl) [MR BONGO]

Why you'll love it

This indie exclusive presses Ritual on red vinyl, mastered from the original tape and housed in a reproduction of the original packaging. The album first came out in 1971 on the Dutch label Omega International, and Liquid People built their track "The Dragon" on a sample of the title track.

This edition

• Red vinyl
• Indie exclusive
• Mastered from original tape
• Original-style packaging

About the album

Some records spend decades as rumours passed between DJs before anyone can actually buy one. Ritual was made in Belgium in 1971 and issued by the Dutch label Omega International, and its blend of Latin percussion, funk guitar and blaring horns made it a much-hunted record long before Mr Bongo brought it back as part of its Latin funk reissues.

The band tears into "Caballo Negro" and "Lupita" with a funky Afro-Latin swing, then eases into soulful, downtempo takes on "Samba De Una Nota So" and "El Condor Pasa." "Cuba Libre" and "Naci Para Bailar" keep the congas busy, "Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!" is as much fun as it sounds, and the title track is a dance floor groove of horns and fuzz guitar. Gomez produced the session himself, and the band plays with the tightness of people who did this every night.

Mr Bongo's reissue made it easy to find for the first time in years. Our advice is to put on "Ritual" and try to keep still; several of us have attempted it and nobody has yet managed it.

Also at Kops: more Nico Gomez on vinyl · browse World

Tracklist

Listen

On Mr Bongo (cat# MRBLP104R), a reissue of the 1971 album.