The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 86

cussive charge, "Dirty Willie" and "Happy Now" are the very height of thrilling Latin jazz. An international cast of But ballads slow Ricky Martin's pop extravaganza Santamaria By Parry Gettelman SENTINEL POPULAR MUSIC CRITIC RECORDS sometimes don't translate well. "Love You for a Day" is another distinctive up-tempo Mongo Santamaria Skin on Skin The Mongo Santamaria Anthology (1958-1995) If any musician-composer deserves a box, it's Havana-born Mongo Santamaria, the most influential Cuban percussionist of his time. This two-disc set manages epic sweep, highlighting not only his command of conga and bongo within jazz, be-bop and Afro-Cuban sounds but also his writing and arranging skills for small Latin dance bands and large, lush horn ensembles. His trademark pulse a propulsive, percolating, fleshy barrage of rhythm is displayed most feverishly on "Yambu" and "Chano Pozo," the latter a rumba guaguanco paean to the great conguero.

He mixes the traditional sounds of conjunto and char-anga with blaring brass to make "Guaguanco Mania" and "Barandanga" saucy and sensual. Soul-stirring '60s hits "Watermelon Man" and "Sweet 'Tater Pie" haven't lost their funky jazz heft. And with Santamaria leading a hyper-per- number, meshing salsa, electronica and Prince-style funk. A "Spanglish Radio Edit" of Martin's Latin pop hit, "Maria," closes the album. The ballads, alas, have less to recommend them.

The least dopey is the rather insipid Madonna duet, "Be Careful," written by Madonna and her electronica guru, William Orbit. The Rosa-Noriega-Jon Secada collaboration "She's All I Ever Had" is like a Ricky Martin, Ricky Martin (Columbia): The Grammy broadcast is usually a predictable bore. This year, however, Puerto Rico-bom pop star Ricky Martin grabbed everyone's attention with his exuberant performance of "The Cup of Life," the infectious theme song for World Cup Erance '98. The show-stopping number proved the bloated echo of the Cars' "Drive" with Mariah Carey strings courtesy of perfect launchpad for Mar tin's first English-language album, Ricky Martin, which includes the "Spanglish Radio Edit" of "Cup of Life," plus a number of similarly vivacious tracks, plus, (I V' 'Mi 1 Walter Afanasieff himself and a pretentious sitar part. The Spanish version, "Bella," is no improvement.

"I Am unionunaieiy, some Dai-lads. The new single from Ricky Martin, "Livin' la Vida Loca," zoomed to No. 1 on the pop charts kind of an unusual Made of You" is as sappy as its title Child has not, after all, completely abjured the dark past that includes such trespasses against taste as Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and spot nowadays to una a song that's not a disposable slice of bland teen pop. While the writingproducing team of Ro-bi Rosa and Desmond Child clearly referred to the successful formula they used on the turbo-tropical "Cup of Life," they didn't Michael Bolton's "How Can We Be Lovers." Ubiquitous hack Diane Warren contrib- players from Cal Tjader to Willie Bobo, Herbie Hancock, Pete Escove-do, Chick Corea and Hilton Ruiz help make Skin sexy and stately. (Rhino) A.D.

AMOROSI, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Stevie Ray Vaughan Double Trouble Four Reissues So you never purchased CDs of the Double Trouble band's four studio albums Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand the Weather, Soul to Soul and In Step. Perhaps you love the old vinyl too much or you hoped for cleaner recordings or you have been chronically broke. Now your wait must end. Of course, you could hold out longer until Epic releases the SRV boxed set promised this year, but who knows what they are going to leave out? It is always better to have the album arrangements the performers sequenced for themselves, especially for someone like Vaughan, who never recorded a lame track. To make these CD reissues irresistible, Epic added 14 new tracks, half of them live, totaling 77 minutes across the four discs.

It's like creating a fifth album. The added studio tracks were recorded in the same sessions with the original albums but never included. As for the bonus tracks that were recorded live, similar versions appear on SRV's live releases, but these bonus versions are fresh enough to be worth having. And what bonuses! from the seductive "Tin Pan Alley" on the Texas Flood reissue to the long-overdue appearance of a Hound Dog Taylor cover, "Give Me Back My Wig," on Weather, they are all terrific. Each disc contains brief interviews with Vaughan that are distracting but at least demarcate where the bonus tracks begin.

No more excuses not to own all four discs because these were, and are, the best blues releases of the past two decades. (Epic-Legacy) RALPH SIEGEL, ASSOCIATED PRESS uted both the turgid "You Stay With Me," which sounds an awful lot like a lost Wham! tune, and "I Count the Minutes," which just reeks of follow it too closely. "Vida Loca" is a giddier concoction, mixing rock, ska and Latin influences in the ebullient programmed rhythm track. Mar the late '80s. Plus.

Warren likes tn IHTHIDmS These records are scheduled for release Tuesday: Insane Clown Posse, The Amazing Jeckel Brothers (Island). People, Testify (Epic). The Gap Band, Funkin' Ti' 2000 Comz (Private I). Chante Moore, This Moment Is Mine (Silas-MCA). Mary Chapin Carpenter, Party Doll and Other Favorites (Columbia).

Carole King, four late 1960searly 70s recordings for Ode (Legacy). Todd Thibaud, Little Mystery (Doolittle). the Mysterians, More Action MTV VJ Jesse, Jesse and the 8th Street Kldz (Hollywood). John Michael Montgomery, Home to You (Atlantic). Trumpeter Mark Isham, Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project (Columbia).

Saxophonist David Murray, Speaking in Tongues (Justin Time-Just a Memory), Various artists, Brasilel-ro (Putumayo World Music). Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Buck Jump (Mammoth). "Ultimate" collections of Blossom Dearie, Ray Brown, Anita O'Day, Cannonball Ad-derley and Tony Williams (Verve). PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS write for Star Search singers, and Martin's pleasant voice loses power in his limited upper range. He's such a likable live wire when he's directing listeners to the dance floor, it's a shame to slow him down and turn him into the Latin Bryan Adams.

Maybe after seeing their protege on the Grammys, executive producers Child, Angelo Medina and Emilio Estefan will recognize Martin is at his best when he's just having fun. Reviewing key: kkkkk excellent, kkkk good, kkk average, kk poor, awful. tin's energetic vocal is deftly underlined by backing vocals from Rosa, his former Menudo mate and longtime producer. To- ny Concepcion makes the song swagger with his trumpet and flugelhorn, but what really takes it over the top is Rusty Anderson's improbable Duane EddyJohnny Rivers guitar. "Vida Loca," which also appears in a Spanish version, is about a wild woman who leaves Martin stranded "in a funky cheap hotel," minus his heart and his wallet.

The heroine of Rosa and Childs' "Spanish Eyes" is another temptress but more mysterious than predatory. Randy Cantor's arrangement deftly combines disco and flamenco, sort of the Gipsy Kings meet Donna Summer, until the bridge, when it all erupts into sizzling salsa. Columbia obviously did not stint on the budget the liner notes list 20 violins, sue violas and six cellos on this track, fj; "Shake Your Bon-Bon," written by Child, Ro-jj sa and George Noriega, is a multicultural piece g.of bubble gum with delightfully awful lyrics: 2 "You're a Mata Hari 1 want to know your story In the Sahara sun I want to be the one Who's 5 gonna come and take you make you shake your bon-bon Shake your bon- bon Shake your bon-Q bon Up in the Himalayas C'mon I wanna lay iya." I wish there were a Spanish-language ver-u sion of this cut, but then, idiomatic expressions You can listen to an excerpt from the album by calling Fast Tracks, a service of the Sentine-Line. Call (407) 872-7200 and enter category 9204. For music clips from local bands, check out the music page of Calendar Online at: calendar.orlandosentlnel.com fSlS 1.