We conclude our deep dive into the Guerssen label’s recent and upcoming output with a proper inspection of two terribly scarce LPs seeing reissue on January 19 by the Nicaraguan psychedelic Latin funk supergroup Poder del Alma (“Soul Power”), their self-titled debut from 1974 and its follow-up from the following year, Poder del Alma II. Cut by an evolving lineup organized and led by Román Cerpas, the records share a dynamic sound that’s intensity and vividness is particularly sharp on the second effort. The Latin groove heat is substantial.
Poder del Alma’s roots are in the devastating Nicaraguan earthquake of December 23, 1972, which destroyed much of Managua and killed over 20,000 people. Understandably, rebuilding was difficult and international help was needed. Nearly a year later, the band Santana came to Nicaragua to play a benefit for the victims. To secure an appropriately powerhouse opening act for a crowd of 44,000 people (Nicaragua’s biggest audience ever), the concert’s promotor Alfonso Lovo Jr. worked diligently to assemble an all-star combo.
A far more thorough accounting of Poder del Alma’s development comes via Ruffy “TNT” in the booklet that accompanies these albums, but it suits this review to say the group stuck together and under the guidance of multi-instrumentalist and musical director Román Cerpas, they desired to cut a record. To do so meant traveling outside the country, as studio facilities in Managua were compromised due to the quake.
To Guatemala they went, but the studio hosting them had fewer instruments than promised, plus equipment issues and a real jerk for a producer. Still, Poder del Alma cut the record, and if not as sonically crisp as the follow-up, the first set is the more psychedelic of the two. This quality is in large part a byproduct of the acid guitar of René “Chapo” Dominguez, heard straightaway in opener “El Valle del Ayatimbo” with its wailing soaring solos.
The organ playing reinforces a rock flavor as the rhythms and the horns solidify the Latin direction. The multifaceted burner “Terciopelo” introduces the vocals of Jenette Barnes, a real asset throughout, and there are additional sweet touches, such as the extended handclaps in “Ia-Taa Yo,” the achy beauty of the trumpet line in “No Hay Nada Nuevo Bajo El Sol” and how it blends with the electric piano and the vocal interactions, and the almost ’70s Philly Soul qualities to the vocal duet and the trumpet in “Caperucita Roja.”
The second album (it doesn’t appear that Poder del Alma II was the designated release title in 1975) reveals the band as an incendiary samba and salsa machine, sounding like a record cut for the Fania label, but an even more torrid affair in opener “Bacanal 76.” The use of Mini-Moog synth on “Amanecer Entre Las Hojos” and “Mimo” helps this record, which is decidedly less psychedelic, to stand out.
Recorded in Costa Rica, the second record is brighter (but not slick) and tighter (without overemphasizing this aspect). There are horn charts in “Amanecer Entre Las Hojos” and in “Mimo” that lean heavily into a big band-ish direction. “Chicharron” adds some “Shaft”-ian funk guitar and the bell-like tones of electric piano to an Hector Lavoe-like scenario; it and “Amanecer Entre Las Hojos” find Poder del Alma stretching out without running short of ideas.
For those enticed by the presence of psychedelia, Poder del Alma’s first record might suffice. Folks with an insatiable Latin groove itch will want both.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Poder del Alma
A-
Poder del Alma II
A-
