Willie Colon* – Wanted By FBI / The Big Break - La Gran Fuga

Al final del lado A, se escucha un scratch importante

Has anyone compared this to a first pressing? I don't know if these reissues are generally considered better sounding than the Fania originals...

This sounds excellent; vinyl is very quiet without clicks or distortion. Mastering is excellent and is very forgiving to the saturated recording style. So warm, so fun. Beautiful packaging.

This is a fantastic sounding reissue. Although there is an etching in the dead wax I have no idea who mastered it. 'Get On Down' get a bad rap for their reissues on Discogs, but even it this was a digital transfer on to vinyl I simply can't fault it at all. There is no compression, it has a warn analog sound, bass, horns and percussion and Lavoe's glorious voice over Colon's arrangements come through with clarity and separation. There is going to a Kevin Gray Craft Recordings reissue coming in April 2024- how much that will improve on this reissue remains to be seen. But for those who have no wish to double dip- this is a superb sounding reissue! Highly recommended!
(This reissue comes with a wide obi that pretty much has an essay lauding the album on it. No name on who did the write up however. Adds value).

This is the first edition that was made in Venezuela, 1St Clouds Label, after the US originals.

OjO: The easiest way to determine whether or not a Fania Records Cloud label variation being sold is a US Repress or a US Reissue is visual. If you look at the Reissue of: Willie Colón - Wanted For: The Big Break - La Gran Fuga, or the 1st
you'll notice that the following credits on the center record labels are shown as:
1. CANTA: HECTOR LAVOE written in CAPITAL letters underneath WILLIE COLON.
2. There is an indentation of about 2 spaces in between the last track title and the Recording Director, and Produced By credits.
3. The credits for: Recording Director, and Produced By ARE NOT shown flush left as the 1st US Stereo Repress of Willie Colón - Wanted For: The Big Break - La Gran Fuga.

The 1970 US 1st Stereo and Monaural editions are titled with the branding of: "WANTED BY FBI" on the top of the front cover, and included the "WANTED BY FBI" poster.
The title on both the Stereo and Monaural 1970 US 1st Repress, and of the 1972 US 1st Repress/Reissue editions are rebranded with "WANTED," and did not include the "WANTED BY FBI" poster.

The 1970 US Fania Records Stereo and Monaural Cloud label variation editions include a hash tag (#) in front of catalog release numbers on the right side of the center record labels. This hash tag (#) was omitted from the center record labels of the 1970 US Repress, and from the 1972 US Repress/Reissue editions as well.

This version is the 1st 1970 original Stereo release of: 'WANTED BY FBI,' WITH poster, and WITHOUT a red sticker branding on the bottom front cover of: "This Album Contains: 11' X 23" Willie Colon WANTED POSTER - The New Smash Hit GHANA'E."
OjO: Side B has a 5th track, separated by about 6 seconds following track 4, which IS NOT shown on the jacket or label, and it is a Ranchera.
The actual styles on all of these versions are: Guaracha, Cha-Cha, Bolero, Guaguancó, Ranchera, Salsa

Like most of the collaborations between trombonist, composer and musical director Willie Colón and mercurial Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoé, the album that you hold in your hands transcends the boundaries of salsa. Released in 1970, "The Big Break" is a masterpiece of Latin music, the kind of formidable artistic statement that established the Fania label as a cultural icon-- going beyond the parameters of a company specializing in crowd pleasing dance music. Needless to say, this is still a great party album, filled with dance friendly classics such as “Barrunto” and “Abuelita”. At the same time, it crystallizes the Colón/Lavoé aesthetic that the duo had been developing on previous albums ("The Big Break" is Colón's sixth release on the Fania label.) Although they were years away from reaching the artistic zenith of future epics such as El Cantante and Periódico de Ayer, the songs on this collection express the combined strength of these visionary artists: Colón's weakness for an edgy, dangerous sound based on the roughness of his two-trombone lineup. The eclectic tendencies that had him adding revolutionary bits of Puerto Rican folklore on the six minute-long workout “Panameña”. And Lavoé's irresistible sense of humor, which becomes particularly apparent on his nostalgic remembrance of his grandmother (“Abuelita”) and her hilarious sayings. Most importantly, the songs on "The Big Break" evoke the duo's combined cosmovision, which regards life as a combination of reckless joy and profound tragedy. From the childlike wonder of “Ghana'E” and the grotesque mockery of “Canción Para Mi Suegra” to the fleshy swing of “Barrunto” and the morbid sadness of “No Cambiaré, this session is a roller coaster of intensity-- a symphony of contrasting flavors, colors and feelings. Perhaps the one moment that best encapsulates the transcendental qualities of this collection is the bridge of “Panameña”-- the moment when the tune stops on its tracks, Lavoé introduces la salsa de Puerto Rico, el aguinaldo (Puerto Rico's own salsa, the aguinaldo) and all hell breaks loose thanks to Colón's roaring trombone and the spidery piano lines courtesy of the maestro Profesor Joe Torres. The resulting effect is nothing less of apocalyptic. Of the many brilliant LP covers that graphic designer Izzy Sanabria designed for Fania (the Ray Barretto/Superman art for Indestructible comes immediately to mind), "The Big Break" may be the most notorious one. The art capitalized on Colón's ‘Malo’ image (he was initially called El Malo because the older musicians thought he was a poor trombone player, not a bad kid-- Willie then decided to use the gangster archetype as a gimmick.) This time, Sanabria flew with the idea and devised a cover that replicated a Wanted by the FBI poster. Only that the FBI in question was the Freaks of Bureau Investigation, Colón was armed with a trombone and was wanted for killing people... with his exciting rhythm. Using the project's limited budget to his advantage, the designer included a cheap photo of Colón and random fingerprints to create a realistic looking poster. After its release, the company was ed by the real FBI, which requested that the ‘Wanted by FBI’ text be removed from the cover

OjO: There are Reissues of this Repress release that ARE NOT in this Data Base yet. So ask other sellers if theirs is identical to ALL pictures shown here before purchasing.