Looking at the others reviews I sincerely think you were too much generous or you don't know the music of Tito. I bought this CD and I was desapointed for the lack of energy authenticity by the quality of the arrangements.
This is not a bad CD but the oldies are FAR BETTER.

This collection is a lot of fun percussion with typical Latin mambo beats. It's got enough variety to keep you interested but it's still pretty easy listening. A fun addition to anyone's dance collection.

The name fitted him perfectly. No one has ever and will ever record music the way he did. His style was one of a kind. Many may copy him, but they will never match him. This album is truly wonderful. Latin jazz is wrapped up with him. He makes you want to just get up and dance!

In my view there is no more joy-filled, sensual,
life-affirming pop-music t h a n the best of
Afro-Cuban/Latin Jazz . . when playing M a m b o !
The multi-layered rhythms never tire ear or mind . .
a n d demand attention to the musical genuis that
creates and improvises at such high levels of excellence.
Underscored . . when performed 'at the speed of light.'
It can be a 'religious experience!'
A sun-filled 'goose-pimply' one.
Welcome to one c.d. that captures this spirit.
With a sound quality as up to date as last evening's
concert.
Tito "takes no prisoners" in this one.
One 'cannot-go-wrong' in placing t h i s c.d.
within your collection!
My best to the best within . . .
- Richard Tuft.
(...)
* Title of a Bravo cable t.v. documentary,
home-recorded in Fall of 2002.

***** *****

This is easily one of the best Tito Puente CDs availabe. A compilation of some of Tito's best songs, these versions inspire awe and intense dancing. In addition, the notes by Joe Conzo succinctly detail Puente's life from the beginning of his musical career (or at least by the time Tito was 13 ... ), Tito's influences, playing with Machito, to the Navy in WWII, to the Palladium era and beyond.

Even just the mention of the infamous and influential Palladium establishes the authenticity of the biography, the music and the album. Within the New York Mambo scene, abundant reference is still made to the Palladium, both to the music and the dancing (which cannot exist without each other). Conzo notes that "Ran Kan Kan" was first recorded in 1949 -- a fact that many of the people 'in the know' today are not familiar with.

This CD is so good that for a while, it was the first thing I wanted to hear in the morning and the last music I wanted to hear at night. Don't miss this one!

Thanks go first and foremost to the creators and second to those who chronicle the music, the musicians and the culture. The growth in this art achieved by the next generation will only be possible because they learned from you.