VA - Panama! 2: Latin Sounds, Cumbia Tropical & Calypso Funk on the Isthmus 1967-77

Not known as a hotbed of musical activity, nobody would have expected the excellent Soundway label to put a whole collection together spotlighting a country best know for its canal. Well, here they are with a surprising follow-up—surprising not only because the middling quality of the original may not have warranted a return record-hunting expedition, but also because part two has vindicated the project. The cuts on this collection, as with the first, reveal no sound that is particular to Panama except for an openness to pan-tropical idioms, funky grooves and some delightfully lo-fi recording techniques. Styles are mashed together with no regard for orthodoxy and it's on these tracks that this collection really comes to life. Cumbias take on an “eastern” sense of melody and vocal timbre; salsas feature guitar; and the calypsos sound nothing like calypso. In other words, the variety here will make this a fail-proof summer soundtrack.