“Senor 007”   Ray Barretto   United Artists   (1965)   One of our favorite Ray Barretto albums of the 60s — a real gem from the pre-Latin Soul years! The album’s a clear attempt to cash in on the James Bond craze of the time — issued by United Artists, who were releasing the Bond films, but also had Ray under contract during the period too. But despite that simple gimmick, it’s a great little set — with a quality level that goes way beyond Bond soundtracks, or the usual from Barretto at the time! The tracks are all hard and groovy, with an excellent jazz feel — and some killer arranging from Ray that’s right up there with the work he did for his legendary Charanga Moderna album! You may recognize the song titles — but their versions here are superb, and the album’s filled with many many wonderful moments that step out with mad rhythms and great jazzy touches. Titles include “Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, “OO7”, “Search For Vulcan”, “Thunderball”, and “Goldfinger”. Nice “spy” shot of Ray on the cover, too!   — Dusty Groove

(63 votes, average: 3.44 out of 5)

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