Artist: Ben E. King
Album: Spanish Harlem
Genre: R&B, Soul
Release Date: 1961/2012
Audio Format:: FLAC (tracks) 24bit, 192 kHz
Duration: 31:53
Total Tracks: 12
Total Size: 1,14 GB

Tracklist:

01. Ben E. King – Amor (03:09)
02. Ben E. King – Sway (02:20)
03. Ben E. King – Come Closer To Me (02:37)
04. Ben E. King – Perfidia (02:15)
05. Ben E. King – Granada (02:29)
06. Ben E. King – Sweet And Gentle (02:28)
07. Ben E. King – Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps) (02:17)
08. Ben E. King – Frenesí (03:12)
09. Ben E. King – Souvenir Of Mexico (02:23)
10. Ben E. King – Bésame Mucho (03:01)
11. Ben E. King – Love Me, Love Me (02:37)
12. Ben E. King – Spanish Harlem (02:59)

Download:

Ben E. King possesses one of the richest baritone voices in music history. The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer made a stellar debut with Spanish Harlem. This Latin-influenced work blends together pop and soul. It includes breathtaking renditions of “Besame Mucho,” “Perfidia,” “Frenesi” and the title track. Backed by a fantastic string section, the album is a full display of King’s repertoire.A close look at this album reveals just how ambitious Atlantic Records could be in the early 1960s, in generating LPs. Technically speaking, Ben E. King’s debut long-player is a concept album — or, at least, a thematic album. Put together in the wake of his first solo hit, “Spanish Harlem,” a Latin flavor and beat run all the way through this 12-song platter, which, at times, is really more of a pop record than a soul record. The dense, busy string section that characterized most of King’s work of this era is present, and a lot of his singing may recall more the work of Sammy Davis, Jr. than that of any R&B artist one might think of from this period. And apart from the Jerry Leiber/Phil Spector co-authored title hit, most of what is here dates from a decade or more (sometimes several) earlier — “Frenesi,” “Besame Mucho,” and “Perfidia” were standards during the big-band era, and most of the rest is of similar or even older vintage. All of which doesn’t mean that it is bad — King’s version of “Besame Mucho” is a very successful reinterpretation in a Latin soul vein, and “Perfidia” never sounded better than it does in his hands, even if it and a lot of the rest is a long way from what most of us define as “soul.” And for better or worse, the production is first-rate within the context of King’s established sound, with a phenomenal string section and a percussion section to die for. –AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder