April - 1998 - El Palacio de la Salsa
piano: Pepe Rivero

After Noroña left the group in early 1998, Pepe Rivero, who had been playing synth with Issac, switched to la Élite and acquitted himself brilliantly, as you can hear. This tape was recorded from the stage, very close to the drums and horns, so it sounds a little strange, but it's very nice for hearing the details of the drum parts and you can hear enough of Paulito to follow the form. The Songo con Efectos gear is just starting to find its way into the arrangement at this point. Like Pedal, Songo con Efectos features a special bass part with special bloques, composed specifically for the song in question, but unlike Pedal, the bass part is very sparse, creating the ambience of a group percussion solo, while the voice, horns and piano continue on normally. The congas are featured and begin with references to Changuito's famous bota rhythm -- hence the reference to "songo" in the name of the gear. (Efectos are bloques, or pre-determined rhythmic punches).

MONTUNO PREVIEW
12 - piano tumbao
4 - marcha

CUERPO
4 - horn intro
8 - A section 1
8 - A section 2
8 - B section
2 - puente (instrumental bridge)

MONTUNO
4 - piano tumbao
coro 1: yo sé hay que dar, para tener...
16 - marcha
mambo 1:
16 - marcha de mambo
coro 2: San Dame San Dame
8 - pedal
8 - bomba
mambo 1 reprise:
8 - marcha de mambo
4 - bomba
4 - marcha de mambo
coro 3: ¿dónde está lo mío?
8 - pedal
8 - bomba
mambo 1 reprise:
8 - marcha de mambo
breakdown 1: scat-singing
8 - breakdown
4 - audience sing-along
coro 4: i ¿qué te pasa?, te veo lento
4 - marcha
8 - bomba
mambo 2:
8 - marcha de mambo
6 - bomba
coro 5: por aquí, por aquí
8 - pedal gear name
8 - bomba
mambo 3:
8- marcha de mambo
4 - songo con efectos
4 - marcha de mambo
breakdown 2: scat-singing
12 - breakdown
4 - audience sing-along
coro 6: dando y dando, dando y dando
4 - marcha
8 - bomba
mambo 4:
8 - pedal
8 - bomba
8 - marcha de mambo
breakdown 3: ??? pero yo no quiero lío
8- breakdown building into
coro 7: ¿con qué?, gallina va a chapear cantero, ¿con qué?
8 - marcha
mambo 5:
8 - pedal
6 - bomba
(coda: 2 bars)