With Love

by Pagan,Ralfi

Overview

A much better effort than his self-titled debut, With Love shows Ralfi Pagan with more command over his voice and with much better arrangements to back him up -- by Louie Ramirez on side one and Marty Sheller on the flip. Pagan handles a difficult song like the opener, "Make It With You," with more confidence than he would have earlier, and the strung-out blues guitar during the intro doesn't hurt either. There's hardly any Latin left to this crossover album; it turns out that concentrating purely on pop makes for a much more consistent LP. Surprisingly, only "Make It With You" is a cover, though the others (with songwriting credits to Pagan, Ramirez, Joe Bataan, and Harvey Averne) display a lot of influence from early-'70s soul, pop, and even cocktail jazz. "Latin Soul" is a nice boogaloo change of pace (a bit of a repeat from his earlier LP), and while "Ain't No Big Thing" isn't going to compete with James Brown, it's pleasant enough for a side-two song. No one was confusing him with Smokey Robinson or Curtis Mayfield either, but With Love is a notable success from one of Fania's sideline artists. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	04/29/2022
Label:	Craft Recordings / Craft Records
UPC:	0888072242562
Rank:	24683

Tracks

1. Mi Chamaco
2. Me Voy Caminando
3. I Never Thought You'd Leave Me
4. Negrona
5. El Gato
6. To Say I Love You
7. Make It With You
8. Stray Woman
9. Just One of Your Kisses
10. Look at Her

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ralfi Pagan   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Joe Bataan   Composer
David Gates   Composer
Johnny Pacheco   Composer,Engineer,Recording Director
Jerry Masucci   Producer,Recording Producer
Marty Sheller   Arranger
Ralfi Pagan   Composer
Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso   Composer
Harvey Averne   Composer,Producer,Recording Producer
Louie Ramirez   Arranger,Composer,Arranger,Composer
Harold Martin   Composer
Larry Roberts   Composer
Louis Ramirez   Arranger