With access to the TH-Rodven catalog, Universal Music Latino was able to come up with a pretty good collection when setting up the track listing for the
Marvin Santiago version of their
Pura Salsa series. Surprisingly, eight of the 14 songs are from live performances, including "Auditorio Azul," "Fuego al Cuba," and "La Libertad," which actually gives a nice intimacy to the record and shows off the true talent of the singer. Fans of
Santiago should be pretty familiar with everything found here (and might be surprised that "Vasos de Colores" is missing), so there's no reason besides collection purposes or posterity to buy it, but for a casual salsa fan or one with a solely cursory knowledge and appreciation of "El Sonero del Pueblo's" music,
Pura Salsa isn't a bad choice. ~ Marisa Brown