Numerous
Joe Bataan compilations have been issued in the 21st century. Most of them are cross-licensed and contain his entire range of hits, including his version of
Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle" for Salsoul. This collection, however, is different in that it contains only
Subway Joe's
Fania singles and album cuts from the label's creation through the end of the boogaloo era. And rightfully so, because these are the tracks that made
Bataan a legend. There are 20 tracks on this dynamite comp, including the unreleased demo version -- cut in early 1967 -- of his killer boogaloo version (with the Latin Swingers) of
the Impressions' "Gypsy Woman" with an entirely different melody, and the burning unreleased 45 "Latin Soul Square Dance" from the as yet to be issued
Fania album San Francisco (his last for the label). In between are tracks that have become ubiquitous to Latin soul fans: "Subway Joe," "Ordinary Guy," "Under the Street Lamp," "Uptown," "It's a Good Feeling (Riot)," "Young Gifted and Brown," "If I Were a King," "Make Me Smile," and many others. There isn't a mediocre number in the bunch. Given that the sound is completely remastered and this set contains an exhaustive historical liner essay by Oliver Wang,
Under the Streetlamps is not not only an indispensable collection, but a definitive one as well. ~ Thom Jurek