1,669 words later, having completed our futile attempt to do justice to the description of the opening track of this album, we now proceed to the historic title track. In every musical movement there are a handful of landmark recordings which can be thought of as “defining” the genre. In Rock & Roll one might think of “Purple Haze”, “Whole Lotta Love”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Crossroads”, and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” - simpler than other important pieces, but also more concentrated - embodying only the purest essence of the style. Looking back over the last 12 years in search of the definitive Timba classics, we’d have to list Los Van Van’s “Esto Te Pone la Cabeza Mala” [audio example 9], Klimax’s “Mira Si Te Gusta” [audio example 10], Issac’s “La Sandunguita” [audio example 11] and "Con la Punta del Pie" [audio example 12], Charanga Forever’s “Somos la Charanga” [audio example 13], the second Charanga Habanera's "Tema" [audio example 14], NG La Banda’s “Santa Palabra” [audio example 15] and, without a shadow of a doubt, Charanga Habanera’s “Hey You, Loca!”. Other candidates, such as Manolín’s “Somos lo que Hay”, Manolito’s “Baila que Baila”, Paulito’s “Y Ahora Qué?”, and Bamboleo/Azúcar Negra’s “Yo no me Parezco a Nadie”, reach the same fever pitch of raw Timba energy, but the first group of songs have only that energy, and in copious quantities. They hit the ground running and never look back.

As David Calzado said in one of his timba.com interviews, “to tell you the truth, ‘Hey You Loca’ isn’t really a song…it’s a collaborative effort of Charanga Habanera”. Indeed, most of CH’s numbers start with a mellow and melodic cuerpo and then the arrangement becomes more and more “Charanga-fied” as it goes along. Here there’s no cuerpo to speak of - just a series of ingenious and fiery coros, bloques and mambos - a Son-Montuno without the Son. But what a montuno section!

Many of the best Timba arrangements begin by playing a game of “where’s one?” with the listener, a ploy which is not unique to Timba - Chaka Khan (“Ain’t Nobody”) [audio example 16] (after you figure out where "1" is, listen again and try clapping 2:3 rumba clave!) and Michael McDonald (“Minute by Minute”) [audio example17] were playing this game brilliantly when Timba was no more than a twinkle in El Tosco’s eye. “Hey You Loca” was the first use of this technique by CH, although they’d later use it again and again in songs like “Nube Pasajera”, “Yuya la Charanguera”, “Hagamos un Chen” and “Usa Condon”. Here’s the opening [audio example 18]. Well, where’s “one”? Although the jamblock is playing 3:2 rumba clave, it's still tricky to hear "1" until you get used to it. After the opening 3 notes, we hear snare-clave-snare-clave in rapid succession. And then the horns come in on the upbeat of "1" to further confuse the issue. Listen to a MIDI version with a four-beat count-off. [audio example 19] Klimax would later take this idea to the full extreme. Check out “Mi Vecina” [audio example 20]. Yeow! NOW where’s “one”?? Now listen to that one with a countoff. [audio example 21] Returning to “Hey You Loca”, rest assured that once you do home in on its furious groove there’s no danger of ever losing it again!

Each of the six Charanga Habanera CD’s begins by featuring a different lead singer - Leo Vera, Mario “Mayito” “Sombrilla” Sanchéz, Michel Maza, Daniel Lozada, Aned Mota, and Leonid Torres, respectively. Charanga Forever's first CD also introduces a new singer in its opening track, Sandier Ante. On this album it’s Sombrilla’s turn. Having just devoured “Quítate el Disfraz”, he introduces “Hey You Loca” with “oye mami, me gustas, me arrebata(s), me vuelve(s) loco, y dice los metales que…” - leading into one of the most inspired brass introductions in Latin music. [audio example 22] ¿Los Metales de Qué?

To accompany the equally inspired vocal entrance - “Me gusta, me cae muy bien, me encanta, no sé por qué” - the bass and kick drum again combine to create a composite melody, as they did in "Quítate el Disfraz". Behind the coro the kick drum plays variations on the "bombo" pattern frequently associated with songo, (the middle note of the 3 side of the clave, but played on both sides), and behind the verses it plays the backbeat timba pattern. Note how the bassline changes the rhythm of its pattern so that it always leaves room for the kick to answer. [audio example 23] Also see our interview with the bassist, Pedro Pablo Gutiérrez, who discusses this phenomenon. Note also the role of the synthesizer, which doubles the baby bass with a funky slap bass sound. When the baby bass drops out behind each guía you can clearly the synth.

Our next audio example, beginning with the piano breakdown at 2:01, features a vintage JC González montuno, voiced in bright, heavily syncopated tenths and changing chords in all the unexpected places, creating a harmonic roller-coaster ride for the listener. Imagine how much more dramatic this must have sounded in the early 90's! At 2:11 the synth roars back in and takes center-stage with a another funk-slap bassline. Just before the coro comes back in Eduardo Lazaga plays one of the most exhilarating timba bloques ever devised, made even more exciting by more creative panning effects in the mix.He catches the last 4 notes of the horn line and then plays a rapid bell lick which is then immediately echoed on the other bell, in the other speaker, and two more hits on the low timbal. [audio example 24], "Hey You Loca" never lets up -- a tour de force of mambos, montunos, bloques, coros and guías -- Timba in its purest most concentrated form.

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