Make no mistake, it's no easy feat to remix styles like soul or salsa that not only existed before digital recording or electronics, but don't even need that extra boost from post-production to gain potency. The mighty Fania catalog is proof positive; its roster of free-wheeling salsa and groove-laden popcorn boogaloo has overtaken many a dancefloor, and not just in the '70s. In fact, Fania commands such respect around the globe's better dancefloors that the remixers heard on
I Like It Like That: Fania Remixed are cream of the crop --
Gilles Petersen,
Louie Vega,
Quantic,
4hero, Joe Claussell, and
Bugz in the Attic. The remixers are smart enough to realize that tampering with music this good would be a tragedy, so the vast majority give the tracks a slightly beefier production, although one of the world's best (and least known) turntablists,
DJ Format, has some obvious fun with
Dave "Baby" Cortez's "Happy Soul with a Hook" (which
DJ Premier unearthed for
Christina Aguilera). Best of all, however, is
Louie Vega's remix of the salsa anthem "Mi Gente" by
Hector Lavoe. It's no secret in the dance world that
Vega is proud to call himself a nephew of one of the greatest salsa vocalists of all time, and his production here includes mounds of ad libs taken from original outtakes. ~ John Bush