A landmark album for New York’s pioneering salsa label Fania Records, Ray Barretto's The Message is a riveting time capsule of the city’s tropical music explosion during the early ‘70s. While psychedelia was at its peak, this festive boogaloo outing thrives with infectious jazz-Latin melodies as timbales and bongo syncopation keep things excitingly unpredictable (for proof, hear the jubilant “Con El Cimarron” or the shimmying “Arrepientete”). A slow dance arises on the mesmerizing ballad “Alma con Alma,” featuring wailing vocals that pierce hearts.