Whatever the meaning of the word "talkin," this is still a most valuable release because it succinctly sums up Willie Bobo's Verve recordings, most of which have yet to see the light of the laser. By this time, Bobo had followed Mongo Santamaria into the marketplace as an energetic exponent of the Latin boogaloo, even scoring a minor hit with Spanish Grease. But Bobo went even further than Mongo toward an accommodation with the '60s scene, adding the R&B-oriented electric rhythm guitar of Sonny Henry, dropping the piano, incorporating strings and even an occasional graceful vocal now and then. While there are a few covers of '60s standards here, like The Look of Love and Grazing in the Grass -- and he had the great sense to seek out and record a hip-shaking version of Eddie Harris' Sham Time -- Bobo's biggest contribution on these tracks was in providing the inspiration for the Latin rock boom to come. Evil Ways is almost an exact blueprint for Carlos Santana's career-launching hit version; Spanish Grease reappeared uncredited six years later as Santana's No One to Depend On, and Santana also played Bobo's lowdown Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries in the band's early days. With Bobo's galvanic congas and timbales swinging at all times, few CDs by a single artist capture the ambience of late-'60s jazz radio in the evening as well as this one. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi

1		Grazing in the Grass
2		Lisa
3		Black Coffee
4		The Look of Love
5		Dreams
6		Evil Ways
7		Night Song
8		Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
9		Roots
10		Spanish Grease
11		Shotgun/Blind Man, Blind Man
12		Stuff
13		Night Walk
14		Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries
15		Sham Time