Justo Betancourt - El Que Sabe Sabe (1970)

Justo Betancourt's second Fania release may have fared better than his preceding El Explosivo; "Vete y Pregona" and "Afecto y Cariño" are his earlier, better-known tunes (in fact, both songs were widely recorded during the decade). "Tu Me Desesperas," "Ahora Cuando Es," and "Sígueme" certainly do not disappoint; as a matter of fact, they demonstrate concisely that this is a singer with an attitude. Other tunes, like "Tiempo Perdido" and "Mis Remembranzas," show Betancourt's lighter, emotional side. In the beginning of the decade, salsa was looking for a new direction, one that yielded a sundry of new styles and approaches to the Cuban sound. This album helped usher that possibility, giving way to the 1970s New York salsa phenomenon.~José A. Estévez, Jr.