Na Na - A Funk Anthology

Although the Miami Latin funk group Coke never made it to the national charts, it wasn't for lack of quality. (As some listeners might guess, the Coca-Cola Company had some problems with their name.) The group was at its core a quintet, including leader and guitarist Paul Garcia, vocalist Peter Fernandez, bassist Ariel Hernandez, drummer Ruben Perez, and organist Jose Rubio (plus a cast of horn players). The five were all high-school students in Little Havana, and worked their way up from a teenage garage band into a Latin-tinged funk group to compete with Malo and Tierra. With help from Cuban expatriate and production maestro Manuel J. Mato, the group recorded a rather traditional Latin ballad for a single ("Sabor a Mi") and then a torrid debut LP that ranked with the best Latin funk: Mandrill, Ocho, even Santana and War. Simplistic and danceable, with solid guitar work from Garcia and anthemic playing from organist Rubio, Coke looked likely to go far, until the Coca-Cola action and internal disagreements between Fernandez and the rest of the group caused a rupture. A Funk Anthology is a great Coke compilation, including the full contents of the sole Coke album plus the full contents of an LP by the Coke successor, Opus, and a Peter Fernandez solo single.