He has one of the sweetest voices of salsa and one of the most melodious lyrics of the genre. His name is Roberto Romero, however, since his entrance as a bassist and singer into the rock movement and the Puerto Rican New Wave, he has been known as Tito Allen.
His interpretive versatility favored his encounter with Ray Barretto at the beginning of 1973, who recruited him for a session of the album Indestructible, for which the new singer popularized between 1973 and 1974 the simple homonym and songs like El Hijo De Obatalá, La Familia, Llanto De Cocodrilo and Ay, No, a chachachá hit in the 1960s by Tito Rodríguez.
There were differences and El Niche, nicknamed like that by Barretto, had to abandon the orchestra, but he left with the good fortune of knowing that he was closing one door only to open another very important one: a lucrative contract with Alegre Records, a label that the president of Fania, Jerry Masucci, had acquired.
The Tito Allen star, who would also record with Louie Ramírez, la Típica 73 and Tito Puente, was so brilliant, that he was never overshadowed by the great voices of Fania. And the best proof of this is the half dozen albums that he recorded as a solo artist with Alegre, among which are found Maldades, Feliz Y Dichoso and “Untouchable”, re-released by Emusica Records.
The production of “Untouchable” was coordinated and supervised by the versatile musician and arranger Louie Ramírez, emanating from an enormous appreciation of jazz, just like Tito. And this is immediately evident in the interpretation of the original composition “Vivan Tus Ojos Verdes”, a guaguancó whose lyrics Allen redresses with a feel of the blues and in whose montunos vocalized some of the cleanest and most natural scats heard on salsa records, so much so that they eclipse the trombone solo of Sam Burtis.
The bolero “El Deseo De Amar” places El Niche in the league of salsa boleristas of great renown. Nevertheless, Tito’s boleros did not transcend due to a lack of promotion on the radio, contrary to the work cultivated by Vitín Avilés, Chivirico, Cheo Feliciano and Santos Colón.
Written by Tito Puente, Allen delivers the flavorful guaguancó “Guancona”, a tribute to a frenetic partygoer and dancer that, due to its tireless sandunga, turns into the delight of the New York club scene. This number is complemented by a conga solo by Papo Pepín.
In “Para Los Bravos”, a mambo by Felix Castrillón, a singer in the Rafael Muñoz orchestra, distinguishes Louie Ramírez with a vibraphone solo. It is an irresistible song for the dancer due to the forcefulness and rhythm of big band, in which, under the tutelage of Louis, legends such as Ronnie Cuber, Mario Rivera and Larry Spencer demonstrate their virtuosity as performers.
In “Flores Blancas Y Negras”, a salute to the color and greenness of the Caribbean flora, an original by his brother Jorge Luis Piro Romero, we listen to Louie in a pailas solo.
In his own style, Tito Allen presents a version of “El Sabio”, the Tito Rodrigues hit that Hector Lavoe also recorded. The chachachá “Como Tú Ninguna” is another one of the successes of “Untouchable” due to a vocal interpretation colored from beginning to end by the feel of soft rock of the ‘60s. And “Busca Ambiente”, another guaguancó that Tito approaches with his habitual flavor, is the story of a man who, resigned to his failed love affair, is able to move on.
With tenor, alto and baritone saxophone solos by Mario Rivera, Bobby Porcelli and Ronnie Cuber, comes to an end the masacote of salsa and jazz that in 1979, backed by a big band,Tito Allen produced, evoking the sonority of Machito y Puente. Then, El Niche fully demonstrated that he was the “Untouchable” of salsa.

Credits

Vincent Frisaura –Trumpet
Tony Cofresí - Trumpet
Héctor Zarzuela - Trumpet
Larry Spencer - Trumpet
Dick Mesa -Tenor Saxophone
Mario Rivera -Tenor Saxophone
Ronnie Cuber - Baritone Saxophone
Bobby Porcelli - Alto Saxophone
Sam Burtis – Trombone
Guillermo Edgehill - Bass
Paquito Pastor - Piano
Juan “Papo” Pepín - Conga
Mike Collazo - Timbales
José Madera - Bongo

Chorus – Tito Allen, Adalberto Santiago

Special Guest – Louie Ramirez - Vibes solo (“Para Los Bravos”) Paila solo (“Flores Blancas Y Negras”)


Thanks to Frankie Gregory and Louis Brugman for their cooperation.


Producer – Louie Ramírez
Recording Director – Louie Ramírez
Engineer – Irving Greenbaum, Mario Salvati
Recorded at - La Tierra
Arrangements – Louie Ramírez, Mandy Vizoso, Marty Sheller, José Madera and Mario Ortiz
Original Photography and Album Design – Lee Marshall


Written by Jaime Torres Torres
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