Cossa Nostra was formed by very different young personalities who just had in common a strong desire to “make it” outside of their Mexican frontiers, way up the Rio Grande. Rudee Charles (called Rudee Bantú Black), from the artificial-showesque Gay Crooners, Norma Valdés, blues woman of depurate singing and ambitions, Gillermo Briseño, a skilled piano and guitar player destined to go later to the “nueva cancion”, Javier Flores Zoa (star bass player), Jorge “Abelino” Guerrero, and Malena Soto –a willing singer with a supreme talent for dancing; all these youngsters together managed themselves to record two LP’s (”COSSA NOSTRA” and “ADOPTA UUN ARBOL”, both published in Raff Records) and spent long periods of time touring the USA and Panama. This was their attitude since at the beginnint of the 70’s it was clear enough that Mexico did not offer a future for musicians but this future was in the model of Carlos Santana. Besides, the US audiences were ready and willing for new, latin sounds. But after a couple years of endless touring, tired of hunger and hard times, they returned to their land and resigned themselves to end their music adventure. Fortunately, they left a wonderful recorded legacy.

This reeissue offers both –ultra rare- Monster & Spicy Latin funk albums recorded in Mexico City in 1971 and 1972. The groove here is much more soulful funky rather than Latin funky. Heavy grooves right from the start, with hard guitar, bass, drums and organ kicking it and not letting up , sounding a little like the Black Sugar, Banda Black Rio or Unaio Black albums if you can imagine U-Roy singing along with the rhythm tracks and some strangely dissonant background singers chiming in to boot. Includes the great cuts "Nuestra Cosa" , “Get Down and Do it”, 2squeeze it tight” and "Si He Caido Fue Por Ti", with a real Meters-esque groove. And also a loose remake of CCR’s “Proud Mary” and a wicked rendition of Donny Hathaway's "The Ghetto” (“aka “Suite Latino”).