Coke - Na Na: A Funk Anthology (CD)

All Music Guide

Although the Miami Latinfunk group Coke never made it to the national charts, it wasn't for lack of quality. (As some listeners might guess, the CocaCola 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 highschool students in Little Havana, and worked their way up from a teenage garage band into a Latintinged funk group to compete with Malo and Tierra. With help from Cuban expatriate and production maestro Manuel 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 CocaCola 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.

- John Bush, All Music Guide