by Tony Wilds Mambo Mania anthologizes singles released in Mexico for the North American audience. It is doubtful many would have realized it was a collection from different sessions, however. Many of the tracks are North American standards converted to mambo, so it would not even have seemed imported. While converting "gringo" music to Latin rhythms is always a dicey proposition, it works for one album, especially one introducing a new, more difficult and "infernal" dance than the cha cha cha. Apart from "Patricia," which was to come three years later, Prado's all-time smash, "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," makes its LP debut here. Its famous "diving-trumpet" intro sent trumpeters in dance bands all over the world scrambling to learn it. Equally memorable is the glorious jacket photo of Prado's larger-than-life face, purple, euphorically shouting out of the black. The first 12" LP by Perez Prado released in the U.S., Mambo Mania is the classic mambo album for dancers.