Chris Kenner was musical Ice Nine. Few characters channeled the wild, ecstatic vision of Cosimo Matassa’s J&M dream better than this legendary madman of New Orleans R&B and rock ’n’ roll. When the Beatles kidnapped the charts their only serious British rival was the Dave Clark Five, a band touched directly by Kenner’s magic with their cover of “I Like It Like That,” which was pretty much the blueprint for the band’s sound. But the ultimate expression of Kenner’s oceanic genius was “Land of 1000 Dances.” After Kenner dropped this classic in 1962 every high school band in New Orleans had to play it. The best-known version to this day is Wilson Pickett’s version, which raced into the pop charts and made an indelible mark on American pop music in 1967. But the version that the Wicked Pickett covered was not Kenner’s original. It was the one recorded in 1965 by an East L.A. band led by Frankie Garcia called Cannibal & the Headhunters. Garcia’s iconic rendition of this song is the title track of this terrific collection of East L.A. Hispanic rock originally released by Rampart Records. The scene was incredibly rich and Minky Records has reissued these enduring sides for posterity.

The Headhunters’ rendition nearly buries Garcia’s powerful voice under a Spector-ish wall of sound, but he is up to the task. The hook, though, is the incredible chorus that opens the narrative as Garcia and the Headhunters bellow NA, na-na-na-NA, na-na-na-NA-na-na-NA, na-na-NA, na-na-na-NAHHHH. The effect of this chorus over the relentless grinding stone of a rhythm track is astounding, powerful enough to convince the Beatles to tap Cannibal & the Headhunters as the opening band for their legendary second American tour.

This classic is the lynch piece of the four-CD set, 79 tracks including all the Cannibal & the Headhunters hits as well as tracks by the Atlantics, featuring a young Barry White; a great cover of Stevie Wonder’s “La La La La La” by the Blendells; and “Hector Parts 1 & 2,” a Village Callers instrumental included on the soundtrack to Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood. The handsome booklet also includes essays by Los Angeles poet laureate Luis J. Rodriguez, historian Don Waller and archival photos of Cannibal & the Headhunters, including previously unpublished snapshots with the Beatles. The package is a treasure for rock ’n’ roll fans and anyone interested in the origins of East L.A. Chicano rock scene.