Siembra

About

Siembra is the second studio album by Panamanian singer and songwriter Rubén Blades and Puerto Rican-American trombonist Willie Colón. It was released through Fania Records on 7 September 1978. It is considered the best selling salsa album in the history of salsa music. Was recorded by Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacheco at the La Tierra Sound Studios between 1977 and 1978. Siembra is the second of four collaborative duo albums produced by Rubén Blades and Willie Colón. During its time, it was the best-selling salsa record in history. It has sold over three million copies worldwide, and almost all of its songs were hits at one time or another in various Latin American countries. With its rousing social commentary and unconventional sound, "Siembra" set the salsa world on fire and remains one of the most original and influential works in that genre. Among Siembra's tracks, Blades' masterpiece is still "Pedro Navaja," a song that he fashioned after Bertolt Brecht's "Threepenny Opera." John Bush of AllMusic gave the album a five-star rating, praising the composition of the songs by Blades as well the arrangements by Colón. Bush emphasizes the use of disco arrangements at the beginning of the first track, "Plástico", until Colón's band "slip into a devastating salsa groove". He also praised Blade's vocals, noting his high-tenor voice on "Buscando Guayaba" and tender tones on "Dime". The album was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.

via Last.fm