Siembra

I've never really listened to salsa before, but holy fuck. Throw me a bag of tortilla chips because this was delicious.

9/10. I like salsa music, but not usually enough that I can sit through 42 minutes of listening to it fairly actively. This had a lot more variety of sound than I am used to hearing in salsa, which is no doubt biased by me listening more closely to this, but still a very enjoyable album.

I don't want to be that guy but literally all salsa sounds the same.

Je ne vous cache pas que je ne m'attendais pas, en lançant cet album, à accorder la note maximale, vous connaissez ma réputation. Trêves de plaisanteries, aujourd'hui je vous propose un petit quizz. Pour jouer c'est très simple, il vous suffit de répondre à la question suivante. Où ai-je rencontré le père de robpellemèle? Reponse A: Il est venu chercher rob à l'école après notre cours de Krautrock pour l'ammener à son cours de salsa. Reponse B: Nous nous sommes rencontrés lors d'un concert de Jethro Tull, après avoir apprécie ensemble le solo d'Aqualung. Réponse C: Le père de rob était en fait notre professeur de rock psychédèlique en classe de 4ème world. Pour jouer rien de plus simple, je vous invite à poster votre réponse sous la review de l'album de votre choix.

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. Couldn't help but dance while listening. The songs flowed really nicely and the music itself was punchy yet not too in your face. Hasn't won my heart yet but definitely a good album

Well.......This sucks. We should start a site "1001 Albums You Should Pass On Before You Die"

sooo good, stellar musicianship and the brass section is fantastic. Some of the songs are really long but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing given that it’s meant to be danced to. Lyrics were poetic and beautiful and even funny at times, and they’re sung with so much flair. 10/10, need to dance to this sometime

I was really surprised by liking this album as much as I did. I have never cared about Salsa in any sort of way, but this just sounded really good. It seems like it mus have been a blueprint for pretty much anything that was good about any Salsa album ever released after this one. It was a joy to listen to and sort of half-dance around in my chair while working (maybe this one is better for remote work than at the office though).

Thanks for this. What a magnificent album.

I love Hector Lavoe so this was right up my alley. That's mainly why I like it, not necessarily because of specific songs (though the first one is a banger), but because of the overall sound. It's the kind my mom will let me play out loud in the house lol.

Me encanta.

I love a good horn section, and the horns here are INCREDIBLE. The musicianship is off the charts all the way around, and the storytelling is rich and clever to boot. I enjoyed the sarcastic West Side Story reference. Best track: Pedro Navaja

First non-english speaking album, and man what a jam. Saw some comments saying all the songs sound the same and I couldn't disagree more, every song was a totally different song, just under one genre, and it was enjoyable throughout. Some songs went on a little long, but that's okay! It almost feels like something you'd hear in a game like Katamari.

There are many excellent things about this album. The musicianship and production are clean and tight and the vocal delivery is energetic. I'm not terribly knowledgeable about salsa, but I was struck by the complexity of the harmonies and arrangement. Some of the bass work in particular was incredible. Overall, a great album that makes me want to learn about the various styles of Latin American music

We've had a handful of Latin jazz-y albums by now, enough where it can be difficult to differentiate. But this one is probably my favorite so far. Very vibrant, very danceable. A good time start to finish. I guess that's to be expected from a salsa album; I can hear the difference, but I'm not very knowledgeable. Regardless, this was a great listen. Fantastic instrument work, especially the percussion. I can see why this was such a smash hit. Favorite tracks: Buscando Guayaba, Pedro Navaja, Siembra, Plastico. Album art: The flowery border is cool, but the baby pictures just feel out of place. Doesn't seem '70s at all, let alone salsa music. Seems more like an Anne Geddes throwaway. Confusing, but I don't hate it. 4.5/5

It’s a samba party and everyone’s invited!

oooh salsa baby. yeah this was great. impeccable vibes and each song was different from the last. mwah

This was a surprisingly incredible album with ballads, bops, and even a banger or two.

Fantastic Salsa. Really enjoyable. Makes me realize I need to seek out more of this style.

I like to hear more of this music but rock n roll of some bands that were rubbish.

Excelente

Lush and beautiful

PR

Fun to listen to, great for cooking to!

What a great album. Great vocals, lush instrumentation, catchy little rifts throughout. Each song feels so warm and sends me right back to a beach in Mexico. 9/10

plástico é um dos pontos altos do álbum, amei a fusão salsa/disco e realmente, "salsa intelectual" 💯

meu paiero virou um charuto ayyyyyyyyy

Great! Lots of uptempo jazz and Latin fusion, hard to listen to and not want to dance!

Yeeeeeees, this is my jam. 9.5/10.

Latin music is God-sent!

Cuban dance vibes

Solid album

Unexpected

OOOOO the slick funked out groove immediately has my attention. I like this salsa. I have absoltely heard Pedro Navaja before. And it fucking slaps.

I lack the linguistic ability and context to appreciate Siembra. The record is clearly positioned in a part of this country I have never visited, and is absolutely accessible from here. Part of me knows there have to be better salsa deep cuts out there, but the rest of me just loved listening to this whole album. It has unspooling in spades, but no tracks that drag on in the same style. Just songs which groove in a sonic space and give way to the next, doing something a little different. The vocals are the least remarkable part, but, as I led with, I can't understand the words.

Muito bom! Excelente para um domingo de sol

Great samba album

bom demais os fadinho, latino e pa

Un cuatro alto, para distinguirlo del resto de cuatros le doy un cinco.

Fun salsa! I can definitely see why this has sold so much. What a great album, makes me get out of me seat and want to dance the night away!

makes sense after listening to "if i should fall from grace with god"😃 thanks for the music expansion again👍

I listened to this twice. I could listen to this once a day for a whole month. Presente!

Killer band!! Loved this one. the strings remind me of chic.

Really enjoyed listening to this one- will definitely come back to this.

I will mot explain myself. Great time

Joyous music, made me want to move my feet and sway my hips.

This whole thing's a mood. Loved it. Last song sounded like something out of a James Bond movie.

I normally wouldn’t listen to this but I really liked it. It’s happy and lively. Good music.

Not all the way through yet, but I'm very very impressed. I just read that it's one of the best salsa albums pretty much ever and I can see how. It seems like it's got an extra layer compared to salsa you'll hear just anywhere.

Salsa-esque bops! Good for working

Great atmospheric Latin jazz, upbeat but also easy listening

During the first minutes I was thinking "yep, this will get three stars, usual spanish stuff, pleasant but nothing interesting". NO, that's beautiful, carefully crafted and addictive. Will definetely look up other stuff of this genre

Yesssssssss this is exactly the kind of thing i signed up for.

I've heard some of these songs on compilations, but never had the pleasure of hearing them together as intended until today. This album is a high water mark for the salsa genre. It's also one of the great Latin music albums, not just of its era, but of all time. Spectacular, nuanced musicianship and rich, flawless vocals from Ruben Blades. Not to mention, this album is just deeply, deeply fun. No hyperbole, this is a pretty perfect album. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Pedro Navaja, Dime, Plástico, Buscando Guayaba, María Lionza, Ojos, Siembra

I missed this one, it was well before I got into Latin music. Clearly he nailed this long before Gloria Estefan. Great album, and I will be listening to it again.

Really funky and interesting, my main issue is that each song is really long and it’s a little samey. 8

This was a perfectly pleasant listen. I'll freely admit I'm not at all knowledgable about salsa music, so this struck me as being kinda generic salsa, but after seeing on wikipedia that this is the best selling salsa record in history, I guess it's genre founding rather than generic! Fave track - "Pedro Navaja" - I like the slow build up and shout outs to other tunes!

bell'album di salsa

Mellow and happy.

I don't speak any Spanish, so I can't comment on the lyrics, but the music is fun and full of energy. Had me moving in my work chair.

A really invigorating salsa album!! This is probably one of the best salsa albums I've heard in general, it's really great!

Great salsa album

Good for background music at a restaurant or something, but not something I'd ever go out of my way to listen to

Boy was this a fun album to listen to! I love any Musica Tropical (according to apple music) that gets me on my feet to dance. Maria Lionza was particularly interesting to me because I swear I remember some cartoon movie where a character was listening or humming to some music saying "bing bing bing bing" (not crazy frog) that was very similar to them doing that in the song (This morning I thought more and I think its the chiwawa in Oliver and Company) . Not sure what those babies are doing on the cover and kind of surprised that none of them seem to be having a good time. Maybe they are seeds that were siembra'd in the field of flowers on the cover. Very strange but adds to the mystique of this album. This might be one of the best weeks of the year so far in terms of banger albums. FYI my Frank Sinatra yesterday was meant to be a 5.

Fun album! Not my go-to, but fun to listen to salsa every once and a while.

Great latin jazz tracks with a real drive to them.

Cool South American salsa vibess..

This was a nice groovy salsa album. I liked the disco vibes at the very beginning and was a little bit let down that it didn't continue through the rest of it. Still, a very solid album and one that I think I'm going to come back and listen to again.

This was an unexpected joy. Plenty of variation across the piece. Rhythm for the dancing.

Was listening to this spicy Spanish music in the car with Alexa!

i'm dancing over here

Enjoyable throughout

Good fun. A little disco in the mix too. Muy bueno!

Siembra by Rubén Blades and Willie Colón (1978) Este es un álbum verdaderamente fascinante. Uno normalmente no asocia la música salsa con profundas advertencias filosóficas contra la pobreza del materialismo, pero observe esto (“Plastico”): Que fallo Era una ciudad de plástico de esas que no quiero ver De edificios cancerosos y un corazón de oropel Donde en vez de un sol amanece un dólar Donde nadie ríe, donde nadie llora Con gente de rostros de poliéster Que escuchan sin oír y miran sin ver Gente que vendió por comodidad Su razón de ser y su libertad Así que si valoras tu libertad y tu « raison d’être », deja de perseguir cosas elegantes. Y este tema se hace eco en la última canción del álbum, "Siembra". Es una maravillosa homilía sobre la virtud de sembrar, plantar y la plenitud de la vida. Acompañado por el simbolismo en la portada del álbum, solo un imbécil perdería el punto. Dios es pro-vida. Así es como nos creó. "Pedro Navaja" es un latín "Mack the Knife", sin los matices socialistas de Berthold Brecht. Es una adaptación muy exitosa de una canción de la "Beggar’s Opera" original de John Gay del siglo XVIII al alemán de la era de Weimar "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" al español. Qué bien. Agregaré esto a mi colección "Mack the Knife". ¡El antihéroe vive! Y además de letras fascinantes, escuchamos música espléndida. El álbum comienza con un estilo disco deliberadamente irritante, luego se instala rápidamente en salsa de calidad. Hay buenas actuaciones en cuernos, con trombones pesados en la mezcla. Y ritmos de percusión maravillosamente cómodos. No puedes escuchar esto mientras haces algo que requiere que te quedes quieto. 4/5

Probably the first salsa album Iv fully listened too, really enjoyed it, an album I’ll come back to again and again I think. Random comment but the babies on the album cover reminds me of ready to die by Biggie Smalls.

Un dels grans discos històrics del que a nivell global podríem anomenar world music. No només és el lloc on trobar la peça original de 'Pedro Navaja'; altres temes com 'Plástico' o 'Maria Lionza' no difereixen gaire en el seu aroma a clàssics instantanis. De fet, cada un dels set temes és una història en si mateixa, cap d'elles sobra en el disc, que parteix de la salsa per donar-li un contingut més evolucionat del génere, apte per tots els melòmans. Molt a prop de les 5*

Loved it.

sassy fun latino.

salsa

Ces personnes parlent un espagnol absolument impeccable. Je pense qu'on peut le dire à ce stade, c'est du très très grand Baltard récompensé par un bleu de ma part.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Maria Lionza

Can't say no to this!

This was super fun! Love salsa music and this didn't disappoint! Great music for working to as it didn't distract me and helped me to be productive and focus. It put me in a great mood and some of the sounds are really cool/unusual.

really fun latin music 4.5

Nice

Great Salsa music that makes you want to dance.

Very cool! I enjoyed it a lot. A hidden gem.

Me llamo Siembra, esta fuego

So fun! Very fresh sound. Interesting chord progressions and rhythm. Great intro into salsa music.

Yea! Wish I had someone to dance with do this album.

Great album. Enjoyed this one

It was about time we had some salsa

but was actually really funky, I really enjoyed that 8/10

This album is a mix of salsa percussion and piano at its finest. The songs build up beautifully and "Pedro Navaja" is a masterpiece.

Mieltä kohentavia rytmejä ja teki mieli tanssia. Mitään hajua mistä lauloivat, mut nautin kovasti

I really enjoyed this. I know nothing about Salsa. I'll have to learn more. Interesting reading about Mack The Knife in various translations too.

Nú er ég enginn salsa maður, og eiginlega alls enginn, en þessi discósalsa rennur mjög ljúflega í mig. Gæti alveg haft þetta í bakgrunni á góðum stundum og jafnvel til að dansa við. Mikið vildi ég samt að fyrsta lagið hefði haldið áfram með byrjunagrúvið í stað þess að fara í sölsuna.

Prefs: Pedro Navaja, Maria Lionza, Ojos, Dime Moins pref: Siembra

2/11/2022 Today's Album: "Siembra" by Willie Colón and Rubén Blades - This is a fantastic Latin album that covers an incredible amount of traditional Latin melodies with great production and excellent performances. Many moments on this record sound so fun, energetic, or eargasmic that it makes me wish I knew how to speak Spanish. The vocals are incredible, many basslines are groovy and danceable, and the chorus melodies are catchy and pleasant to listen to. Lots of exotic percussion and bright trumpets join the rest of the elements to create a really warm and welcoming soundscape. There isn't much else for me to cover as I don't speak Spanish, but suffice it to say this album is a great listen and I enjoyed it from top to bottom. Score: 8 Groovy Highlights: Plastico, Pedro Navaja

Não conhecia nenhum dos artistas deste álbum; ótima introdução! Ao ouvir, me deu vontade de tomar um mojito na praia, com os pés enterrados na areia.