Search - Ruben Blades :: Mundo

Mundo
Ruben Blades
Mundo
Genres: International Music, Jazz, Rock, Latin Music
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1

Ruben Blades has long been a Latin music superstar, though this album confirms suspicions he may be feeling constrained by the expectations of the genre. While others have tried their hand at the transcultural "world music...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Ruben Blades
Title: Mundo
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Sony U.S. Latin
Release Date: 9/17/2002
Genres: International Music, Jazz, Rock, Latin Music
Styles: Latin Jazz, Latin Pop, Tropical, Salsa
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 037628462521

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Ruben Blades has long been a Latin music superstar, though this album confirms suspicions he may be feeling constrained by the expectations of the genre. While others have tried their hand at the transcultural "world music" soufflé Blades masterfully whips up here, few have achieved the inviting, warm results the Panamanian vet delivers on Mundo. But Blades wisely never loses sight that however far his musical curiosity takes him, he can still only filter the results through the prism of his own experience and traditions. Thus, there's an elegantly deceptive sense of the organic here, whether covering the Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays anthem "First Circle" (which showcases Brazil's Boca Livre and Costa Rica's Editus) or the traditional "Danny Boy" (which seamlessly fuses Celtic and Afro-Cuban influences with help from Lupa Mason and her soaring soprano). Blades also pays tribute to Brazilian songwriter Gilberto Gil with the glorious harmonies of "Consideración" (a passionate reworking of Gil's "Oriente") and infuses the Malian traditional "Jiri Son Bali" with mambo rhythms. But the album's most subtle cocktails issue from Blades' originals, from the gypsy homages "Parao" and "Bochinches" (the latter fueled by savory, Havana-meets-Tangier flourishes) to the reflective, jazzy "Ella" and "La Ruta," and the joyous Uilleann pipe-tinged "Sebastian" and the romping "A San Patricio." These are tracks illuminated by Blades' passionate humanism, a compelling musical argument that our cultural differences should only be the seasoning for our common dreams. ?-Jerry McCulley

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CD Reviews

No es un clasico Ruben, pero esta buenisimo!
M. P. Araujo | Florida | 02/25/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"No es un tipico disco de salsa del Nueva York de los 70 y ello parece incomodar a algunos puristas, ya que al parecer el senor Blades cometio el pecado de romper las etiquetas y se ha atrevido a explorar mas alla de un solo genero. El disco se llama MUNDO, y de entrada la cosa no podria estar mas clara. Con este disco, Blades ha demostrado que no solo es un excelente salsero, sino un gran musico y compositor.



Si les gusta la salsa dura, pero de la misma manera disfrutan de un buen tango de Susana Rinaldi, del flamenco del Camaron, del samba de Beth Carvalho o Martinho da Vila y de otros generos que la mal etiquetada "world music" nos ofrece, entonces este disco les encantara. Pero si la salsa dura, el reggaeton y la salsa de formula que se baila en Miami es mas lo suyo, entonces mantenganse alejados de este disco, ya que no lo van a disfrutar."
Ruben Blades "Maestro"
Eddie Wannabee | Western Hemisphere | 05/28/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ruben Blades "Mundo" is a tasty cd. I compare Ruben Blades to Jet Li in that both are professionals in their craft and they are both at the top of their game. True, some of the pure salsa is gone at moments during this beatiful album, but not really. His band are excellent musicians and there are moments when priceless grooves are achieved.

Ruben Blades trascends with this album your average performer. His lyrics are universal in their theme and if there is one message to be had is this: We are all the Human Race, where music is concerned the universality of the human spirit is all that matters. Is the kind of album that at first you might be mildly dissapointed and critical. But once you take the tour again these jewels start shinning and I decided Ruben Blades is far too talented to put out a bad CD and that is so good to know. He belongs in that special group of artists that always satisfy the listener, always deliver quality. There, 4.5 stars for "Mundo" and 5 stars for the man himself. Long Live Ruben Blades!!"