Passion Music mail-order CDs: Rubén Blades: A Musician By Choice by John Child

	RUBÉN BLADES
	Rubén Blades: A Musician By Choice by John Child
This article on multi-talented Rubén Blades originally appeared in the sleeve notes to the Nascente CD compilation 'RUBÉN BLADES - Salsa Caliente De NuYork!'. It reproduced here which the kind permission of the author John Child and the Nascente record Label. John has added some revisions to the original article.
Rubén Blades: A Musician By Choice Much has been written about the life of the multi-talented Rubén Blades. However, the man himself probably put it most succinctly in 1999, when he said: "I'm a musician from the Republic of Panama. I'm a lawyer by trade and I have been a musician by choice, as well as an actor. I have recorded with the Fania All Stars on several recordings. I have 22 albums to date, as well as 23 films."[1] Besides clocking up some more movies since then, virtually the only key fact Rubén omits from this thumbnail CV is his thwarted ambition to become president of his native country. He came third in the 1994 election. Not unsurprisingly, a highly bankable salsa name like Blades has spawned numerous greatest hits and "best of" compilations. This collection, which spans the first 17 years of his New York recording history - mainly for the mighty Fania label, seeks to be a little different. Apart from a few notable exceptions, it shuns the obvious big hits, and by focusing on Rubén's collaborations with established bands and artists, it unfolds some of the details of his early career. Also parting from the norm, the emphasis here is on dance material with inveterate themes like love, romance and heartbreak, rather than his vaunted "musical journalism". Though it would be inexcusable not to include a few of examples of the latter. Plus, to cap it all, instead of my usual strict encyclopedic adherence to chronology, I've allowed personal taste to drive the order of the tracks. So, grab a dancing partner and prepare to party!
		<< Ruben Blades
01. El Cazangero (Rubén Blades) Arranged by Marty Sheller and Willie Colón. From the 1975 Willie Colón album The Good, The Bad, The Ugly on Fania. The year after Rubén took-up residence in New York, and while still a member of Ray Barretto's band, he made this first ever collaborative recording with Willie Colón for the latter's album The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. Rubén had originally met Willie back in Panama. The partnership clicked creatively (plus Rubén's tie-up with a major headline salsa artist did no harm in elevating him in the stardom stakes), and the twosome went on to release seven full albums together between 1977 and 1995. Rubén wrote this "stirring indictment of repression in Latin America,"[2] whilst studying law at the University of Panama. Salsa historian, John Storm Roberts, proclaimed "El Cazangero" as the "most brilliant track" on the Grammy nominated The Good, The Bad, The Ugly in his 1979 landmark book The Latin Tinge [3]. His liner notes to the album described Marty Sheller and Colón's arrangement as moving "from a Brazilian-style opening into a New York salsa feel, given an extra bounce by adding a cuica to the usual Cuban-based salsa percussion, and then into a Machito-style brass-and-sax break. And Blades even throws in Panamanian cholo country-singer inflections. Nice!" In 1976, Rubén won the Latin NY magazine "Composer of the Year" award for the song. 02. A Los Muchachos de Belén (Adolfo Orrely) Arranged by Louie Ramírez. From the 1976 Fania All Stars album Tribute to Tito Rodríguez on Fania. Another first. This track marked Rubén's recording debut with the famous Fania All Stars. Still with Barretto at the time, his swinging rendition of "A Los Muchachos de Belén" was one of nine Tito Rodríguez classics recorded by the Fania label's superstar aggregation in homage to the great Mambo King, who had died from leukaemia at the early age of 50 in 1973. Towards the end of his life, Rodríguez's arranger of choice was Louie Ramírez (1938-1993), known as the "Quincy Jones of salsa", who became vice-president of his TR label. Therefore it was fitting that Ramírez should have co-produced Tribute to Tito Rodríguez, as well as write the scorching arrangement of "A Los Muchachos de Belén" and two other tracks on the album. Fellow co-producer, Larry Harlow (aka El Judío Maravilloso: The Marvellous Jew), takes a tasty piano solo during the song. So here's to those boys (muchachos) of the Belén neighbourhood of Havana who just loved to dance and sing the guaguancó (a form of street rumba)! 03. Amor Pa' Que (Rubén Blades) No arranger credit given. From the 1984 Rubén Blades album Mucho Mejor on Fania. Rubén originally wrote this love song for Conjunto Candela's eponymous 1976 debut album on the Combo label. With accomplished albino singer Nestor Sánchez "El Albino Divino" providing lead vocals, the track became a significant hit for the group. Incidentally, Larry Harlow hired Sánchez to sing lead vocals with his band between 1977 and 1982. Conjunto Candela specialised in interpreting the typical Cuban sound employing a traditional conjunto (meaning: group) format of trumpets, tres guitar, rhythm section and voices. However, Rubén opted for a group with an all-trombone frontline for his 1984 version of "Amor Pa' Que" from the Grammy nominated Mucho Mejor. 04. Descarga Caliente (Rubén Blades) Arranger not specified. From Rubén's 1970 Alegre album De Panama a Nuevo York with Pete Rodríguez. While still a law student in Panama, Rubén visited New York in 1970 thanks to a $20 flight obtained from a brother who worked for an airline. There, he managed to hook-up with bandleader Pete "Boogaloo" Rodríguez, to make his New York album debut for the Alegre label (which Fania absorbed in the mid-1970s). Rodríguez's biggest claim to fame is the 1966 boogaloo hit "I Like It Like That". A song which enjoyed renewed success in the 1990s in cover versions by the Blackout Allstars and Tito Nieves. Rodríguez had this to say about the 22 year old Blades in his liner notes to De Panama a Nuevo York: "Rubén is a highly strung and adventurous boy who writes his own songs and plays guitar with such ultramodern chords, that after hearing him just once, I felt totally satisfied to work on the arrangements right away. And that same week, the album was recorded." The album was a flop at the time, however, Rodríguez's hope "that soon this young boy, who came from Panama to New York, will become one of your favourites," turned out to be prophetic. Undemanding lyrically, "Descarga Caliente" (meaning: "Hot Latin jam session") is a glorious blow-out featuring fiery solos by trumpeter Larry Spencer and timbalero Jimmy Sabater (of Joe Cuba Sextet fame). 05. Te Están Buscando (Rubén Blades) Arranger not specified. From Willie and Rubén's 1981 Fania album Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos. Willie and Rubén's penultimate collaboration for Fania, the Grammy nominated Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos, was dubbed by Latin music writer Max Salazar as "one of the best recordings of all time." Salazar also stated that "the track 'Te Están Buscando' clearly establishes the star quality of this duo."[4] The song relates an everyday barrio tale about a wary gambler dodging the loan sharks literally baying for his blood. Listen out for the awesome solo work by conguero Milton Cardona, and the addition of charanga-style violin riffing to the all-trombone sound, played by Louie Khan, a stalwart of the Larry Harlow organisation.
		<< Rubén Blades
06. Plastico (Rubén Blades) Arranged by Luis "Perico" Ortiz. From Willie and Rubén's 1978 Fania album Siembra. This is one of Rubén's most famous hits, emanating from his second full album collaboration with Willie, Siembra, which became the biggest selling album up to that point in the history of Latin music. Perico's ingenuously complex arrangement kicks off with an ironic disco intro of slap bass licks from the innovative Sal Cuevas and sweeping Philly-style strings, then dissolves into salsa. Rubén's storyline begins as a critique of artificial and shallow lifestyles, focussing on a plastic couple. She is a plastic girl: pretty, slim, false laughter. He is a plastic guy, obsessed with money, and doesn't eat because he is too preoccupied with his looks. They wear the latest fashion from Paris, and don't let their kid play with other kids of colour. He warns Latinos against being confused and selling their destiny, and urges them to search deeply. Because: "We came from dust, and will return to dust. Plastic melts in the sun." He ends the song with a roll-call of Latin American countries, exhorting them to invest all their energies in a united future. 07. Vale Más Un Guaguancó (Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso) Arranged by Louie Cruz. From the 1975 Ray Barretto album Barretto on Fania. Rubén provided lead vocals to this "heavy-duty salsified son", to quote Abel Delgado [5], from his debut album with Ray Barretto's revered mid-'70s band. Supplying the chart was much in demand arranger Louie Cruz, who played piano with Barretto between 1967 and 1972, and is credited by many as the architect of the band's sound. Penned by one of Puerto Rico's greatest composers, "Tite" Curet Alonso, "Vale Más Un Guaguancó" jokingly ponders whether it's worth playing another guaguancó or dreaming about a lost love? It opts for the former, because the fidelity of a tambor (drum) cannot be doubted! I'll hand you over to Rubén to tell you how he got his big break with Ray Barretto's band: "When I got to New York (in 1974), I knew I could sing but no one else did. I got a job at Fania in the mailroom. I didn't like it, and a lot of the artists I knew thought I shouldn't be there. But I had to do it to stay in touch with what was happening at Fania." When Barretto's lead vocalist Tito Allen left his band in '74, Rubén was recommended to Ray. "Ray came to the mailroom to talk to me and asked me if I could sing. I sang for him and was hired." [6] During Rubén's year and a half tenure with Barretto's band, both his recordings with the band, Barretto '75 on Fania and Barretto Live: Tomorrow '76 on Atlantic, garnered Grammy nominations.
		<< Rubén Blades
08. No Hay Chance (Rubén Blades) No arranger credit given. From Rubén's 1987 Fania album Doble Filo. This smoking track comes from Rubén's last complete solo project for Fania, featuring a solid all trombone sound. The song is about a girl asking a guy for forgiveness for the umpteenth time after repeatedly breaking up with him. He can't easily forget her hurtfulness following previous reconciliations, and is not prepared to give her another chance. Rubén originally wrote the tune for Con Mi Viejo Amigo on Fania, the 1976 reunion of Ismael Miranda with Orchestra Harlow. 09. Sin Tu Cariño (Rubén Blades/Louie Ramírez) String and horn arrangement: Jay Chattaway; rhythm arrangement: Ricardo Marrero. From the 1978 Fania All Stars album Spanish Fever on Fania. This major hit from Rubén's third album with the Fania All Stars, features an ultra cool vibes solo by its co-author Louie Ramírez. Other highlights are Roberto Roena's dexterous bongo soloing, which weaves in and out of the arrangement, and a truly lustrous piano solo by Papo Lucca. The song's title means "Without Your Love", and Rubén has got a bad case of love sickness. Because when his lover is not there, his life is devoid of roses, spring, fun and poetry. 10. Buscando Güayaba (Rubén Blades) Arranged by Luis "Perico" Ortiz. From Willie and Rubén's 1978 Fania album Siembra. The cut, meaning "Looking for Guava", features a brief 'bone solo by Willie, a scatted "solo de boca" from Rubén and a dynamic mini-solo by 19 year old master timbalero Jimmy Delgado. 11. La Palabra Adios (Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso) Arranged by Carlos Franzetti. From the 1980 Fania All Stars album Commitment on Fania. "Tite" Curet Alonso's poignant "La Palabra Adios" (The Word Goodbye) was the lead single from Commitment, Rubén's penultimate outing with the Fania All Stars. Brazil provides the key influences to Carlos Franzetti's lush string laden orchestration. There are even shades of Sergio Mendes, reinforced by Rubén "sampling" a phrase from the bandleader's monster hit "Mas Que Nada". The word adios is so easy to say. She has said goodbye so many times, just to return and ask for his love again. He loved her and knows how painful separation is, but this time he is unequivocally saying it: goodbye, ciao, arrivederci. 12. Y Deja (Piloto y Vera) Arranger not specified. From Willie and Rubén's 1981 Fania album Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos. Continuing the Brazilian groove, but in a cooler mood, this delicate love song (meaning: "And Let Me") features an ethereal Stéphane Grappelli-esque violin solo from Louie Khan. 13. Ya No Te Puedo Querer (Pedro Vega) No arranger credit given. From Rubén's 1984 Fania album Mucho Mejor. This track, the title of which means "I Can No Longer Love You", has a aching quality that builds in tension. He can't deny he once loved her blindly, but she broke his heart. He experienced her current suffering earlier on, but it's too late now, and he can't love her anymore. Though he won't forget her. 14. Salsa Suite - Pt. 2 Caribbean (cont.) (Larry Harlow/Rudy Calzado) Arranged by Larry Harlow, Luis "Perico" Ortiz and Marty Sheller. From the 1977 Larry Harlow album La Raza Latina on Fania. This selection forms part of Larry Harlow's Grammy nominated salsa suite La Raza Latina. I'll let Rubén explain: "The work with Larry was like a special type of experiment. He had written this suite called La Raza Latina. It was a great record. Originally it was supposed to have been recorded by Nestor Sánchez [7], but the deal fell through. Larry then asked me to sing as a favour. At the time, I was working with Ray Barretto's band." [8] In this part of the salsa suite, Rubén spins a tale about how he found the song in a corner of Cuba's Matanzas province, but he can't remember which one or who was playing it. The piece is characterised by a series of mood and tempo changes, among which the charanga sound, featuring the fluid flute playing of Art Webb, prevails. There's also a quirky disco-ish electric guitar and strings break, and the track culminates in a percussion workout showcasing conguero Frankie Rodríguez and the timbales playing of Tony Jiménez.
FOOTNOTES (click on relevant footnote number to go back to text). 1. Q&A: A Conversation With Rubén Blades by George Rivera, published by Salsaweb.com website, 1999. 2. Quote from Abel Picks, Part II by Abel Delgado, published by descarga.com website, 1999. 3. The Latin Tinge by John Storm Roberts, originally published by Oxford University Press, 1979. 4. Both Max Salazar quotes from the 1996/97 Descarga Catalogue. 5. From Abel Picks, Part II. 6. Quotes from Willie Colón/Rubén Blades by Debra Fawcett, Latin NY magazine, 1977. 7. Sánchez's contract with Rico/Combo Records only permitted him to sing one song on La Raza Latina, so Larry Harlow let him sing the title song written by Johnny Ortiz. 8. Quote from George Rivera's Q&A: A Conversation With Rubén Blades. Written by John Child, December 2001 Contributor to the Descarga Latin music website: descarga.com and the Penguin and Guinness Encyclopedias of Popular Music Very special thanks to Lise Husebo for her commentary on the lyrical content of the songs © John Child These notes are dedicated to the memory of my mother, Hilda Child, who passed away while they were in preparation.