Rubén Blades has always been one of my favorite salsa artists. His adventurous musical projects, along with his high musical standards have always led to inspired creations. Blades has often intertwined bold political statements into his lyrics and musical content, and as a result, I’ve often felt that his music was filled with poignant meaning. He’s also been an avid collaborator, working with a number of great musicians; the resultant products brought out the best in both parties. In a lot of ways, Blades personifies a lot of the qualities that I hope to integrate into my musical output; as a result, I’ve spent a lot of time with his music.
The album Siembra is one of of my favorite album from Blades and I’m not alone – this album made a big impact upon the greater musical world and has become an important piece of salsa history. Released in 1978, Siembra was the second of four collaborations that Blades and Colón would produce for Fania Records, and it served as a high point for both artists, the label, as well as salsa in general. Blades sought to infuse salsa’s party vibe with a social conscious, a move that made some of the executives at Fania nervous. Their concerns were soon quelled as the salsa audience embraced Siembra passionately, making it the best selling salsa album of the times. The album’s popularity never really waned; it was admitted into the Latin Grammys Hall Of Fame in 2007 and remains an essential listen in 2022.
Every track on Siembra is a classic – its one of those collections of music that makes a case for the album format – so it’s hard to pick a favorite track, but “Plástico” sits near the top of my list. Of course, I’ve always loved the bass work, so I’ve recently dug into transcribing and learning the line. As i got deeper into the music though, i saw beyond the bass, recognizing a number of elements that resonated with my musical soul. the bass line is certainly one of those pieces, but there’s some serious magic on this track that comes from a variety of places.
There are so many layers to “Plástico” that make it a rich and invigorating piece of art worth an endless stream of repeated listens. It’s easy to give the song those listens and only focus on the whole product, but it’s really the way that the individual pieces come together that makes this a serious classic. It’s one of those cases of several brilliant minds bringing their individual insights into a work and then recognizing what each one has to offer. And the most important step of all – the collaboration. These artists worked together and made artistic choices based on the input of their partners. It’s worth taking a look at those individual pieces and seeing how they came together.
“Plástico” is built upon the strong and reflective nature of Blades’ lyrics, which look at the world with a critical eye. He paints vivid pictures of a woman, a man, and a city, all obsessed with the surface layers of life; more concerned with money, appearance, and social status than their own humanity. He then steps back and encourage us all to dig deeper, criticizing the plastic nature of his previous subjects, saying “Recuerda se ven las caras pero nunca el corazón” (Remember, you see the faces, but never the heart). It’s a powerful statement that resonates loud and clear even today in our age of social media. Blades attributes the embrace of plastic aesthetics to the influence of U.S. culture, and as the song comes to a close, he encourages the listener to see the faces of hope, working for a united Latin America, proud of the heritage. He ends the song with a role call of people moving in this direction, calling upon countries throughout South America and the Caribbean. In doing so, he makes a subtle political dig, calling upon “Nicaragua sin Zomosa”, throwing shade upon the corrupt influence of the Nicaraguan dictator.
Colón’s arrangement shows the power of instrumental accompaniment to emphasize a message. His use of a polished disco groove, complete with strings, background “oohs”, and horns introduces the commercial sheen that Blades criticizes in his lyrics. As the song progresses and Blades calls upon working class individuals, Colón digs into the salsa dura, giving the music a rough but powerful edge. In particular, the song flys into full tension mode with an explosive mambo that is both intellectual and raw. Colón also shows a high level of salsa finesse, weaving the arrangement between a variety of approaches, writing around the clave in clever ways, including ear worm riffs, integrating Puerto Rican Bomba, using a breakdown to end the song, and of course, infusing the band with a ferocious salsa groove. There’s a lot to love about Colón’s arrangement and a lot to reflect upon; it’s really a master class in connection between lyrical content and instrumental arrangement.
You could argue that all the performances on “Plástico” are worth a deep listen and a thorough analysis, but the playing from Sal Cuevas warrants extra attention. Siembra actually includes performances from two bassists – Cuevas and Eddie “Guagau” Rivera, but this track has Cuevas’ fingerprints all over it. By the time that Siembra was recorded, Cuevas had already revolutionized salsa bass playing through his work with Ray Barretto, The Fania All-Stars, and more; his inclusion of slapping, chords, slides around the neck, and virtuostic runs added an extra layer of depth to the standard tumbao heard in classic salsa. You can hear much of those trademark approaches on “Plástico”, but there’s something more. Cuevas shows technical prowess throughout the song, but he also displays restraint and full fledged musicality. We hear him slapping on the top of the song, he throws some chords into the mambo, and he subtly articulates the line throughout. The grooves really happens within the choices he makes though; the way he varies the tumbao, the approach notes for the chords, the register he chooses for each note. There’s so much that he puts into the line and the results are an unstoppable groove that lights the song on fire.
I’d highly encourage everyone to give “Plástico” a listen and then check out the rest of Siembra. It’s certainly one of my favorites, but on a larger scale, it’s an important musical statement full of social depth and refined artistry. Of course, I’m a big fan of the bass work on “Plástico” and I’ve gotten a lot from transcribing, learning, and playing this line along with the recording. Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing some of the bass specific insights that I’ve gained from my studies, digging into the brilliant performance from Sal Cuevas. Until then, spend some time with this classic, you’ll be glad that you did.
In fact, you can hear “Plástico” on my bass line playthrough!