Antecedente
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| Antecedente | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1987–1988 | |||
| Genre | Salsa | |||
| Length | 39:03 | |||
| Label | Elektra[1] | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Rubén Blades chronology | ||||
| ||||
Antecedente (Antecedent) is an album by the Panamanian musician Rubén Blades (credited with Son del Solar), released in 1988.[2][3] The album was often reviewed with La Pistola y El Corazón, by Los Lobos, which also was a return-to-roots effort.[4][5]
The album won a Grammy Award for "Best Tropical Latin Performance".[6] It peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Tropical Albums chart.[7]
The album was produced by Blades. His backing band changed its name from Seis del Solar to Son del Solar, with trombones replacing some of the synthesizer parts.[8] Antecedente marked a return to salsa for Blades, who had remarked that he did not like how older studio recording techniques made the music sound.[9]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[11] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [8] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |  [1] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [9] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
Robert Christgau wrote that "Blades augments a revamped, renamed Seis del Solar with salsa trombones and begets a dance album for the people of Panama."[11] Trouser Press deemed the album "rewardingly rootsy."[13] The St. Petersburg Times called it "a hot-blooded, no-nonsense salsa-style record brimming with gliding Latin rhythms, layers of punchy percussion and a relentless two-trombone backdrop—all topped off by Blades' plucky tenor."[14] The New York Times determined that "the music is full of life, trading away letter-perfect period authenticity for heartfelt spirit."[4]
The Washington Post considered the songs to be "not the fast, dizzying dance workouts of the barrio dance halls but a more sinuous sound that can accommodate both his evocative lyrics and his hypnotic syncopation."[15] The Globe and Mail labeled the album "a collection of dance tunes that forgo his usual political commentary for songs of love—of women, neighborhood and country."[5]
AllMusic called the album a "return to exuberant, dance-oriented salsa."[10]