Tiempos

On first hearing, Ruben Blades's Grammy-winning Tiempos seems far too laid-back, its soft guitars and trilling saxophones edging dangerously close to smooth jazz. Listen longer, though, and the music's backbone reveals itself in a series of supple rhythms. This is far from the ear-expanding salsa of Blades's early recordings, and even from the Anglocized rock of Nothing but the Truth. The angry, mournful social and political comment of that record carries over to Tiempos, though, with Blades decrying exclusionary immigration policies ("Puente del Mundo") and commemorating the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama ("20 de Diciembre"). His commitment to challenging listeners rings throughout. --Rickey Wright