Rating:
Genre:
Latin
Release Date: 06/19/2007
The
banda boom of the '90s and 2000s brought considerable diversity to
banda, which has been combined with everything from
hip-hop to
reggae to
salsa.
Banda star
Jenni Rivera (who usually performs
en español) has even recorded a
banda version of
Gloria Gaynor's 1979
disco anthem
"I Will Survive." Of course, there are some purists who believe that
banda should only be used for traditional
ranchera purposes, but who is to say what really constitutes "authentic"
banda? In the beginning,
banda was strictly instrumental; thus, someone who wants to be an ultra-purist could argue that any
banda that features singers isn't real
banda. But a much stronger argument is that diversity is good for
banda's creative health and that it is beneficial for
banda to have consistently
ranchera-minded acts as well as an outfit as
Latin pop-minded as
La Banda Pequeños Musical.
Hasta el Final ("Until the End") is definitely on the
pop/crossover side of
banda. Minus the huge wall of brass that surrounds them,
adult contemporary-ish items such as
"Nuevo Amor" ("New Love"),
"Por Quien Me Dejas" ("Who Are You Leaving Me For") and
"Caricias Prohibidas" ("Forbidden Caresses") could have easily been arranged and recorded as
grupero. Not everything on
Hasta el Final, however, is
adult contemporary-ish. This 36-minute CD also contains some up-tempo selections that drift into tropical territory and function as pure party music -- most notably,
"El Foco" and the
cumbia-minded
"Saltando." But whether a track is slow, romantic, and
adult contemporary-ish or up-tempo and club-friendly, there is never any doubt that
Hasta el Final epitomizes a very
pop-drenched approach to
banda. And while this 2007 release isn't remarkable, it is still a generally pleasant example of
banda and
Latin pop coming together.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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