Despues del Silencio

Eddie Santiago is a native and beloved son of Puerto Rico, an island known for liking it's salsa straight and uncut. Throughout his career he has been happy to deliver exactly that. His 2004 record, Despues del Silencio, follows Santiago's recipe for no-frills, super clean dancehall salsa. Some of his tried and true ingredients include high quality songwriting, (contributed primarily by Luis Angel, Pedro Jesus, and Santiago himself) a super tight horn and percussion section (arranged in part by salsa heavy-hitter Ramon B. Sanchez) and of coarse, Santiago's own charming performance. This record is so squeaky clean that it almost causes a certain nostalgia for the time when salsa was a little dirtier, and its artists a little less reputable. There is a fine line between tight, clean performances and sterility, and this record walks that line. Thankfully, Eddie Santiago's vocal performances, if not gritty, are certainly emotional and genuine. His vocal range and control are as impressive as ever. Despues del Silencio does lack stylistic variety and a little soul, but Santiago more than makes up for that. Straight-ahead salsa is what he does, and he does that quite well. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi