Marc Anthony - Desde un Principio: From the Beginning [2LP Clear]

Desde un Principio: From the Beginning gathers the salsa years that turned Marc Anthony into a superstar, spread here across two clear LPs.

Released in 1999, just as his English-language pop debut was introducing him to a whole new audience, this collection looks back at the run of albums that began with Otra Nota and continued through Todo a Su Tiempo and Contra la Corriente. The kid from East Harlem brought a New York pop sensibility and a powerhouse tenor to salsa romántica, and these songs filled dance floors wherever Spanish was spoken.

Hasta Que Te Conocí, his salsa take on a Juan Gabriel song, is the moment it all clicked, a slow-building plea that explodes into horns and percussion. Te Conozco Bien shows how easily he could turn heartbreak into something you dance to, Contra la Corriente brings the grander, more dramatic arrangements of his later RMM work, and the duet Vivir Lo Nuestro adds a spark of friendly rivalry between two big voices.

Clear vinyl and a double-LP spread give these songs room to breathe, with every trumpet blast and conga roll given space. For salsa fans it is the essential first chapter of a career that has never slowed down, and a fine introduction for anyone new to his music.