The Latin pop and rock en español fields are full of talented artists who would probably be huge in the English-language market if they didn't sing in Spanish exclusively. Some non-Spanish-speaking listeners don't mind listening to lyrics they don't understand -- the beat and the melody are enough for them -- but many others insist on ...
Italian star Zucchero has coaxed a wide variety of fellow artists into the studio over the years, and those vocal duets and other collaborations are gathered together on this collection, covering a period of over 15 years. This is one of those albums on which, intentionally, the selling point is the laundry list of co-stars, which is formidable: ...
The soundtrack to 1987's Dirty Dancing was an enormous hit, reaching number one on the Billboard charts and launching three Top Ten hits, including Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes' chart-topping duet "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." The soundtrack to its belated sequel-cum-remake, 2004's Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, is a collection of Latin ...
Ricky Martin's Spanish-language 1998 set Vuelve is the predecessor to the self-titled English-language album that would propel him to iconic status in the U.S. the following year. Vuelve, however, is much more of a Latin album than a pop album, and effectively balances red-hot Latin dance numbers with melodramatic ballads. The album's main ...
Arriving a long four years after Revolución de Amor (2002), which had been the band's most accomplished album to date, and a Grammy winner to boot, Amar Es Combatir confirmed Maná's continuing designation as the world's standard-bearing Spanish-language mainstream rock band. Amar Es Combatir's lead single, "Labios Compartidos," was an overnight ...
Gloria Estefan's first U.S. Spanish-language album, Mi Tierra is one of her most satisfying, and a step above her English-language pop albums. Her voice is extremely well suited for the material, and the result is a breezy, sunny album with moments of melancholy and longing -- in short, one of her most consistent albums to date. Additionally, some ...
Given that Jennifer Lopez's uptempo material tends to work much better than her slower recordings, there would seem to be some potential for an album of remixes of her dance-oriented tracks as more than just a stopgap between regular releases. But J to tha L-O!: The Remixes is a collection of odds and ends. Of course, as usual, the term "remix" is ...
Out of left field came German-born, Italian/Ugandan Lou Bega, scoring an international chart-topping single with his infectious "Mambo No. 5" -- the only thing that kept it from reaching the top of the U.S. charts was the fact that no American commercial single was ever issued. The rest of Bega's album, A Little Bit of Mambo, follows pretty much ...
Four decades and dozens of albums into his career, Vicente Fernández remains one of Mexico's finest ranchera artists, arguably the best ever. It's as if he gets better with age, for Para Siempre is a near-perfect album. The singing, the songwriting, the instrumentation -- it's all stellar. The songwriting is particularly notable. All of the songs ...
Shakira's 1996 debut album, Pies Descalzos set the stage for one of the international community's most celebrated and exciting stars. The album took a while to gain momentum, but once it did, the young chanteuse ascended to dizzying commercial heights that were only magnified with her more electrifying later releases. The more tranquil Pies ...
Like many late '90s outfits, the Los Angeles-based Ozomatli is an eclectic conglomeration, fusing a wild variety of music. At its core, the group is a dance band, blending funk, hip-hop, Latin rhythms, jazz, salsa, reggae, Tejano, and worldbeat into its sound. It's a busy, heady mix and occasionally there's simply too much going on in the mix for ...
The soundtrack to the Vanessa Williams romantic drama Dance with Me predictably contains a number of dance songs, ranging from Latin pop to salsa to slow adult contemporary ballads. There aren't many songs that stand out on the album, but it's a surprisingly consistent and entertaining listen, highlighted by contributions from Gloria Estefan, DLG ...
Falta Amor is the Mexican pop/rock band's least noteworthy album by far -- musically, at least -- but it still has its moments and, most importantly, it established them as a promising act during the early '90s, with an exceptionally straightforward pop/rock sound for a Mexican band. In particular, "Rayando el Sol" is a highlight and established a ...
The most jazz-oriented of the elderly musicians in the Buena Vista Social Club, pianist Ruben Gonzalez was 77 at the time of this CD, his debut as a leader. Although he did not even own his own piano at the time, he plays brilliantly, performing a variety of traditional melodies plus two originals, often quoting other songs and really stretching ...
Alejandro Fernandez already had one ranchera classic under his belt -- his exceptional debut album -- when Que Seas Muy Feliz came out. But this was the record where everything came together. The inherent elegance of Fernandez's voice was matched with the most distinctive songs and arrangements of his career to date, along with the warm, ...
From Dusk Till Dawn follows the pattern of previous Quentin Tarantino-related movie soundtracks by concentrating on a particular musical theme -- in this case, Tex-Mex-flavored blues-rock -- and punctuating it with dialogue from the film. However, the From Dusk Till Dawn soundtrack doesn't work quite as well as the ones for Pulp Fiction and ...
European superstar Manu Chao has long gotten by on writing simple repetitive melodies with simple repetitive lyrics, making it, if nothing else, easy for his international audience to sing along, no matter their native language. So it is not particularly surprisingly he follows the same pattern on his fourth studio full-length, Radiolina, ...
Marc Anthony plays the role of Héctor Lavoe in El Cantante, the film he had been wanting and waiting to make for many years. Lavoe is a hero to salsa fans, famed for the artistry of his vocals and the intensity of his rhythm; his records with Willie Colón during the early '70s were high points for salsa, and they paved the way for many vocalists ...
Jon Secada really had only one blockbuster album, but he nevertheless was one of the finest adult contemporary singers of the '90s, as Greatest Hits proves. Released at the tail-end of his Virgin contract, just before he began recording for Sony Music, Greatest Hits covers his first four albums, including not only all of his hits -- "Just Another ...
After Shakira's international breakthrough with her first English-language album, her record company decided to release Grandes Exitos, targeted at Spanish-speaking audiences. This record gathers her hits from Pies Descalzos, Dónde Están los Ladrones?, and MTV Unplugged, as well as some Spanish versions of hits from Laundry Service (previously ...
Eclipse is a pretty good collection, featuring most of the highlights from Maná's career. It spans ten years of work, from 1992's Falta Amor through 2002's Revolución de Amor, and includes hits like "Vivir Sin Aire," "No Ha Parado de Llover," "Rayando el Sol," "Hechicera," and "En el Muelle de San Blas." Of course, there are some songs missing, ...
By the time of his fourth album, La Vida...Es un Ratico, it was difficult to imagine Juanes being any more acclaimed or popular. He'd already won trophy cases of awards, from numerous Grammys to France's highest cultural honor, L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and he'd already topped charts in a diverse range of countries, including not only the ...
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, and co-produced by rock en español expert Gustavo Santaolalla, the second album by Grammy-winning Juanes, highly anticipated following the release of its first single, "A Dios Le Pido," once again delivers his awarded fusion of urban, rock, and Latin American rhythms. A spiritual folk-rock song opens this 12-track ...
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