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March Anthony's latest album, Mended |
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Artist: Marc AnthonyTitle: Mended
Columbia CDCOL 6390
I have strong feelings about the Latin wave sweeping through the pop market, being firmly entrenched in the camp hoping that it will soon come to an end. Don't get me wrong – it's not that I have anything against Latin music. It's just that after a while the songs all start sounding the same, whether sung by Enrique Iglesias or Ricky Martin. Perhaps its just overexposure thanks to our local radio stations.
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Track listing 1
Official listing:
1. Love Won't Get Any Better
2. She Mends Me
3. I've Got You
4. I Need You
5. Tragedy
6. I Reach For You
7. I Swear
8. Don't Tell Me It's Love
9. Do You Believe in Loneliness
10. Give Me a Reason
11. I Wanna Be Free
12. Everything You Do
13. Me Haces Falta
Bonus Tracks:
14. Show Me the Way
15. You Belong With Me
16. Tragedia
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When it comes to Marc Anthony, I have mixed feelings, which is unusual. Everyone I know either fervently loves or passionately hates his music.Raised in New York, Anthony is almost venerated in the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Puerto Rico, where his parents have their roots. Hailed as the “king of salsa”, his salsa albums have enjoyed record-breaking sales.
His first English-language album, the triple-platinum 1999 eponymous offering that included the hit song “I Need to Know”, earned Anthony a devoted (predominantly female) fan base throughout the English-speaking world.
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The "King of Salsa", Marc Anthony has earned a devoted fan base |
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Although it could be argued that he is riding the Latin wave, Anthony does have some differentiators: the ardour in his voice, which far surpasses the precise but almost emotionless vocals of the likes of Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez; and the energy which comes to the fore in Mended.Anthony's second English-language album, Mended, has secured his place in pop markets outside the Latin world. The single, “I've Got You”, which has received a good deal of airplay on both radio and TV, has a tempo and feel like Martin's “Livin' La Vida Loca”, although the vocal fervour is more intense. However, another single, “I Need You”, is more in line with the overall tone of the CD –romantic lyrics and a good mid-tempo Latin pop rhythm with a slightly harder edge than the eponymous album, with Anthony's emotional vocals carrying the tightly written melodies.
Mended is a romantic album and love is the central theme throughout. At the risk of being labelled a sexist, I have to believe it will appeal more to a female audience. If you are going to listen to it with your partner, pour some wine, light some candles and switch off the lights.
The lyrics are a little too sappy for my taste and the CD does contain its fair share of clichés. The album is no musical revolution – some of the songs, including “I Need You”, have a bit of a late ‘80s feel to them. Is this an intentional retro angle?
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Track listing 2
Actual listing on my CD:
1. Love Won't Get Any Better
2. She Mends Me
3. I've Got You
4. I Need You
5. Tragedy
6. I Reach For You
7. I Swear
8. Don't Tell Me It's Love
9. Do You Believe in Loneliness
10. Give Me a Reason
11. I Wanna Be Free
12. Everything You Do
13. Te Tengo Aqui
14. Me Haces Falta
15. Tragedia
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But the CD does justify Anthony's status as a singer who can maintain his Latin background while creating an album for a wider audience. I am only on the fringe of that audience. I'll listen to Mended and probably enjoy it, but only when it's cold and raining.The tracks on the CD I have don't match the information on the cover. Perhaps an error somewhere resulted in my getting an incorrectly labelled foreign version. Both track listings are given in the sidebars above.
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