El Returno Backo To the Maino Marc Anthonyo pago Life, Libre, and the Pursuit of Sappiness Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10 Hello, friends! Hello, Romans! Hello, countrymen! If any of you guys happen to have a set of ears that is not in a lent-out state, then please toss them over here to me! Thanks! Thank the stars, for Marc Anthony put all of his "I wanna be a Backstreet Boy" ambitions aside and went back to his salsa roots. (And he re-remembered that made-up language that he used to sing in.) Secondly, his songwriting (or the songwriting) here is really in top form. Anthony, himself, has a hand in all the songwriting, and there are plenty of fine-enough keepers in here to make people wonder: "Is Marc Anthony really a talented person? ... So, why is he famous?" All right, I'll be the first to point out that the album really doesn't have that great of a spark. To tell you the truth, it really isn't *that* special. When I listen to these songs, I think to myself a bit unenthusiastically "Hmm... that was pretty good..." Nothing really sticks out at me as being an utter masterpiece or anything. "Viviendo," the third track on here, might come pretty close to that, however! Everything else is well written, well polished, well sung, and even enjoyable, but I can't help wishing that this would all be a bit more enthralling! I still believe that Marc Anthony has all the capacity to go out and put out something really great, but so far, he hasn't done it at all. And, such is a frustrating fact. At this rate, he will always be ducking his head in his turtle shell of cliches and mild commerciality. Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10 (I really enjoyed this one. The only major downfall to the album is Anthony's same-old, same-old approach to salsa.) Average Song Score: 8.1 (Wow! This is a very strong set of tunes! ... It's certainly not the sort of thing that I would expect from a commercial artist ... But he does share the name of a Shakespearean character ...who is severely in debt to the Ear Savings and Loan Association.) Album Tilt: 8.5 (I can say, with confidence, that I fully enjoy Libre. Anthony's best album yet. It probably doesn't deserve a higher rating than the song score got, but I can't get over the fact that this salsa album happens to rule over everything salsa.) Artist Rating: 7.0 (If Anthony would just GET OUT OF THIS MINDSET THAT HE HAS TO SELL ALBUMS LIKE SPICY HOTCAKES then he might get higher points in this category one day. He's a talented guy ... he has feeling ... his salsa music has soul ... he even has songwriting talent. Heck! He's had at least two albums under his sleeves that were totally enjoyable! But that's absolutely no reason for him not to, at least, try to be creative! People like me don't just buy salsa music because we like to say "salsssssssssa." We want artistic depth! And you can do it, man! I know it!) Track Reviews Celos 7.5/10 Tell me something (Dimé sometheeeeeng). Would you salsa on a hot, lonely evening with a coat stand if it had a good rack? (Hmmm...) Well, I must point out that this salsa number ... while it's entirely unoriginal, of course, it is pretty entertaining. It has a nice enough melody. Unfortunately, the instrumentation and harmonies rely too much on the tired old cliches of salsa music. But, at this point in the album, I'm not tired of them quite yet. It's got some nice horns, though. (Fwaaaaaah!) Este Loco Que Te Mira 8/10 Again, as long as you don't mind that "Este Loco Que Te Mira in a White Wine Sauce" is another utterly cliched salsa song (...as if Marc Anthony ever had a salsa song that wasn't utterly cliched...) then you can probably find a lot to enjoy about this one. The melody is excellent ... the music playing is mighty fine, too (might have been improved) ... and Anthony gives another fine vocal performance. I'm still not a big fan of his background singers, but what kenya do? Viviendo 9.5/10 I absolutely promise you that if "Viviendo" was the only reason for someone like Marc Anthony to exist, then having to sit through all of his dreck was entirely worth it. Alright ... I'll be the first to admit that "Viviendo" probably won't be considered a classic ten years from now (...not that it's particularly well-regarded today...I hadn't heard of it until now). Nevertheless, it is a rather exhilarating song, which sports a top vocal performance and a melody that's actually somewhat *complex*. It's not perfect, to be sure, but it's a very good salsssssssa number. Hasta Que Vuelvas Conmigo 8.5/10 This is entirely decent! You have probably already guessed by now that this is another generic-ish salsa song that is being performed by a dude with some talent. I could complain a little bit about the length of this ... I could complain some more about the cliched instrumentation ... I could complain even more about the background singers, who I never exactly liked ... but I won't, cause I would end up complaining about that on all of these reviews! Barco a La Deriva 8/10 Barco! ... Polo! Boy ... you know ... this song has the *sparks* of something that might have been wonderful. If it wasn't so dang cliched, then it might have been! I'm not sure why Marc Anthony thinks he has to be stodgy to sell albums ... even though most of these songs are quite good. De Que Depende 8/10 Ole! OLE! Oh-lay! O-----lei? Castor Oil! De Que Depende on la castor oil pour mon digestif syeeestem to el worko! You see? I can speak not-English when I want to! About "De Que Depende," it's an okay song. Not utterly exhilarating ... but I can't complain about stuff being not exhilarating. It's like complaining about stuff that's not-English ... which, as I told you already, is a language that I can speak fluently. Yo Te Quiero 8/10 "Yo Te Quiero (Taco Bell)" is another one of those generic salsa thingies that also, cooly enough, uses a piano! "Yo Te Quiero, Piano!" Yo Me Gusta El Castor Oil! C'est Pour Ma Systemme du Digestif! Pero, Yo Tengo El Too Mucho El Castor Oil! *Fwwwahhhh* Amor Aventurero 9/10 I must say that I am one who is inclined to do a little bit of that amor aventuero stuff. People say that I am an amor avenurero kind of guy! This song is pretty good, actually. I'm getting sick of this stupid salsa beat (but as long as it isn't a Backfleet Roys beat, then it's okay by me). I like this one slightly better than the average song on here, though, because it sounds a bit more sweet and sentimental (without losing the tang that always ensues when you're dealing with salsa). This was a nice addtionivo! (You gotta dig that baseball stadium organ at the end of this.) Caminare 6.5/10 Ewwwww! Caminare! Worthless, slimy things that should go back into the ocean where they belong-Oh wait... I was thinking of calamari. Speaking of slimy things that should go back to the ocean, Hillary Clinton ... Oh. Sorry. Back to the subject ... I do think that it was a decent addition to the album, considering that it is more of a Spanish guitar love song instead of another salsa song to beat your brain up with all those like-beats... For some reason, though, I must observe that "Caminare" is by far the worst song off of here. It teeters on the fine line between listenable and excruciating. Hola! Do you have any comments that you are burning to send to my like a hot tamale? Mailo mi here!

All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. He is careful about what he drinks. Liquid only.