Rock en español is exactly that, rock in Spanish, unless there's something beyond language to set it apart. And that's what makes Colombia's Aterciopelados so special. They're very firmly aware of their roots, and bring them in often, to good effect in their music. This best-of collection traces ten years of music, and Aterciopelados' evolution from a good alternative rock band to a group with a real vision. It really all kicks in with "La Estaca," which shows that the passion that occurs in ranchera and rock can be combined in music, then with tracks from 1996's La Pipa de la Paz, which was musically adventurous, not just for its successful merging of son and hip-hop on "El Estuche," but especially on "La Culpable," where electronica and traditional Colombian forms and instruments come together for a while and make an excellent song, and their relatively faithful cover of Don Leonidas Plaza's "Baracunátana." Also fairly faithful -- but with its bolero feel heavily accented, is their version of Queen's "Play the Game" ("Juégale Apuéstale") - - an oddity that actually works well, never feeling out of place in its development. It's fascinating to hear how singer Andrea Echeverri's voice increases in confidence and style through the years, and how bassist Héctor Buitrago focuses the sound. It's apparent that quantum leaps have been par for the band -- witness the change with tracks from the Caribe Atómico album, where electronica came fully on board on the title cut, or "Maligno," as the band reworks and updates an Argentine style, accordion, Marc Ribot guitar, and all, with a full measure of aching, but never forgets where it originated, both rhythmically and melodically. Grammy-winning album Gozo Poderoso is represented by three cuts, none of which have the real distinction of earlier cuts, and seem to mark the record as a holding action, as the band decides where to go next. But the bonus cuts don't necessarily offer that many clues.~ Chris Nickson

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Rolling Stone (1/23/03, p.67) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...In the course of ten years and five albums, they shed their punk roots ('Florecita Rockera'), fell in love with electronica ('El Estuche') and embraced optimism as a way of life ('Luz Azul')..." Spin (2/03, pp.99-100) - 8 out of 10 - "...Aterciopelados come off as South America's most boundary-blind - and most listenable - postmodernists....They echo the organically wire-crossed world in which they live..."


  Si CD
  by Julieta Venegas
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Whereas Mexican alt-rocker Julieta Venegas's previous outings could be characterized as moody and intense, SI is a collection of unabashedly bright pop songs about the wonders of love. (The cover art, which shows Venegas posing coyly in a wedding dress against a pink background, is a fair indication of the pop confections within). But the album has much more substance than a piece of wedding cake. Irresistible pop craft and melodic hooks are couched in inventive, smartly constructed instrumental arrangements, while the whole is wrapped in clean, breezy, ear-pleasing production.

It is hard to resist the appeal of the disco-inflected "A Tu Lado" or the easygoing groove in "Algo Esta Cambiando," which is highlighted by tasty keys, light funk guitar, and Venegas's sweet, guileless vocals. Venegas also flirts with urban R&B on "Lo Que Pidas," which mixes accordion and turntable scratching over a spry hip-hop beat.

Venegas may have alienated some of her indie fans with SI, but the legions of new fans she's won over with this release speaks loudly of the album's merits. In fact, those indie kids might find themselves secretly loving the beautifully sunny pop of SI.


  Senderos De Traicion CD
  by Heroes Del Silencio
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SENDEROS DE TRAICION is a 12-track release by Spanish rockers Heroes Del Silencio includes "Entre Dos Tierras" and "Carta."

The highly successful "Rock en Espanol" band was formed in Zaragoza, Spain during the mid-'80s. Featuring famed singer/guitarist Enrique Bunbury, they were well received by both critics and audiences, and their 1989 full-length "El Mar No Cesa" went platinum in weeks. This recording includes "Entre Dos Tierras", "Maldito Duende", "La Carta" & nine more sure to please the ear.

Personnel: Enrique Bunbury (vocals, acoustic guitar); Juan Carlos Valdivia (guitar); Joaquin Cardiel (bajo sexto, background vocals); Pedro Andreu (drums).

  Caribe Atomico CD
  by Aterciopelados
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CARIBE ATOMICO was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Latin/Rock Alternative Performance.

For better or worse, Brazil dominates South America's musical landscape just as surely as the continent's physical one. At first listen, Aterciopelados, a post-modern pop duo--Hector Buitrago and Andrea Echeverri from Bogata, Colombia with hip New York friends like Marc Ribot and Arto Lindsay--wouldn't be out of place in Sao Paolo or Rio. However, the language here is Spanish and the confident rhythms and melodies on display are much less beholden to samba or even bossa nova. Ms. Echeverri handles all vocal chores in an appealing, unironic mode, somewhat more committed than fellow post-modernists like Japan's Pizzicato Five or the dispassionate Stereolab. Partly recorded in New York and featuring any number of contributing musicians, CARIBE ATOMICO is also a surprisingly uncluttered production, thanks to multi-instrumentalist/producer Andre Levin as well as the smartly musical Hector and Andrea.

Additional personnel: Vinicius Cantuaria (guitar, pandeiro, surdo, tambourine, background vocals); Andres Levin (guitar, Mellotron, B-3 organ, Wurlitzer piano, bass, programming); Marc Ribot, Alejo Gomezcaceres, Arto Lindsay (guitar); Alfredo de la Fe (violin); Eddy Martinez (piano); Julian Rojas (accordion); Raul Juarena (bandoneon); Isnardo Chipatecua (trumpet); Brad Jones (acoustic bass); Skoota (drums, surdo); Mauricio Montenegro (drums); Nene Vasquez (percussion, background vocals); Carlitos Alvarez (steel drum).


  Estopa CD
  by Estopa
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There's really nothing like a live flamenco performance. Conceivably, you could compare it to jazz, which also has a tendency to split open an old familiar melody and pull out something you never in a million years would have expected to find lurking there inside, but if, and only if, there were a lot of extra folks milling around -- someone keeping time on a hollow box, singers and dancers wearing extravagan t polka dots and fringe and high-heeled tap shoes, and others who might be singers or dancers or musicians, or maybe just people clapping out tightly syncopated rhythms and shouting ­Olé! as they wait for a bus. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you start picking out a certain swarthy, probably familial resemblance, and watching for the subtle cues, or llamadas, tossed from dancer to musician to singer so that they all know, even if you still have no idea, that the pretty young things are fixing to pick the hearts they've trampled back up off of the floor, fold their fans, silence their castanets, and listen to their grandma or grandpa show them the true fury of a lover spurned. It's like finding yourself in the middle of a bullfight except that nobody actually gets killed.

And even if you're very familiar with the form, Estopa's eponymous flamenco-pop debut is going to catch you off guard. The winsome young brothers from Barcelona know their way around a minor key, and they've got that plaintive wail down, the vigorous strumming, the musical nods to bygone legends like José "El Camarón" Monje Cruz ; still, there's something playfully subversive going on here. Did the singer really just say that on account of the slit in your skirt, he crashed into a Seat Panda?

Additional personnel includes: Jose H. Romero (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, accordion); Santi Ibarretxe (flute, alto saxophone, programming); Paco Bastante (bass); Sergio Castillo (drums, percussion, programming); Efrain Toro (percussion).


  Gozo Poderoso CD
  by Aterciopelados
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In much the same way that Stereolab gave the postmodern world an ambient twist with light dustings of lounge and electronica flourishes, Aterciopelados manage to have the same effect on the usually guitar-heavy world of rock en espanol with their fifth album GOZO PODEROSO. Anchored by the duo of vocalist Andrea Echeverri and multi-instrumentalist Hector Buitrago, this Bogota-based outfit flits easily amongst an amalgam of stylistic influences whether it's the techno-flavored, military cadence of "Esmeralda," breezy salsa of "El Album," or lush beauty found within the dream-pop of "Transparente" ("Transparent").

Echeverri's effortlessly beguiling vocals make this musical trip south of the border a particularly enriching one. Particular standouts include the bossa nova fueled "Luz Azul" ("Blue Light"), bouncy groove of "Uno Lo Mio Y Lo Tuyo" ("One Of Mine & Yours"), and the infectious cumbia "La Misma Tijera" ("The Same Scissors"). Despite the fact that all these numbers are sung in Spanish, non-speakers and those fluent in the language will be equally entranced by the musical manna Echevveri and Buitrago concocted in making GOZO PODEROSO Colombia's tastiest export in 2001.

GOZO PODEROSO was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album.


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