From his previous effort. But that's not a bad thing at all. Enrique reaches out and brings in one of my fav rappers Lil Wayne for a song. I never though he would do "Push" with Weezy's nice flow on the song and singing being on point. It makes for a better effort than i thought before i first heard the song. Being an obvious choice for favorite song
"Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song)" strange title people might think. But after hearing the song you'll understand why. It's different again from what i'd expect from Enrique. He still has his well done ballads on the cd as well for those that love that.
Also more uptempo songs on Insomniac as well..nice title for the cd. Dont really like the album artwork but that's just something i mention. Not something that really takes away from one of Enrique's more diverse CDs in a bit. Nice one, EI.
I guess some people are feeling lukewarm about Enrique's newest album but honestly I am really enjoying it. I have loved all of Enrique's albums and I do not feel disappointed at all with Insomniac.
There are a lot of hits on here. Ring My Bells, Push (which I hear is going to be his next single), Somebody's Me, Wish I Was Your Lover, Stay Here Tonight, On Top of You, Sweet Isabel, Little Girl- well I am just naming off all the songs aren't I?
The only songs that I feel lack the same power as the rest would be Miss You and Don't You Forget About Me. They're not bad songs at all- but they probably will take a bit longer to grow on me.
Overall, regardless of how well this album turns out, I think it is a success. Enrique knows what works for him in music and keeps at it while changing it up a bit (like with Push) but overall is the same Enrique all hardcore fans of his like I love, love, love.
4.5/5
Trust me. if there's one Album that will keep you up all night, It's this one. Up all night doing what you ask. I don't know. Partying? Getting it on? - Yes. Really the album is that sexy. Though not as lively as his other records, Enrique delivers some great music here. There aren't any weak songs, though i feel the album slumps a little in the last quarter, but even them songs are pretty good. The album is a melting pot of all different types of music. There's some Groove, some Reggatton. A little bit of Pop, Rock and even some R'n'B, and all the while still sounding sexy. This is definetly his most sexy record. I mean just listen to "Ring My Bells". Go on. Press the sample clip. You know you want to.
Enrique was certainly experimenting with different sounds here, and the results seem to have paid off.
First up is "Ring My Bells". A Groovy little tune, that was used in the Tommy Hilfiger commercial for True Star Men Aftershave. When I heard the clip from the song in the commercial i just knew id love it. It has this unmistakeable Commercialism to it. I wasn't sure just how much i'd love it though. But on hearing the song in full, I can say it did not dissapoint.
The song reminds me of being in a Forest at Night time. With the thud of it's base line , the beat and animal wailing, this song is sexy as the Night itself. There are even Whale sounds in the song. YES!!!! Thats Right. Whales 4 cryin' out loud. Who thought of that ? but who cares anyway. It's a sexy little Groove number and sets the Album off to a Terrific start.
This song isn't very upbeat, but it doesn't try to be. It's just Sexy, and one of the best Groove songs I've heard. Wanna get it on with someone - PLAY THIS SONG.
Next up is "Push" a hip hop flavoured tune, that features rapper Lil' Wayne. This song is just as good as the first but with a touch of reggatoen.
Enrique hadn't really done anything like this before, and as I heard it i thought. Oh no. He's trying to buy into the rap movement...but as it turns out. It's pretty good. The Base Line is awesome, and i love the little spanish guitars dotted throughout the song. Just as smoove as ever, this song is great, and one of the Album's best. Whatever this song is it's Addictive.
"Do You Know" is the third track. The Albums First single, is one of the catchiest songs on the album. no doubt. Though the spanish version "Diemilo" is better, this song is just great. It has a great chorus, and is sure to get stuck in your head for days. And that's not a bad thing. I'd never heard anything like this before, but it's kind of like Escape. Just more POP than rock, this time. He also gives a good Vocal performance. Can't get this song out of my head. It's great, though i would question why it was the Album's First single, but a single it deserves to be. No Less.
The Albums fourth track is it's first ballad, and is called "Somebody's Me". It opens with crisp acoustic guitars. Enrique first preformed it on Extreme Makeover - Home Edition. It's a beautiful song. It's kind of like a lesser version of Hero. But still beautiful in every way. It's one of his best ballads, and talks about longing for someone, and how you hope they will find out how you feel about them. Like a secret love. The bridge is one of my favourite parts of the song, but the whole song is great. Enrique never fails to deliver.
Next up are the sexy R'n'B sounds of "On Top Of You". this song, while even though slower, reminds me of some of his previous tunes from Escape. Very catchy, and kind of has a shuffling beat to it.
No doubt one of my favourite tracks from the Album. It's sexy but very Beautiful at the same time. He gives a good vocal performance, and I can honestly say, it's one of the best songs of his career. One of my all time favourit Enrique songs. Only one word for it. AWESOME.
Up next is a remake of Ringside's "Tired Of Being Sorry". Id never heard the original, but this version is pretty good, and delivers a slice of rock into the album. I like the synthesisers, and beat of the music. Good lyrics too. Not one of my favourites from the album, but a good song none the less. I like the chorus, and the bridge. Enrique adds some spanish guitars, to give it a kind of latin rock feel.
"Miss You" is one of the albums better tracks. It's similar to "Push" and "Ring My Bell" but a bit more lively. It sounds VERY Reggaetton, and is a new sound for Enrique. Definetly one of my faves from Insonmiac, and i hope it will be a single. I Love the verses and words to the song. Then the chorus comes on and i'm addicted. Love the alarm sounds too.
"Whish I Was Your Lover" is the BEST song on the Album, right next to RMB. This should definetly be a single. The song is Sounding very R'N'B.
One of my Absolute fave Enrique songs. The Bridge is the best part, and i love his vocals. The chorus gets you PUMMPED. It's smooth, but upbeat at the same time. This is THE song that reminds me of his "Escape" Era. If you love Escape you'll probably love this song. it's similar to his older songs like "Love 4 Fun" & "If The World Crashes Down". Love the words. Love the beat. Love the Tune. Love everything about this song.
"Little Girl" is another one of the album's ballads. It is one of the sweetest songs he's ever recorded. Sounds very beautiful. This is probably THE Enrique song that touches me the most. Not hero, or Maybe. It's this one. I think he write it about Anna. But who knows?. Anyway it's downright beautiful. "She cries in the night. But no one can hear her. She's all alone. This little girl closes here eyes. All that she want's is someone to love her". These are the most beautiful lyrics anyone could write, or hope to hear.
Up next is the Alternate Rocker "Stay Here Tonight". The song is no doubt catchy and fun, but it does sound like a left over from 2003's "7". It's not a great song. But it is good. The chorus is the best part. Good verses too. Even a good bridge. Don't over look this song.
"Sweet Isabell" is a bit different from anything he'd ever done before, and sounds quite similar to the previous track, but it's better. It will probably grow on me, and become one of my favourites. I love the acoustic guitar, and the way the song opens. It's a sweet song, and I like the way it adresses a person by name. I Love the chorus. It's a pretty simple song. Very Alternative. Alls i can say bout this song is...ROCK ON.
The Albums last track is another ballad. "Don't Forget About Me". It's a sweet song, and will no doubt be a fave with many people, but i don't think it's anything special. Good message & a pretty song. It's similar to "Somebody's Me". It's one of the Album's best ballads, and a good way to end an already good Album. How could we forget about him with such a great Album ?
The last 3 tracks are Spanish versions of "Do You Know", "Somebody's me"
and "Tired Of Being Sorry".
Overall even though INSOMNIAC still doesnt match up to the greatness of 1999's "ENRIQUE" or 2001's "ESCAPE" it is a little bit better than "7" ( which was a good album ). It definetly has the potential to be a commercial success to the extent of "Escape". So stay up late and play the album. Enrique did not dissapoint with this Music. Even though it took 4 Years of waiting for a New Enrique Album. I can honestly say the wait was WORTH IT!!!!!!
I have all of Enrique Iglesias' Spanish and English-language albums and I can definitely say that this one is the most polished and most diverse to date. It's not my favorite album of his, but I thought it was an excellent effort and I listen to it every few days because I do like about 80% of the songs.
Some standouts for me are: 'Ring My Bells' because of the sound and the mysterious mood of the song, 'Do you know/dimelo' because it's just one of those songs that you just start singing along with when it comes on, 'Somebody's Me' because I always love a good ballad and I could relate to the song, 'Tired of being sorry' because of the sophistication of the lyrics, 'Sweet Isabel' because eventhough he claims that it's not about his mother, Isabel Preysler, the song sounds like it could be like her and it's a sweet song, and 'Push' because of it's urban/hip-hop influence. 'Push' is also on the Step Up 2 movie soundtrack.
With some other songs, Enrique mixes in a little reggaeton flavor and even a little middle eastern sound with 'Miss You' and 'On Top of You'. 'Little Girl' is my least favorite because it's just not that exciting.
What I truly admire is that his sound does have subtle differences from album to album and he is definitley not afraid of taking risks musically. I truly thought this was a great album and worth my money!
I must say I only bought this entire cd for one song, The Ping Pong Song....but Im so glad that I did, his voice is just amazing on all the other songs as well. Great beats...up to date stuff you can dance to, just an all around great album!
