Gloria Estefan Album: “Alma Caribeña/Caribbean Soul”

In '93 Gloria Estefan pleasantly surprised the world; With her Grammy award winning, all spanish album "Mi Tierra" she celebrated her Cuban heritage and drove the Globe Salsa crazy. She then followed it up with her 2nd Grammy winner in '95, "Abriendo Puertas" which not only unleashed more Salsa, but combined it with the rhythms of hispanic countries worldwide to create a unique and highly danceable fusion. Now she has revealed "Alma Caribena/Caribbean Soul". In what has to be her most accomplished work to date, Gloria seamlessly blends the rhythms of Cuba with those of Panama, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. But the biggest surprise of all is how confident and passionate she sounds here. Gloria not only reveals a more sexy style with her vocals, she embraces it and really lets loose on such tracks as "Por un Beso" (For a Kiss) where her lush voice drips with sensuality and attitude as She confronts her partner for betraying their love. Then on the Salsa driven "Tres Gotas de agua bendita" (a duet with Salsa legend Celia Cruz) her honey soaked vocals dance over a bed of propelling latin percussion complimented by a swooping horn section. However one of the highlights of the album has to be the tropical ballad "Como me duele perderte" where Gloria has never before sounded so genuinely sad as she reflects on a lost lover. Accompanied by a beautifully melodic spanish guitar, enveloping percussion and a touching violin solo, this track is sure to be a worldwide smash when it's released as a single. The lyrics on this whole collection are cutting edge and poetic, most evident on "Tengo que decirte algo" the duet with Jose Feliciano where she confesses to him her act of adultery and begs for forgiveness. Another clever aspect of the album is in it's complex production. Just when you think the Salsa rhythm has stopped for a ballad, suddenly the arrangement whirls into a Salsa surprise and once again the beat never really lets up. Perhaps Gloria planned the trip from "Mi Tierra" to "Abriendo Puertas" to "Alma Caribena/Caribbean Soul" as a trilogy in her Spanish language albums but unlike most trilogies of cinema, this third outing is her best piece of work to date. Even if you're not a fan of Ms Estefan, you should include this in your collection as "THE" Salsa album.

Being Puerto Rican, I love to dance the Salsa, meringue, and music that just makes you swing. This latest from my most favorite diva is misleading. The cover of the CD shows her getting it down and dancing. Well, when I popped this cd in I couldn't dance to a single one.

Don't let the other reviews here fool you. If you like a lot of s-l-o-w, and I mean s-l-o-w ballads, then hey, I highly recommend this CD. If you're expecting real latin music, than the best picks are Abriendo Puertas (my favorite, because you can dance to all of the tracks) and Mi Terra (Just LOVE Mi Terra!). Gloria is my favorite singer of all time, and I worship her and all, but Gloria, honey, you really let me down on this one.

I must admit this album took me by surprise because I was expecting something comparable to "Mi Tierra" which by far is one of the best tropical albums of all time. I think the title of this album is where the deception lies. "Alma caribena" leads one to believe that the album is soulful, upbeat and possibly danceable. However, the album cannot be described as such. It is rather mellow, nostalgic and slow paced with a few tropical songs which definitely uplift the production. I found it hard to rate this album at first because I did not want my perception of what I expected to hear influence my assessment of what the album really has to offer. No question about it's definitely a tropical album but contains mostly boleros with four songs that can fit into the category of salsa more or less or "tropical music". The musical arrangements are creative and the cuban influence and elements can be heard. In a nutshell expect a a very mellow slow-paced album with balads/boleros in a tropical rhythm. This album is good for easy listening and background music. Instead of "Alma caribena" maybe it should be called "Alma diferente". Overall it's a solid production.

Well, I was expecting a lot of flashy salsa rhythms. I was surprised by the large amount of baladas on this cd. My favorite songs are: No me Dejes de Querer (it is sooooooooo neat), and then Gotas de agua bendita (that is neat too), and the duet w/ Jose Feliciano is pretty. I don't care for all of the balads, they get tiring, although they are very pretty. The Pablo Flores mix of No me dejes, is not that special, but I guess a good dance mix. Although I was a bit disappointed with this cd, I gave it 5 stars, b/c what I do like on it, I like a lot, and I think that it is a good cd regardless, I was just expecting a lot more out of it, in terms of up beat salsa rhythms.

I was anxious awaiting Glorias new release and bought it last week even before the official releasedate, May 23rd. Upon listening to it for the first time I was kind of disappointed in one way. The cuban/caribean sound is there but I miss the uptempo rhythm which was present in her previous latindisc "Mi Tierra". Far the best song of "Alma Caribeña" is "No me dejes de querer" with an extra great remix by Pablo Flores. I'm looking forward to new remixes that will surely pop up in the near future. Nevertheless, Gloria keeps me amazing with her bright voice and her good music that can't stop you from dancing.