Gloria Estefan Album: “Destiny”

I am by far the biggest Gloria Estefan fan in my home state (SD), and most likely the US, and Destiny is my favorite album by Gloria. What bugs me is that nowadays, the only Latin music there is playing is Ricky and Jennifer, and that's not even true Latin in my mind, its just a bad blend of pop and latin. However, this album is pure Latin from the title track, to my favorite song, "Reach". The mezmorizing guitar playing on "Steal Your Heart", and the ballad "Show Me the Way Back to Your Heart" written by Diane Warren are just some other favs on this album and let's not forget "Along Came You" which Gloria wrote for her daughter. This album has everything, including great dance numbers. So if you like REAL latin music, then I can't tell you how much I reccommend this album.

Destiny marks the return to English music for Gloria Estefan, but the African, Carribbean, and Latin influences of her last few years can easily be heard here. From the very African You'll Be Mine (Party Time) to the beautifully rich Spanish guitar on Steal Your Heart, the world rhythms permeate this album. Reach, which is probably most familiar from radio play, is unsurprisingly the most mainstream song here. While I don't care for a couple of the songs, many of the others spontaneously pop into my head frequently. Highly recommended.

I have always been a fan of Gloria Estefan ever since her Miami Sound Machine Days. I have always loved her strong and deep voice and her amazing ability to write songs that are both catchy and meaningful at the same time. This album is no different. However, Gloria does seem more serious on this one. The biggest hit on this album was "Reach" for the Olympic Games, but although the song is wonderful, it is not my favorite. My favorites are "I'm Not Giving You Up" (the ballad version), "Steal Your Heart", "The Heart Never Learns", and "The Path of the Right Love." All of these songs, in my opinion, deal with the truth of love in it's purest form. It is not something that is constantly romantic and perfect, but an emotion filled with as much pain as pleasure. "The Path of the Right Love" especially deals with the unconditional love that the world needs more of. My favorite lyric on this song is "I do believe, If we share this life, We must learn to share, All its pain and strife." Take from that what you will. Musically this album has a very different style than her former English albums. The flavor is more Latin than Pop and has very interesting interweavings of Afro-Cuban rhythms that only her Spanish Language albums have had to date. This is my favorite Gloria album, so far.

After putting out INTO THE LIGHT in early 1991,Gloria Estefan released GREATEST HITS the following year,and two years later,HOLD ME THRILL ME KISS ME which is all cover tunes. In 1996,came DESTINY which is completely all her own(no covers or previously released material). The title track is cool. REACH is the only Top 20 hit from the album. I also like I KNOW YOU TOO WELL,YOU'LL BE MINE(PARTY TIME),I'M NOT GIVING YOU UP and HIGHER. ALONG CAME YOU is an ode to Gloria's daughter Emily(yes,Emilio is her father). All the other songs are good.

It's a little different from her earlier CD's. The songs have a more spiritual and mystical sound. There are chants and Afro-Cuban rhythms, but at the same time it's very much an adult-contemporary pop CD.