Rating:
Genre:
Latin
Release Date: 12/11/2007
From norteño to banda to mariachi, regional Mexican music has seriously dominated the roster of
Fonovisa Records and has been the Los Angeles-based company's bread and butter. But occasionally, the
Univision-distributed
Fonovisa steps outside of regional Mexican music;
Fonovisa has done it with
Noelia and
Arthur Hanlon, and they do it with Puerto Rican singer
Juan on his debut album,
Con Mi Soledad ("With My Loneliness"). There isn't a trace of norteño, banda, mariachi, duranguense, tierra caliente, grupero, tejano, or any other type of regional Mexican music on this late 2007 release;
Juan's focus is romantic Latin pop, and much of
Con Mi Soledad is devoted to what is essentially Latin adult contemporary. Ballads dominate this 35-minute CD, most of them power ballads. In fact, the term power ballad easily describes what
Juan does on
"Abandonados" ("Abandoned"),
"Buscando Tu Sombra" ("Searching for Your Shadow"),
"Devuélveme la Vida" ("Give Me Back My Life") and the title track. Not everything on
Con Mi Soledad is a ballad, however. For example,
"Así Es Mi Vida" ("That's What My Life Is Like") is one of the disc's more uptempo tracks, and that song is mildly salsa-ish even though it is a Latin pop tune first and foremost. But for the most part,
Con Mi Soledad doesn't have a strong tropical flavor.
Juan's primary stomping ground isn't salsa, merengue, bachata, or plena -- it's slick, glossy Latin pop with romantic adult contemporary leanings. And while the material on this disc is not earth shattering,
Con Mi Soledad is still a pleasant and competent debut from this Puerto Rican pop singer.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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