Customer Reviews

Anthology

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As those of you in Digital America have noticed, I am a devoted Selena fan. Anthology is categorized into three groups: Pop, Mariachi, and Cumbia. Each disc is a different window into Selena's far-reaching talent. She could just as easily belt out a love song in Spanish as she could a deep dance groove in English. The best way to experience this collection is to play each disc back to back. No two tracks are the same, yet her voice remains constant from one range to another. No female artist now or in the past, except maybe Patsy Cline, could hit a blues note so carefully and completely that you don't know you've been hit until you are under her spell.

When I bought this album in 1998, I was fairly unfamiliar with Selena's music, especially her earlier tunes. For any fan looking to dig back into the past, this collection is perfect. It is a true testament to Selena's versatility, and the genuis behind her producing brother A.B Quantinilla III.

The first disc that owns the heading "Pop/English" is full of just that, lilting ballads, thundering dance beats aned expert writing. Almost every track is dancable, including the geniusly remixed "Disco Medley" that focuses on the best-sung disco covers from Selena's original live perfomance. Along with a giddy cover of La Bamba and a firey rendition of "Getting Used To You", there are surprisingly rare English pop songs that are again a testamant to what Selena could have become in the English Market.

Under the "Mariachi" bill, the second disk is less impressive, but still emotional. The song "Dame Tu Amor" is one of the best in the anthology, and it's remixed version is far better than it's orignal conception. Unlike the first disk, the mariachi disk focuses mainly on Selena's early recordings, where talent is very evident, but not quite developed. While Selena's vocals are never flat, they are less interesting.

The Cumbia disk (the third disk) is a mix of giddy dance beats and remixed pop ballads that come to life. This seems to be the only disk in the collection that lives up to just what an "Anthology" means---the best of the best. With the dancable "La Llamada", the great vocal performance on "No Debes Jugar" and a little "Corazoncito" thrown in, it hits the jackpot.

Over all, the "Selena Anthology" is a collection of remastered, older material with a song for every taste. But unfortunately, it doesn't always live up to its name. If this is supposed to be the best of Selena, then where is "Como la Flor?" Where is "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" on the cumbia disk? And where, for god's sake, is "Dreaming of you" and "I Could Fall in Love" on the pop disk? It just doesn't make any sense. While this is certainly a must-have for Selena fans, and proves to be a great collection of great music, don't bill it as an "Anthology" if you don't truly have the best of the best.
Otherwise, kudos to the Quantinillas.

Well i knew i would love this cd anyway becuase it is Selena! But there were lots of great surprises, lots of the songs are her older, much rarer ones. Alot of the newer ones were mixed, i quite like the new version of 'Amame' and 'No queiro saber'. Most of the songs have had a little brushing up but more drastically on 'I'm getting used to you' etc. I think it is good there were remixes since lots of Selena fans have the original already! There were some English songs too like 'Always mine' which is the first song Selena did in English, but also included a bit of Spanish. And i love the mix 'Don't throw away my love'. 'La bamba' has also been given the remix treatment and sounds better than ever! The whole cd is brilliant but i especially liked 'La puerta se cerro' it is a very upbeat classic song, it sounds like Si Una vez in this version! Buy it if you are used to Selenas older music , if u are a Selena beginner buy 'All my hits todos mis exitos'.

This cd box set shows the true Selena. It takes you on a trip from when Selena was just a local band called Selena y Los Dinos opening for La Mafia to a bonafid Tejano megastar. Selena was an icon for so many Mexican and American fans. We loved her so much and were very sad to see such an icon taken from us in a matter so senseless and stupid that we still don't understand it.The album released right after her death Dreaming of You was a look at where she was heading but this box set shows where she had been and where she was going. Going from Mexican based rancheras, pop covered english language hits, to the dance hall hits. This a wonderful album for any Selena fan or anyone wondering who she was. Selena, We will never forget the impact that you had on all our lives.We all will be thinking of you always. SEIMPRE SELENA!

Though, I didn't start listening to the beautiful, soulful, talented and incomparable Selena until after she died as a result of the bullet from the gun of Yolanda Saldivar, she will always be alive in my heart.

This 3 CD collection is a great cross-section of the styles Selena added plenty of sabor (flavor) to. These are just a few of her many hits....I don't think three CDs is nearly enough room to capture all of the beautiful melodies she recorded and interpreted for us, her loving audience. Here, we have Pop, Mariachi and Techno Cumbia (a very popular genre in Tex Mex and Mexicana music).

Though, I am not a huge fan of techno, Selena made me want to listen to it anyway. The first CD is filled with pop songs that could definitely carry you over to the dance floor. The best songs on this album are "La Bamba" and "Yo Fui Aquella." This is because they best capture the lively energy Selena added to both old pop hits ("La Bamba") and original ranchera ("Yo Fui Aquella"). The other songs also have this energy, but in my opinion these two are outstanding tunes.

The Mariachi album, on the other hand, feels like the heartbeat of the Mexican musical experience and is a great introduction for people new to this genre and a real treasure for those who have loved these songs for generations (as well as the new material written especially for Selena). What amazes me the most is Selena's versatility--even at a young age--to capture the emotions and tone of these songs even at the tender age of fourteen. This is especially apparent in the songs "Raima Caida" and "Quiero Estar Contigo."

The third and final album is filled with totally fun techno cumbia tunes that will get your feet moving even if you have never danced to this type of music before. My favorite songs (which are also filled with fun lyrics--for all of you Spanish speakers) are "Salta La Ranita" and "Baila Esta Cumbia."

Enjoy this album! Keep the spirit of Selena alive.

Selena will forever live on through her music, and this boxed set of her best shows why. More than just a tribute to the slain star who was so cruelly taken from us, it's a salute to the talent of her band. A.B. Quintanilla's musical genius is evident as well as Suzette's fabulous drumming and Chris Perez's signature guitar on these tracks. A must have for Selena fans, and even those who don't understand Spanish will enjoy dancing along! Muy bueno!

what with all the hype and fuss, praise and criticism surrounding this anthology, i really don't see how you can find fault: this album, though not definitively, because inevitably songs had to be omitted, is still nevertheless, the life of Selena: besides, if you feel this collection isn't authentic or definitive enough, there are plenty of her other songs available in numerous compilations, and in their original, un-remixed form. i think this album purposely omits some of the more obvious hits because they are already quite known and available on nearly every album of hers in some form or another. i think with anthology, her family wanted to create an unusual bouquet, one that would come as a surprise, albeit a welcome one, to fans, and possess a unique fragrance this album does. i am so glad the Quintanilla's have made this, even if many claim that everyone's just "jumping on the bandwagon" to make yet MORE money off of Selena's death- how cliché! if your daughter, who possessed an infinite ocean of talent exuding magnetism, radiance, unfathomable depth, and earth-shaking soul and passion, and brought joy to so many people, had her life taken away, you'd want to keep her memory alive, too. if not for yourself, than certainly for the fans, and what better way to do that than through re-creating and re-producing her music?? i personally, as one of many millions of her fans, cannot complain, i can only be comforted by the fact that a new compilation is released in her name each year, because in a strange sort of way, it does have a comforting effect on you, almost as if she is still alive, because selena was one of those rare people who radiated every bit of her energy, which translated through her voice to the audience, whether in recording or in live performance- she was that incredible. so to have a new piece of her musical legacy, is like keeping her flame burning- and no matter what the occasion, any album of hers is a joy to hear. with this particular reincarnation, "anthology", it helps the listener catch a rare glimpse of the singer in her early years as well as her most recent ones- yes some of her classics take on new and different forms, but it's still the same selena, spirit and all, and every song is like a rose petal. at first, the succession of songs from each disc to the next took some getting used to, because everything is so strikingly different as evidence for the immense versatility which she possessed, but then i came to realize that each piece, whatever the color, whatever the emotion it painted for you, turned out to create a beautiful rainbow- a soundscape for all the colors of her life, past and present, and then this album seemed to become a seamless masterpiece embodying the bright star that Selena was and still continues to be, for even in death, she is alive.

In response to a previous reviewers comments, Anthologies of artists CAN be a collection of their greatest hits, but they can also be retrospectives of their careers, which is what Selena's "Anthology" is. Instead of collecting all of her # 1 hits, it shows Selena fans everything about her: from her early beginnings ("Corazoncito") to her later material ("Captive Heart").

This 3-CD set is a perfect collection for fans and music lovers to see who Selena was in her beginnings, and who she was before her tragic death. For a complete collection of her # 1's check out "All My Hits - Todos Mis Exitos" and "All My Hits - Todos Mis Exitos Vol.2". But as far as doing Selena's wide range of talents justice, "Anthology" has done a terrific job at doing that.

This Anthology is truly amazing. The songs range from her early work, to right before her death. I have already worn out one set of this on cassette tape, and am planning on buying the set in audio CD. I highly recommend this for any Selena fans. It is well worth the money.

I love Selena. She had an enchanting voice that awed us all. Her CD is just superb with the glowing success of "I Could Fall in Love" and the title track, "Dreaming of You" which is a favorite of mine. Long time ago, I told my parents about the movie "Selena" and so we rented it. We were shocked by the ending and couldn't help watching it another time. My parents immediately went to the store and grabbed her CD. She has since been their favorite pop artist. I still find my parents and myself sneaking the CD into the stereo because it is just so irrisistible! Selena touched so many people and it is a shame she died. She was a beautiful young lady with a one-of-a-kind voice. Her melody fills my living room with rich music and the Spanish songs are even more vibrant. We will never forget the one and only Selena.