Customer Reviews

Nada Como El Sol

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, I must commend Sting for his excellent pronunciations and rolling of the r's in Spanish; He sang the lyrics in two beautiful and romantic foreign languages without chopping the words or meanings like so many other English or American artists do without the proper training or knowledge of a language or dialect. He sounded very authentic !

Fragilidad/ Fragil (Fragile) is such a tranquil and peaceful song. Yet, the meaning behind the lyrics are anything but.The classical guitar interprets the contents of the song beautifully; It speaks out to you. For me,personally, the song is a Sting classic !

Si Estamos Juntos (We'll Be Together) is not a favorite of mine due to it's quirky late 80's pop sound.However, it serves as a counterpoint or balance to the rest of the album's melancholy and relaxed mood.

Mariposa Libre, as a a previous reviewer stated, is a gem !

Nada Como El Sol deserves more than 5 stars...Especially for its Spanish/Portuguese interpretations as well !

Este compacto muestra bien los talentos de Sting. Aunque su accento no sea perfecto, su estilo es tan magico en espanol que en ingles. Las canciones Fragilidad y Fragil (versiones en espanol y portugues) son tan bellas. Solo hay 5 canciones, pero vale la pena comprarlo.

I bought this years ago on cassette and more or less wore it out. To this day, I enjoy the Spanish version of "Fragile" more than his English version.

I agree with some others that Sting's delivery in Spanish leaves something to be desired. But it ain't all THAT bad, particularly for someone who's not a native speaker. The purists will always be irritated by it. But I happen to enjoy listening to Sting sing in Spanish because I can understand the lyrics better. He annunciates each word more so than a native Spanish speaker would.

Melodically, some of the songs sound like they were made to be sung in Spanish. Listening to "Fragil/Fragilidad," with its delicate guitar, I can almost imagine the Spanish countryside. And it goes without saying that "Ellas Danzan Solas (Cuecas Solas)" is awesome in the language of the people about whom Sting is singing. Also, having lived in Chile for two years myself, this song is particularly moving; even though the dictatorship is long over, its residual effects are still ever-present.

I just wish Sting had left off "Si Estamos Juntos" ("We'll Be Together") -- it sounds misplaced among the other songs. I would've much preferred "History Will Teach Us Nothing" or even "Be Still My Beating Heart."

P.S. Contrary to what another reviewer said, "danzar" IS a word in Spanish, a synonym for "bailar". I suspect this word was used as it probably sounds better lyrically than "bailar" does, even if it is less commonly used.

Four Spanish versions and one Portuguese Version of songs of the album „... Nothing Like The Sun". The translation seems to be worked out well. The songs are personal, sensitive and touching. The voice of Sting is not only in English unique.

It is clear to me that what Sting wanted to do, translating some of the songs of "Nothing but the Sun" (just 5 to be precise, and Fragile is translated in both Spanish and Portuguese), was to give an opportunity, to those who don't speak English, to experience what the album is all about. The translations are as literal as possible, which could be a good or bad thing. Good for the people who, for example, have NBTS and love the melodies, but don't understand bologna of what he's saying. Bad for people like me, who know the language (sort of...) and wanted something new. Either way, I have to admit that S. really obtained exactly what he wanted from the album (from what I see). And last but not least, who is this guy who wrote that "Danzar" doesn't exist in Spanish? I just wanted to give him an advice:
Don't talk about things you don't know about!!! Thanx

Of all Sting's CDs, I'd have to say that this one is my favourite.

If anything, "Ellas Danzan Solas" is the most powerful track on the CD especially the part sung by Ruben Blades. It is a tribute and a memorial to the tens of thousands of people who died in the General's torture chambers in Chile and Argentina during the 1970s and 80s.

This CD is a must have.

All songs on NADA COMO EL SOL are from the NOTHING LIKE THE SUN album but are sung in either Portuguese or Spanish. Producers: Jose Quintana, Bryan Loren, Sting. It's difficult to gauge whether NADA COMO EL SOL was a marketing ploy or a heartfelt attempt at crossover. In 1988, Sting re-recorded his vocals for five songs from his smash NOTHING LIKE THE SUN album in Spanish and Portuguese. In many ways, the decision makes aesthetic sense, as the original songs all have Latin-tinged arrangements, and Der Stingle himself seems quite at ease with the translations. Whether one really needs to own NADA COMO EL SOL, however--anymore than, say, Peter Gabriel's German version of "Shock the Monkey"-is debatable, though the set will certainly appeal to completists and those fluent in Spanish and/or Portuguese.

To "a music fan from virginia", the word "danzar" is a spanish word that can be found in any spanish diccionary. Danzar means "to dance", and a fine dancer would be "Danzador/Danzadora".
Bailar also means Dance, but in a more informal way.

I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH OR PORTUGESE BUT THIS IS THE BEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL STING ALBUM THERE IS!!

I bought this when it first came out while I was in college. This is a selection of songs from Nothing Like the Sun, translated into spanish (and portuguese, in one case). A lot of fun to hear the songs in this format. I used to blast this and the two German Peter Gabriel albums into the dorm courtyard. One friend made the comment, "I hate that, I'm starting to sing along and then I realize the words are all different."

Note that the songs are not really re-arranged. This isn't meant to be a "Latin music" album. It's simply a translation. Little wing, in its spanish version, Mariposa Libre, is, I think the cream of this crop and worth the price of admission for this track alone.