Customer Reviews

Oral Fixation Vol. 2

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

from the opening chant of "Our Father" through to the reprise of "La Tortura", which was obviously added to boost sales (as it was the biggest Spanish-language song since Los Lobos' "La Bamba" in 1987), Shakira takes us on a musical journey of many different styles and does a great job.

Track by track:
How Do You Do - part of it sounds almost too Avril Lavigne/Kelly Clarkson like, but the addition of religious imagery and various languages makes it a good track.

Illegal - the made-for-AC-radio ballad includes some fierce guitar playing by Carlos Santana. Very pretty and almost sounds like something from the 1980's

Hips Don't Lie - just added to the album... Shakira successfully did what the likes of J. Lo and Mariah have always failed to do when collaborated, she made Wyclef Jean assimilate to HER style of music, as opposed to her doing a hip hop number. A Latin-sounding booty-shaking fun track that is climbing the charts.

Animal City - one of the two most rocking tracks on the album, Shakira sings about celebrity and the way people change around her and become greedy.

The Day And The Time - a beautiful track about hope and redemption

Dreams For Plans - meloncholy but beautiful, with just a hint of Portishead trip-hop to the mix

Hey You - this sounds almost like something No Doubt would do, very fun song that you will tap your toes and sing along to, a potential single IMO.

Your Embrace - one of the saddest songs on the record, but another pretty melodic ballad

Costume Makes The Clown - instead of being the cheated... Shakira is the unfaithful one and she's trying to apologize to her boyfriend, a rocker

Something - Shakira sings in French and gives us another ballad, albeit more alternative sounding than the other tracks

Timor - this is the dance track, sounds a bit like a Madonna track. Shakira is singing about the oppressed and the government... even though she's singing about South America, I think Shakira's gay fanbase can definately adopt this track because it applies to them too... definately remix-worthy

La Tortura - this was one of the big hits last summer, added on the reissue to help boost sales (much like Hips Don't Lie), this is an alternate Spanglish mix with a little English thrown in

Not an award-worthy album and not a life-changer, but Shakira's album is still a very worthy listen and the second wind it's catching is well worth it and I hope this album holds on well. There's a little something for everyone, there are a few too many ballads, but the slow songs all work and are some of the best tracks here. Definate thumbs up.

I have been a Shakira fan since I was 14 years old with her smash hit album "Pies Descalzos". This album reminded me alot of "Pies Descalzos". At first, some of the songs were too slow and too deep in thought for me to actually sit there and listen to it like the song "Dreams for Plans" and "Illegal", but then, the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it. There are so many themes and interpretations of these songs. It is like an indepth novel which has many interpretations. It's not a fun, catchy album like "Laundry Service" so you actually have to read into the song to enjoy it. It is exceptionally well written and creative!
One thing I don't like is when she translates a song that she created in Spanish to English, such as "Someday" and "Day and the Time". These were beautiful in Spanish but horrible in English! My opinion, if you are looking for a clubby fun CD this is not the one for you. If you look to read into the music, then you will enoy this album.

For Shakira fans who supported her by buying the initial release of the album it's unfair to have to have a re-release with 2 new songs added. Next time I'll wait to buy her CD or just rip it from someone else. In this day and age when artists are constantly asking their fans to buy the CD instead of burning a copy from a friend, I would expect the artists to show some loyalty as well. I'm not buying the same CD twice for 2 extra songs, even though those 2 songs are probably the best on the album.

I liked the first version of the cd when it was released last year. Then they re-released it with 2 extra songs and I just had to re-buy it. "Hips Don't Lie" is a great dance song which spices up the album, which originally only had one "dance" type song on it. However, the sound quality of "Hips Don't Lie" for some reason sounds a little muffled like it was recorded cheaply, not cool. Total, the whole cd is fantastic. The only complaint I have is I wish they could have released the cd with ALL of the songs on it, i had to buy it twice, not cool. My feeling is, you have to be in the mood to hear Shakira, she is in a class of her own, she has a unique style of singing and her lyrics are deep and at times, bizarre. I like to play the cd from start to finish, it really puts you in Shakira's world. I am a new fan, and I hope Shakira's star continues to shine. She is one of the more creative artists around right now, and boy do we need that in pop music!!!! Go 'head Shakira.

A few things before the actual review:

as someone has already said, you can just get hips dont lie at shakira.com if you have the original cd..the album was not repackaged so the fans rebought it..it was repackaged to attract the people that had not bought it yet

(referring to "da man")

Timor is near Indonesia, not South America..but since she says no specifics, i can see how it can apply to south america as well as [...]

and costume makes the clown is not about a relationship with a man..it's about her relationship with the audience and her fans


How Do You Do: great opening with the prayers in english and latin (there are arabic and hebrew ones later in the song)..the music can get a little tiring but the lyrics don't - 9.5/10

Illegal: Good song, but can get boring to some - 8/10

Hips Dont Lie: the hit single from the album..the lyrics are much more superificial than any other shakira song, but that's what people like listening to on the radio..the music, although a cover, is great - 9/10

Animal City: nice lyrics and music, a mixture of various sounds - 9.5/10

Dont Bother: first single from the album..good rock/pop song - 8.5/10

The Day and the Time: one of the two tracks translated from vol. 1..the spanish version - one of the best songs on vol. 1 - is better but this one works too - 8.5/10

Dreams For Plans - great ballad with melancholic and nostalgic lyrics - 9/10

Hey You: very No Doubt sounding..a fun track with teasing lyrics and music - 9/10

Your Embrace: best ballad on the album, unless dreams for plans counts as one - 9/10

Costume Makes the Clown: great rock song about superficiality in the media and shakira's relationship with her fans.. - 9.5/10

Something - the other translation from vol. 1..this one also sounds in better in spanish but i would rather listen to this english version than the other (tdatt)..sweet song about shakira's passion for a previous lover - 8.5/10

Timor - in my opinion, one of best songs shakira has made..it is one of the few tracks that has both lyrics and music completely done by her (most have her writing the lyrics, but co-writing the music part)..the political lyrics are well-written, while the dance music is very catchy and the children's chorus is a good addition - 10/10

La Tortura (Alternate Version) - the all-spanish version is better but hey, it's just two lines..great lyrics and wonderful music..alejandro's voice is perfect for the lyrics - 9.5/10


Overall = 9/10

Musically, the first volume is a better listen, but lyrically, this album tops it's predecessor

Re-packaging her previous released and including extra-tracks that must have been in her original released. But well, Shakira's oral fixation Vol. 1 is compared to a more sweet jazzy groove sound that mixed with potential songs can be really good to hear in between of trashy pop we all hear on spanish radios. Oral Fixation Vol. 2 was a rock attempt to latin Diva tryin' to dig in her music likes and look for a very 80's rock grunge voice sound and actually sound very like that.

Don't Bother 1st single was actually one proof that Shakira was trying to go into the rock area but the song though very lyric interenst content and catchy sounds didn't manage to get over La Tortura hit single and just flopped to get into radio as her hit before. Don't Bother is one of her strong songs in the album but it's not the best one. How Do You Do deals with questions to God and was the song that was deleted off in many countries. Shakira goes into a very dark heavy choir sound and then do a very light rock song. Along with it comes Hey You, a very jazz funk mixed song that develops some fun into. Dreams for Plans is one of her best songs along with good lyric and a very deep sound.

Other songs that keeps the formula of Shakira's old ballads is Illegal which is almost a very much clone of Underneath Your Clothes and a childy song called Your Embrace which is a potential single. Dance political song Timor got the only big dance song on the album which does the set more interest. Obviously some songs just don't fit, Costume Makes The Clown is a heavy rock attempt but failed to bring a Shakira's vibe to the song and Animal City though is a great song just doesn't shine as well as the other songs. In this album extra-tracks version include heavily rythmitic Hips Don't Lie which was what her Vol. 2 needed to become a more Shakira album. The single is based on the sample of Amores Como El Nuestro and vocals of Wyclef Jean gives some exotic to it. A great vibe dancing song and La Tortura gives another dance vibe song but don't get whythey include that. No other song added thought they could do a big effort.

This extra-tracks idea comes from the low sales Shakira's been fronting for lack of promotion and no single types on Oral Fixation Vol. 2. Nice album. Get this one instead of the original package.

I've been a fan of Shakira for many years, and I believe that her first two albums, Pies Descalzos and Donde Estan los Ladrones, are still her best works by far. If you've watched Shakira grow since day one, then you probably won't enjoy this album, because this doesn't even compare to the old Shakira.

If you're a non-Spanish speaking American Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Madonna fan, then you'll probably enjoy this album. I mean, with all due respect, I only like one song on ths album (Don't Bother), and that's because it reminds me of "Si Te Vas," a song featured on Donde Estan los Ladrones. Everything else is just a mess.

I still love Shakira, but this album is a huge disappointment for her more mature fan base.

LISTEN EVERYBODY!

Have you been overcome with talk and praise for this album of Shakira's? Is that why you've finally decided to come onto Amazon and check out the reviews or to sample the tracks on this CD? Well your time will not be wasted if you buy this fantastic album! I was not a huge fan of Shakira before...sure I enjoyed some of her hits but I never considered myself a "fan" of Shakira. Buying this album changed my whole perspective on Shakira. This CD is chock-full of great tracks and songs and some of them blew me away. Timor is by far my favorite track on the album, and I would pay the full price of the CD if it only had this song on it! However, you get 12 more magnificent songs that cause you to shake what your momma gave you and still think about the beautifully sung lyrics that Shakira belts out effortlessy. The lyrics are all written by Shakira and most of the music is also done by her, talk about talent! You don't see Hilary Duff or Britney Spears doing that, do you? Of course not, they lack the authentic singer-songwriter knack that Shakira has! This Arabic-Colombian beauty has given birth to a masterpiece that I will enjoy for years and years to come. Do yourself a favor and get this album, otherwise you are depriving yourself of something that is very wonderful! I was a skeptic, but now I'm a hardcore fan of Shakira because this album is truly one of the best I've bought in a LONG time!

For those of you who have not heard Oral Fixation Vol. 1 or 2, the two are, to my ears, findamentally different. If you are looking for early Shakira, with the slow, melodic, soulful voice she is capable of, you're probably looking more for Vol. 1. On Vol.1, the only really up-tempo songs are the two versions of "La Tortura"

On the other hand, if you are looking for the more upbeat, dancable music that we have seen jump to the tops of the charts in the pop world, you're looking more for the Vol.2. And do make sure you get the re-released CD with "Hips Don't Lie". Wyclef and Shakira are both musicians to the core, and it shows through on this track. Yet on Volume 2, this is not the only track that shine.

Bottom line, both albums are impressively done, but each showcases a different side of Shakira's musical ability.

And, for the record, I like Vol. 2. :-D

I was also disappointed with this album. Then I heard Hips Don't Lie and wondered where to get it. Imagine my surprise that it's now on this album. Hmmmm...like other reviewers I got angry. So I thought I'd go to Shakira's website (shakira.com) and write an e-mail. But guess what? Right on the first page it lets you know that if you own either Oral Fixation album, you can download the song for free. All I had to do was pop the cd into the drive, the site recognized it, and boom....I now have the song. I'm much happier now!!!!