4.0 out of 5 stars
Great songs; great potential; poor execution, poor follow through, and overall inconsistent effort., November 25, 2011
If I weren't the only one reviewing this record, I would have given it three stars. Please be advised that this record has very high high points and fairly low lows. All the songs are good efforts and some are awesome. "Una Vez Mas", "Enredada de Amor", and certain others in concept live up to the standard set by "Conciencia". Others, such as the conventional Son, "Son de un Amigo" and "El Vivo y el Bobo" are very strong, though not top-level genius of the best of this record and "Consciencia". The ballads are inoffensive, though not really worth hard listens. In fairness, strong Timba ballads are inexplicably rare.
The problem lies in the details. The mixes are bad. The piano is dismally low in the mix throughout and the bass drum pops (as in popping in the tape...in a bad way). The new pianist is no Sergio Norona, although he's very capable. He seems to be trying too hard to match Norona's genius tumbaos, often resulting in scatterbrained efforts, but sometimes resulting in hard-earned brilliance. Overall, four stars is not overly generous, but fans should not expect another Consciencia.
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