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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
OK, his Spanish isn't perfect, but the album's still great, November 25, 2001
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.
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