Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Where are the Thieves?", March 11, 2006
Shakira conquered Spanish-speaking audiences with the intriguing "Pies Descalzos", but it is this album that remains the most pivotal moment of her career. "Dónde Están los Ladrones?" was Shakira's breakthrough, the album that established her internationally as a unique force in the music industry.
All the compositions here are careful work, the work of a craftsman. For the first time, Shakira sounds like a pro, her lyrics rich with dreamy imagery and poetic inspiration, as well as a surprisingly acute internal rythym. There is sudden, new-found maturity in all of these tracks revealing for the first time a depth and complexity that Shakira lacked in her first moves.
There isn't much variety here. Fun loving tracks and soulful power ballads take up most of this album, which is a good thing because Shakira obviously carries them out astonishingly well, but it is also mildly unsettling because there seem to be a million subjects her developed voice could also be tackling. It's all good but some of it is decidedly unremarkable.
Obviously, her favorite topic is love, the fuel behind many of these songs, like the moving "Tu". "Inevitable" the only song on this album which she hasn't written or co-written is particularly strong and catchy, as well. "Si Te Vas" boasts a performance worthy of the highest respect. In the hands of a lesser singer, a lot of the material here might have drowned in sap, but Shakira sings like a woman, not a teen queen.
Shakira's difference from her pop peers is evident more than ever in her breathtaking, Arabic tribute, the megahit "Ojos Asi". Shakira's version of desire and love is nothing like the usual bees and butterflies. Abandoning all that pretense, she goes for the raw emotion. She is a passionate, seductive and driven huntress. And if we listeners are her prey, she's a mighty good one as well.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!, April 16, 2006
I got this album after I bought Oral Fixation Vol.2 and this is a BEAUTIFUl album with majestic and wonderfully written songs that make you want to dance along. Her songs are beautifully written and touch you deep in the heart. Buy this album if you're considering it!!!
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
this is Shakira's breakthrough album..., August 21, 2005
There are some albums you listen to that truly speak to your heart and permeate your soul. "Donde Estan Los Ladrones" is one of those albums. This was Shakira's second major rock album release in this country (she had released two earlier albums in her country, Colombia, as a young singer at the ages of thirteen and sixteen).
The sound on the album is a combination of smooth, melodious guitar riffs, powerful, ironic lyrics and definitely a distinctive latin flavor. The first song, "Ciega, Sordomuda" (Blind and Mute), has what sounds like mariachi horns at the beginning, along with a dance beat. This is an energizing beginning to a stirring album. What I love about Shakira's distinctive sound, is her ability to mix power ballads ("Si Te Vas," "Ne Creo," "Que Vuelvas") with softer, more demure, slower songs ("Moscas En La Casa," "Inevitable"--which starts out slow and builds speed, "Sombra De Ti"). Of course, one of the most well known songs is "Ojos Asi." This tune was a huge hit back in her native country of Colombia, and here in the States. It combines a wonderful Lebanese-flavored musical arrangement (Shakira is half Lebanese), great percussion and a combination of Spanish and Arabic lyrics. You will be mesmerized.....This album is amazing!!!! You need to listen to it.
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