Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Alexandre Pires, Rosario, Alejandro Sanz (vocals); Claudio De Vechi, Dan Warner (acoustic & electric guitars); Rene Toledo (guitar); | | Miami Symphonic Strings (strings); Marcelo Martins (alto saxophone); | | Ze Carlos (tenor saxophone); Jesse Sadock (trumpet); Bob Benozzo (keyboards, synthesizer); Clay Perry, Danilo Ballo (keyboards); Jeff Broderick (synthesizer); Paulo Valderama, Armando Gola (bass); Elio Rivagli, | | Orlando Hernandez (drums); Nelson Cano, Danny Costa (percussion); Juan Vicente Zambrano, Bob Benozzo (programming); Aldo Gouveia, Danny Grace, Carlinhos Pessoa (background vocals). | | Producers include: Emanuelle Ruffinengo, Danilo Ballo, Juan Vicente Zambrano, Rey Nerio, Julio Reyes. | | ESTRELLA GUIA was nominated for the 2003 Latin Grammy Award for Album Of The Year, and for Best Male Pop Vocal Album. | | Personnel: Alexandre Pires, Rosario, Alejandro Sanz (vocals); Claudio De Vechi, Dan Warner (acoustic & electric guitars); Rene Toledo (guitar); | | Marcelo Martins (alto saxophone); Ze Carlos (tenor saxophone); Jesse Sadock (trumpet); Bob Benozzo (keyboards, synthesizer); Clay Perry, Danilo Ballo (keyboards); Jeff Broderick (synthesizer); Paulo Valderama, Armando Gola (bass); Elio Rivagli, Orlando Hernandez (drums); Nelson Cano, Danny Costa (percussion); Juan Vicente Zambrano, Bob Benozzo (programming); Aldo Gouveia, Danny Grace, Carlinhos Pessoa (background vocals). | | Producers include: Emanuelle Ruffinengo, Danilo Ballo, Juan Vicente Zambrano, Rey Nerio, Julio Reyes. | | ESTRELLA GUIA was nominated for the 2003 Latin Grammy Award for Album Of The Year, and for Best Male Pop Vocal Album. | | This release includes a bonus DVD. | | Personnel: Alexandre Pires, Rosario, Alejandro Sanz (vocals); Claudio De Vechi, Dan Warner (acoustic & electric guitars); Rene Toledo (guitar); | | Miami Symphonic Strings (strings); Marcelo Martins (alto saxophone); | | Ze Carlos (tenor saxophone); Jesse Sadock (trumpet); Bob Benozzo (keyboards, synthesizer); Clay Perry, Danilo Ballo (keyboards); Jeff Broderick (synthesizer); Paulo Valderama, Armando Gola (bass); Elio Rivagli, | | Orlando Hernandez (drums); Nelson Cano, Danny Costa (percussion); Juan Vicente Zambrano, Bob Benozzo (programming); Aldo Gouveia, Danny Grace, Carlinhos Pessoa (background vocals). | | Producers include: Emanuelle Ruffinengo, Danilo Ballo, Juan Vicente Zambrano, Rey Nerio, Julio Reyes. | | ESTRELLA GUIA was nominated for the 2003 Latin Grammy Award for Album Of The Year and for Best Male Pop Vocal Album. | | Personnel: Alexandre Pires (percussion); Dan Warner, Cl udio DeVecchi (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Rene Toledo, Adri n Martinez (guitar); Dayan Abad (electric guitar); Alejandro Sanz (Spanish guitar, tres); Antonio Carmona (Spanish guitar, percussion); Jose Miguel Carmona (Spanish guitar); Marie Christine S. Bessler, Jesuina Noronha Passaroto (violin, viola); Jorge Salim, Carlos Eduardo Hack, Alexandre Cunha, Joao Daltro, Helena Akiku Imasato, Paschoal Perrota, Mauricio Takeda, Cristian Rapp, Rog?rio Rosa, Alejandro Ramirez, Glauco Imasato, Rick Amado, Heitor Fujinami, Bernardo Bessler, Michel Bessler, Jose Alves (violin); Ricardo Kubala, Alejandro DeLeon (viola); Alceu Reis, Zigmunt Kubala, Marcio Eymard Malard, Braulio Lima (cello); Miami Symphonic Strings, Pedro Alfonso (strings); Jose Carlos Ramos (flute, tenor saxophone); Marcelo Martins (alto saxophone); Jess? Sadoc (trumpet); Serginho Trombone (trombone); Emanuele Ruffinengo (piano, keyboards, programming); Tato Icasto (piano); Bruno Zuchetti, Bob Benozzo (keyboards, bass synthesizer, programming); Danilo Ballo (keyboards, programming, background vocals); Clay Perry (keyboards, programming); Pedro Ferreira, Lincoln Olivetti (keyboards); Jeff Broderick (guitar synthesizer); Chocolate, Angie Bao, Elio Rivagli, Lee Levin, Orlando Hernandez (drums); La?rcio Da Costa, Danny Costa, Nelson Cano, Luis Dulzaides (percussion); Mauricio Gasca, Julio C. Reyes, Juan Vincente Zambrano (programming); Cinzia Astolfi, Tommy Anthony, Aldo Gouveia, Carlinhos Pessosa, Liliana Rodriguez, Jerjes Valero, Cecilia Leskovar, Lena P?rez, Daniel Grace, Wendy Pedersen (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Andres Bermudez; Gustavo Celis; Carlos Alvarez ; Danilo Ballo; Bruce Weeden. | | Recording information: Altavox Studio, Milan, Italy; Estudio Mosh, Brazil; Macondo Studios, Miami, FL; Midas Studio; Midnightblue Studios, Miami, FL; Mosh Studio, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Nikto Studio, Milan, Italy; North Bay Recording Studios, Miami Beach, FL; Outline Studios; Sonoland, Spain; Studio AR, Brazil; Studio Be Bop, Brazil; The Hit Factory (Criteria), Miami, FL; Trendy Studios, Italy. | | Directors: Pedro Ferreira; Rudy P?rez. | | Photographer: Marcelo Faustini. | | Arrangers: Bruno Zuchetti; Emanuele Ruffinengo; M. Alejandro; Pedro Ferreira; Rudy P?rez; Julio C. Reyes; Danilo Ballo; Juan Vincente Zambrano; Lincoln Olivetti. | | On his third solo outing, Brazilian crooner Alexandre Pires, formerly lead vocalist of Sopra Catarira, continues to issue his albums in both his native Portuguese and in Spanish. Interestingly enough, it is his Spanish language recordings that sell the most. On Estrella Guia, Pires takes his now-trademark silky-smooth approach to Latin pop and, along with producer Adrian Posse, makes it slicker than ever (think Celine Dion). Unlike his earlier outings, there is nothing here to suggest that Pires is even from Brazil -- all notions of samba have disappeared and are instead covered in generic washes of synthesized strings, computerized percussion, and vocals so multi-tracked it's impossible to tell whether they are male or female. That said, Pires' voice counts for a lot. The songs themselves are beautiful Latin pop songs, heavy on the smoother-than-smooth balladry that makes singers like Marc Anthony so successful. The difference is that Pires is a better vocalist in the purest sense of the word than virtually any of his contemporaries. But even here, when he sings in Spanish instead of in his native tongue, the depth of his emotional expression is somewhat stilted, hence the different mixes of the albums -- the Portuguese one concentrates less on overblown arrangements. The two most successful moments here are in the duets "Solo Que Me Falta," with Alejandro Sanz, and "Inseguridad," with Rosario. On the former, the shimmering smooth jazz arrangement allows both men to pull out all the stops and juxtapose their voices with one another without competing. When the semi-funky rhythm kicks in on the second verse, they become inseparable as opposing forces. On the latter, a nuevo flamenco number, Pires is able to step out of the box he's placed himself in, and he goes deep into the tradition for his phrasing, allowing Rosario the pop refrain to balance the track -- in other words, to pull it away a bit from its folk influences. Other than these two moments, however, Estrella Guia is virtually interchangeable with his other solo recordings, beautifully executed but generic nonetheless. ~ Thom Jurek |
Engineer: Bruno Zuchetti; Andres Bermudez; Felipe Tichauer; Emanuele Ruffinengo; Nico Bloise; H?ctor Sagrario; Freddy Pi¤ero, Jr.; Gustavo Celis; Duda Mello; Alex Angeloni; Enrico Romano; Richard Serotta; Danilo Ballo; Bob Benozzo; Bruce Weeden |
Musical Guests | | Alejandro Sanz | | Rosario | | Rosarioledo | | Rene Toledo |
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