Notes & Personnel Info |  | On 2008's PALABRAS DEL SILENCIO, Luis Fonsi's first studio album in three years, the Puerto Rican-born performer presents an assured set of Spanish-language pop tunes. Highlights of the outing include the bright, dramatic "No Me Doy Por Vencido" and "Todo Vuelve a Empezar," a pensive duet with Italian singer Laura Pausini. | | On his sixth album, Palabras del Silencio, Luis Fonsi continues to establish himself as one of Latin pop's most accomplished vocalists, one who is not only popular but creative. In several ways, his previous album, Paso a Paso (2005), was a breakthrough effort. With the exception of the English-language crossover album Fight the Feeling (2002), all of his prior albums were commercially successful, beginning with his debut album, Comenzar? (1998). It wasn't until Paso a Paso, however, that Fonsi took creative control of his music. On that album he co-wrote all of the songs except three, collaborated with producer Sebasti n Krys, and spiced up his music with electric guitars and other unexpected sounds. The resulting album not only spawned a series of hit singles ("Nada Es Para Siempre," "Estoy Perdido," "Por Una Mujer," "Vivo Muriendo," "Paso a Paso") and led to a greatest-hits release, Exitos: 98:06 (2006); it was also critically acclaimed and established Fonsi as one of Latin pop's most accomplished vocalists. Palabras del Silencio is essentially a continuation of all that Fonsi accomplished with Paso a Paso: he is credited with co-writing all of the 13 songs, he collaborates once again with Sebasti n Krys (plus producers Armando Avila and Jacobo Calder¢n), and he adopts unexpected musical styles (e.g., the ranchera accents of lead single "No Me Doy por Vencido"). Also like Paso a Paso, Palabras del Silencio includes a bounty of potential hit singles. The aforementioned lead single, "No Me Doy por Vencido," is a clear highlight, its soaring chorus almost breathtaking. Other highlights include "Quien Le Va Decir," "Llueve por Dentro," "Aunque Est?s con El," and "La Mentira" -- in other words, the first half of the album is full of standouts. While the second half of the album isn't as stellar, it includes plenty of notable songs, particularly "Todo Vuelve a Empezar," a duet between Fonsi and multilingual Italian superstar Laura Pausini that is a true collaboration -- written as well as sung together by the two -- and there's also "Aqui Estoy Yo," which features a quartet of international all-stars -- Fonsi (Puerto Rico), Aleks Syntek (Mexico), David Bisbal (Spain), and Noel Schajris (Argentina) -- and "Tienes Razon," a ballad that closes the album on a beautiful note. ~ Jason Birchmeier |
Musical Guests | | Laura Pausini | | David Bisbal | | Aleks Syntek | | Noel Schajris | | MJ | | German Montero |
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