Pop: Juanes - La Vida Es Un Ratico

If there's one hit factory in Latin America these days, it's Juanes. His characteristical mixture of poprock with traditional Colombian music has been successful all over the world. The release of his newest, La Vida Es Un Ratico, proves his globalness: today it's issued simultaneously in 77 countries. And as if his 12 Grammys and 8 million sold albums aren't enough, he now has his own statue and will sing at the Nobel Peace Prize concert - for the second time.

The numbers are staggering, but is the music too? His favorite producer, Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla, was in the engineering seat again - which is a quality guarantee like no other (Café Tacuba, Calle 13, Babel, Brokeback Mountain). And where Un Día Normal and Mi Sangre were in the same poppy élan as Juanes' debut Fíjate Bien, his newest effort definitely bets on a changed public - romantic souls and rock lovers.

The diversity of La Vida Es Un Ratico becomes clear from the start: the album opens with "No Creo En El Jamás", heavy on the guitar side and throwing in some interesting synth stuff. Juan Esteban also shows some maturity on the lyrical side. More greasy riffs on "Difícil", a true rock ballad with delightful Santaolalla strings.

First single "Me Enamora" and catchy vallenato fusion "Tres" work on the legs. Typical Juanes songs that have 'world hit' written all over them. Less typical, and working more on the corazon than the legs: Juanes new-found love for romantic ballads. I've already mentioned "Dificil", but the best song on the album must be "Minas Piedras". It starts off with a delicate piano and soothing strings, underscoring the misery of Colombia's land mine problematics. Then Andrés Calamaro joins in, his rougher voice a great counterpart for Juanes' smooth vocals. And eventually it turns out to be a tropical ballad, steel drum included!

There seems to be a catchy riff or memorable melody in every song, but there are some serious stinkers on La Vida as well. Ballads like "Hoy Me Voy" and "Gotas de Agua Dulce" are boring, overflowing with cheap sentiment. And "Bandera De Manos" has the lead singer of German band Die Toten Hosen singing in Spanish - a crime against humanity. This smells like a marketing move, if you know Germans usually buy lots of Juanes albums!

So if you're not grown tired of his ubiqitous voice yet, and forgive him for the stinkers above, you know what to do! La Vida Es Un Ratico is not just a pale commercial release to keep the money coming. Of course the corazones and amores are never far away, but in contrary to other poprock stars (*cough*Maná*cough*), Juanes keeps trying new stuff: a rocky edge, pure piano ballads, team up with Andrés Calamaro... La Vida Es Un Ratico doesn't have a "Camisa Negra", but it's a quality record. The girls will adore his more romantic side, the guys will like the rocky edge, and -let's be honest- everybody will love his singles no matter how much we hear 'em!

Juanes - Minas Piedras mp3 buy@iTunes buy@Amazon
Juanes - Tres mp3 buy@iTunes buy@Amazon
Juanes - Me Enamora: