cletta1201's Full Review: Gloria! by Gloria Estefan
Even just by average standards, Gloria Estefan has had an amazing career. Spanning the decades with The Miami Sound Machine and then branching out into being an accomplished solo artist, Estefan has much to envy. Born in Cuba as Gloria Fajardo, what is most appealing about Estefan is that she seems to have never forgotten where she came from. All of her albums stand as a tribute to the music of Cuba with reflections of other parts of her life (Miami and America in general).
Gloria! released in 1998 is perhaps one of the most interesting Estefan albums. It seems to be the most reflective of Estefan’s personality –there is an obvious love of dance music but those Latin elements that really engage you as a listener. “Gloria!” is light, free, completely uplifting and generally fun to listen to.
- Track Listing -
1. Heaven’s What I Feel
2. Don’t Stop
3. Oye
4. Real Woman
5. Feelin’
6. Don’t Release Me
7. Don’t Let This Moment End
8. Touched By An Angel
9. Lucky Girl
10. I Just Wanna Be Happy
11. Cuba Libre
12. Feelin’ [Love To Infinity Remix]
13. Don’t Release Me [Wyclef Jean Remix]
14. Heaven’s What I Feel [Corazón Prohibido Remix]
15. Cuba Libre [Spanish/ Pablo Flores Remix]
16. Oye [Spanish/ Pablo Flores Remix]
From the moment the first beat drops on ”Heaven’s What I Feel”, the music of “Gloria!” is energizing. “Heaven” isn’t necessarily one of my favorite tracks on the album, but the music is good. It seems that the lyrics might be to heavy for the music, but it’s not terrible. ”Oye” is impossible not to like – the beat, the lyrics, the music its all contagious. If “Oye” comes on and you don’t’ start moving, you need to check your pulse – the song is big on dance elements but manages to incorporate the big horns that are found in Latin and more particularly – Salsa.
”Feelin’” sounds like it was made in 1985 and got a facelift. It conjures images of neon clothes and blue eye shadow and that’s a good feeling. Everyone can say how much they hated the 80’s, but they were a fun and carefree time – and this song encapsulates that. My favorite track and the one that surprised is ”Don’t Release Me”. Featuring Wyclef Jean (an unlikely comparison), Estefan’s vocals are so syrupy and seductive on this that I can smile and look past Wyclef’s cornball raps. Even better is the remix version of this song that exudes sex appeal.
”Lucky Girl” is a surprise once the music breaks because the first few moments are a bit deceptive as to the real sound of the song. Like some of its counterparts it has that “big band” sound on the chorus while the main parts of the song are grounded in electric/dance music. ”I Just Wanna Be Happy” reminds me of a parade or a football game because it’s so happy. Think of the music when a team scores a touchdown that the band plays, and that’s the feel of this.
- An Album Within An Album -
Because this is a dance album, the moments pass by really quickly but fear not because 5 of the albums song are remixed for your extended listening pleasure. In addition to the aforementioned “Don’t Release Me” - ”Feelin” is an excellent remix. It gets sped up even more than it’s original and gets an extended mix. ”Oye” which is moving on its own also gets picked up and sung in Spanish for a little more flare. Remix might be a bit of a misnomer for most of the songs because they all maintain they’re original integrity but because the album is fast – it’s nice to have it all together.
- Final Thoughts -
While “Gloria!” won’t solve world peace, it will make you dance. Gloria Estefan has established herself as an excellent dance music diva and created a solid album. Some of the albums songs aren’t really anything special but in context, you don’t even mind that they’re a little less than stellar.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out
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