On his first recording in four years and 24th overall, Puerto Rican pop star
Chayanne goes for broke on
En Todo Estaré. The set was produced by Afo Verde, Sony Latin Music's CEO for the Iberian Peninsula, whose own résumé displays credits for helming records by
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs,
Soda Stereo, and
Diego Torres, to name just three. Led by the innovative smash hit single "Humanos a Marte," a song that walks a wide line between Latin pop and contemporary country, the album is of remarkable musical variety and performance polish, yet retains the vocalist's greatest strengths: his instantly communicable warmth and passion. Whether it's the fist-pumping dance number "Madre Tierra (Oye)" that opens the set, the slick cumbia "Bailando Dos Corazones," the midtempo power ballad "Tu Respiración," the dramatic love song "En Todo Estaré," or the anthemic "Infinita Tú," imagination and versatility mark this as one of
Chayanne's finest in a decade. The closer, "Infinita Tú," is a roiling, funky, big-beat cumbia with layers of synths, ferociously programmed beats, and a pulsing bassline all challenging each other, though it's
Chayanne's voice that ultimately dominates them all with its sheer force of emotion.
En Todo Estaré is a welcome creative return. ~ Thom Jurek