In May 2008, Machete Music simultaneously released two live CDs by
Rocío Banquells:
Nací Para Ti: Baladas and
Nací Para Ti: Rancheras. While the latter emphasizes traditional Mexican ranchera music,
Nací Para Ti: Baladas focuses on the thing that
Banquells is best known for: romantic Latin pop.
Banquells can be an expressive mariachi/ranchera vocalist when she puts her mind to it --
Nací Para Ti: Rancheras bears that out -- but at the end of the day, Latin pop is the thing that has done the most to define her as a performer. People who buy her CDs are often the same people who enjoy
Marco Antonio Solís,
José José,
Joan Sebastian,
Julio Iglesias,
Juan Gabriel, and the late
Rocío Dúrcal, and that romantic perspective serves
Banquells well on inspired performances of "Abrázame" ("Hug Me"), "No Soy una Muñeca" ("I'm Not a Doll"), "Amantes" ("Lovers") and "Con Él" ("With Him").
Banquells also performs Spanish-language versions of two
Andrew Lloyd Webber-associated songs: "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" (from Evita) and "Memory" (from Cats). Both of those Broadway standards previously appeared on
Banquells' 1990 studio album Un Sueño Alguna Vez, which was devoted entirely to Spanish-language versions of theatrical songs and is widely regarded as one of her best releases; "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and "Memory" have been major crowd-pleasers for
Banquells ever since, and the inclusion of live versions on
Nací Para Ti: Baladas is a definite plus. Admirers of
Banquells' Latin pop output will find a lot to appreciate on this engaging disc. ~ Alex Henderson