Just in time for the 2008 holiday shopping season, Universal Music Latino compiled the 14-track various-artists compilation
Super 1's seemingly at random, presumably for shelving on the end caps of big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, where undiscerning consumers might fall victim to an impulse purchase. Beginning for no good reason with regional Mexican veterans
Los Temerarios, the star-studded compilation careens helter-skelter from Latin pop (e.g.,
Enrique Iglesias) to reggaetón (
Wisin & Yandel) and then back to regional Mexican (
Marco Antonio Solís). In all fairness, the regional Mexican is wisely kept to a minimum and all of the songs compiled on
Super 1's are bona fide hits. Still, any way you look at it, the fact that
Los Temerarios commence a predominantly urban-oriented compilation featuring the likes of
Belanova and
Don Omar, and then the adult-oriented balladry of
Marco Antonio Solís shows up halfway through, is puzzling. Also worth noting, a couple of the biggest hits here (i.e.,
Enrique Iglesias' "Dimelo" and
Luis Fonsi's "No Me Doy por Vencido") are not showcased in their original versions as heard on the radio but rather as remixes heard seldom outside a dance club. Again, why these obscure remixes were compiled rather than their original versions is puzzling. A seemingly random compilation such as
Super 1's offers little value for the consumer. A randomly chosen hour of Latin pop radio, commercials and all, would likely be a more satisfying listen than this stocking stuffer. ~ Jason Birchmeier