Audio CD review:
Shakira - MTV Unplugged

Shakira - MTV Unplugged

Band: Shakira Title: MTV Unplugged Rating: Release Date: 2005-05-24 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Octavo Día 2: Si Te Vas 3: Dónde Están Los Ladrones 4: Moscas En La Casa 5: Ciega, Sordomuda 6: Inevitable 7: Estoy Aquí 8: Tú 9: Sombra De Ti 10: No Creo 11: Ojos Así

A Beautiful Latina Album. Born in Colombia (and fluent in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, French, and Italian), Shakira is a Latina singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and dancer, best known for her powerful, contralto voice and sensual Arabic dance moves. Consider this album Exhibit "A" to my argument that, as a country we should embrace the rich Latin American culture, rather than building fences at our borders. This album reveals two things: Shakira is a perfectionist, and there is beauty in the Latin culture. Her critically-acclaimed 1999 MTV Unplugged performance in New York features 11 songs drawn mostly from her popular 1998 Spanish album, Dónde Están los Ladrones?, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Those tracks include: 1. Octavo Día (En Vivo) 6:05 2. Si Te Vas (En Vivo) 3:54 3. Dónde Están Los Ladrones (En Vivo) 3:22 4. Moscas En La Casa (En Vivo) 4:02 5. Ciega, Sordomuda (En Vivo) 4:09 6. Inevitable (En Vivo) 3:39 7. Estoy Aquí (En Vivo) 4:58 8. Tú (En Vivo) 5:22 9. Sombra De Ti (En Vivo) 4:07 10. No Creo (En Vivo) 4:08 11. Ojos Así (En Vivo) 6:50 G. Merritt . Great voice She has a great voice and it is a pure joy to see her perform. I saw Shakira uplugged on TV and just had to get that CD. Hope I will be able to visit her live some time. Shakira's best album I like a few of her drum machine dancehall songs, but for the most part they aren't particularly memorable. I have to admit, I think Shakira is a gorgeous woman, but that has no bearing on my review of this album. However, when she gets a REAL band behind her, she knocks it out of the park. With the ability to focus more on her voice and less on the beats, you can hear the overwhelming emotion. Everytime I listen to this album I am moved. When people say that all art aspires to be music, they are referring to works like this. This really IS a masterpiece. Simply Amazing But I can understand a lot of what these songs are about. Spanish is my second language and I'm not all that great at it yet. This is possibly the best live recording I've ever heard; I would say these live versions are better than the originals on Dónde Están los Ladrones. "Ciega, Sordomuda" is hands down my favorite song on the album. It has a real Mexican sound with music by the mariachi band "Mora Arriaga". Tú is excellent and No Creo has a different arrangement with a real reggae feel to it. All of the songs are great. I think you would have to be crazy not to buy this, even if you don't speak Spanish very well. This blows away Shakira's pop music. If you only know the "pop"-Shakira... But if that is the only Shakira you know, you are missing out. Many Americans seem to think Shakira is a pop singer, and her revealing, suggestive, and even lewd music videos don't help that image. Shakira is one of the most passionate, emotional, skilled, talented, and powerful singer/songwriters in the world. The poetry of her lyrics does not translate well to English and much of the beauty and depth comes across as shallowness or sexual aggression - the truth of it is, Spanish is a Romantic language, and Shakira writes in Spanish. She has something of a flirty stage presence, but do not mistake this for Britney Speaks-like slut pop a la "Oops! I Did It Again," etc. Shakira's performances are raw and passionate, just like her music. If you were turned off by the drum machines and dance-club rhythms of her studio releases, you should conisder this MTV Unplugged performance. Her band is fantastic, and she herself is a very skilled musician. You can see a complete list of all Shakira discography, or go back to the Shakira tabs