Luis Miguel Breathes Life and Romance Into Every Song

When I write these reviews, I try to stay generally objective which is not always easy. Especially when you are writing about a performer you really enjoy and appreciate. Otherwise, it begins to read like Tiger Beat (those of you baby boomers will remember that rag).

Sure, anyone and their brother can get on a blog and chat up the merits of their favorite performers. It would be easy to say Luis Miguel, for example, is as cute as the day is long. And it would be true! But the point of this exercise is to explore the performer, his craft, and the genre. The cuteness-factor is really not the issue here.

All that being said, sounding like a fan or not, here goes:

I stumbled upon Luis Miguel (born Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri in 1970) in the mid 90s. According to his bio, Miguel is Puerto Rican born and Mexican raised. He began his career at 11 and by the early 80s, he had already recorded four albums. In 1985, he had won his first Grammy for his duet with Sheena Easton for the song Me Gustas Tal Como Eres. By this point, Miguel was cranking out albums like crazy and racking up a bucket-load of platinum and gold.

Miguel became an international success - particularly in Spain, but eventually all over Europe and South America. And the planet. As a Latin performer, Miguel has broken all kinds of records for concerts and CD sales and at this point, I'll add the link to his official bio - http://www.luismiguel.net/.

What makes Miguel an appealing musician to me?

For starters, if you've listened to him over the years, one thing is for certain - he gets better and better with age. I was deeply moved the first time I heard his rendition of Besame Mucho. He took this traditionally beautiful bolero, punched the tempo a bit, but still kept it as smooth, dark, and rich as a cup of good espresso!

And that brings me to his next cover - Cuando Calienta El Sol (When the Sun is Hot) - which has been one of my favorite songs of all time! In years past, pretty much everyone (including Connie Francis, Vikki Carr, Jose Feliciano, and Trini Lopez) has done a cover of this tune and often within the traditional bolero ballad boundaries. And as ballads go, (and I tend to lean towards the uptempo) it's a classic. Then Luis Miguel came along and breathed an amazing energy into this arrangement. It's fun, funky, and upbeat, but Miguel manages to keep the romance and meaning in the song.

I've added the lyrics as well as this tune to this post:

Cuando calienta el sol aquí en la playa,

Siento tu cuerpo vibrar cerca de mi;

Es tu palpitar,

es tu cara,

es tu pelo,

Son tus besos,

me estremezco, oh, oh, oh!

Cuando calienta el sol aquí en la playa,

Siento tu cuerpo vibrar cerca de mi,

Es tu palpitar,

tu recuerdo,

mi locura,

Mi delirio,

me estremezco, oh oh oh!


Translation:

When the sun heats up here at the beach

I feel your body vibrate near me

It's your heartbeat,

it's your face

it's your hair

They're your kisses,

I get dizzy, oh, oh, oh


When the sun heats up here at the beach

I feel your body vibrate near me

It's your heartbeat

the memory of you,

my insanity

My delirium

I get dizzy, oh, oh,oh

Then we move on to another of Miguel's best interpretations - La Bikina - written by Maria Jose' Quintanilla. I've added a link to YouTube to Miguel's performance of this song from a concert in Caracas, Venezuela last year -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRDXn-YI9qg&NR=1.

As I tried to explain to my daughter just the other day, it certainly does not hurt to be backed by a group of Mariachis and Miguel seems to understand not only the interpretation, but also the presentation and romance of the package. And I admit this - the serenading Mariachis are infinitely more romantic to me, than one standing in the rain with a boom box (or any appliance) on one's head. The serenading Mariachis, for me, are the real deal!

For those interested in testing the waters, I recommend starting with Grandes Exitos double CD along with the Romances. These will give you an idea of Miguel's range of talent. Quite honestly, I've yet to hear him lay down a bad track!

I've also added more YouTube videos - some are older, but they are all fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDjnHs5jr0A&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq10HGVu-BQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG5flDxauIc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IexQjTx4oRc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZxcbwmuJKY


Enjoy and next time, Michael Buble'!