Olga Tañón
Reviewed on this page:
Cada Vez Con Más Clase - Sola - ¡Que Bién! -
Mujer De Fuego - Siente El Amor... - Nuevos Senderos - Llévame Contigo -
Te Acordarás de Mí - Olga Viva, Viva Olga - Yo Por Ti -
Sobrevivir - Una Nueva Mujer - Soy Como Tú -
Exitos En 2 Tiempos
Olga Tañón came from Levitown, Puerto Rico, to become the queen of Dominican merengue in the 1990s.
Merengue is a very restrictive form: the sameness of the fast 4/4 rhythms, arpeggiated horns, eighth-note piano vamps and three-chord
tunes can drive you crazy after a while unless the melodies are marvelous, and/or the performer has a lot of personality.
Her voice is indeed remarkable - dramatic and strong in her remarkable low register and bell-clear when she soars up high - and from the first she's worked with top arrangers and songwriters.
She's long been known for controlling every aspect of her career, and has moved into the producer's chair. Her most daring move was cutting an album of ballads, and it was commercially
successful though artistically trivial; since then she's served up one helping of merengue, one of Latin pop, and a live record that's all over the map.
Her lyrics stick to romantic themes but generally reflect her assertive independent stance ("Contigo O Sin Tí," "Es Mentiroso"); her voice isn't as distinctive as La
India's, but whose is? The only problem I have with Tañón is the "¡Auuu!" (Spanish for "Owww!") she insists on injecting into every fast tune.
Tañón sang with Las Nenas de Ringo y Josie and Chantelle before going solo; I have both Chantelle discs but
I'm still looking for Las Nenas.
(DBW)
 Cada Vez Con Más Clase (Chantelle: 1990)
Tañón fronted this all-female group; I don't know the names of the other singers, but it's not Olga singing
the 440 imitation "La Jaula De Cristal," for one.
Alex Mansilla produced and arranged most of the disc, and he flirts with calypso ("Paraiso," present in two mixes)
while keeping the focus squarely on dancefloor-ready merengue ("En Mil Pedazos").
Other producers include Steve Deutsch and Luis Pisterman (the ballad "Eres Todo Lo Que Quiero") and Tommy Villariny,
whose funky "La Lluvia" is the high point of the album: it's imitation Sergio George, sure,
but I'd rather hear imitation Sergio George than genuine almost anybody else. Perfectly pleasant if pedestrian; you won't hear the personality of her solo work, but if you've already got all that, this won't be a letdown.
(DBW)
 Sola (1992)
Tañón's solo debut is made up of energetic if sometimes anonymous merengue, like the title track, with a particularly prominent güira
(the percussion instrument that looks like a cheese grater but sounds like a shaker).
But her voice is anything but anonymous: huge and often treated with echo, when she's belting out her tales of love the musical backing is just icing on the Creamsicle.
("Me Cambió Por Ella").
There's also some variety: "Fragmentos" is melodic and a trifle slower, in the Juan Luis Guerra mold of romantic merengue.
"Besame Agresivamente" is Tañón's entry in the short-lived meren-rap subgenre, with an R&B-sounding vocal hook
and a brief, surprisingly effective rap.
Most arrangements are by Juan Váldez (no connection with the Wilson & Alroy song); two are by
Manuel Tejada, including the unpredictable, exciting
"No Te Das Cuenta (Oye, Oye)"; Pochi Familia arranged "Aventurero Amor."
Note: if you like Tañón but find the "¡Auuu!" irritating, this is your dream disc.
(DBW)
 ¡Que Bién! (Chantelle: 1993)
Although Tañón had moved on by now, one of her compositions appears ("Transcendental")
and most of the vocals are hers, albeit uncredited (thanks Jeanne!). It's largely interchangeable uptempo tracks produced and
arranged by Elvis Cabrera ("Eso Yo Lo Quiero Ver"); "Siento Rabia" is the high point, with exciting horn crosstalk and her trademark don't-mess-with-me vocal delivery.
The weirdest moment is a brief 50s sockhop homage in the middle of the otherwise pedestrian "Amar Sin Barreras."
"Transcendental" was arranged by saxophonist Freddy Miranda, but after a downbeat opening it's much like any of Cabrera's cookie-cutter cuts. Not quite as bad as the rating indicates; I bumped it down because any of Tañón's other albums has more individuality and impact.
(DBW)
 Mujer De Fuego (1993)
Variety is out the window, as Tañón set out to make a no-bones-about-it powerhouse dance album, every track running about four and a half minutes at the same rapid tempo.
The melodic, swinging "Contigo O Sin Tí" sounds like Guerra at his most boisterous - especially the half-whispered backing vocals - and that's one of the mellower cuts on the album.
Two songs by Raldy Vázquez, "Muchacho Malo" and "Piel A Piel," are so percussion-heavy they're a bit harsh, with horns used for punctuation rather than melody.
The one unusual arrangement is "Pero Siempre Regresas," with inspired piano comping, unusual chord changes and jazzy horn lines.
On "Prisionera" Tañón sticks to her lower range, and could easily be mistaken for a man - the effect is disconcerting but not unpleasant.
"Presencié Tu Amor" is one of the few Tañon compositions to make it onto one of her albums, but doesn't stand out otherwise; that tune and three others were arranged by Tejada -
Váldez arranged three, and Jaime Querol arranged four. Start with a less singleminded effort, but this is still far above the average merengue disc.
(DBW)
Siente El Amor... (1994)
More of the same; this time even the romantic numbers are sped-up ("Desesperadamente Tuya," "Amores Extraños"), so there's no break in the action - or the monotony, depending on how you look at it -
until the concluding "Entre La Noche Y El Día," which sounds I swear just like a Whitesnake power ballad, right down to the guitar solo. "Receta Del Amor" has a children's chorus, but it's brief and bearable.
The two big-deal hits were "Ya Me Cansé" and the amazingly repetitive "Es Mentiroso," both female-empowerment numbers of a sort.
There's also one Tañón original, "Unicornio."
Five tracks arranged by Tejada, four by Querol, and two by Váldez;
the Tejada tunes feature Chichi Peralta on congas, and 440 members Marcos Hernández and Roger Zayas on vocals.
Her voice sounds great and the tunes are adequate, so there's no need to avoid this if you're a big fan, but it's my least favorite of her merengue discs.
(DBW)
Exitos Y Más (1996)
Greatest hits, some unreleased material and a couple of "megamixes." (DBW)
Nuevos Senderos (1996)
It's naptime.
Produced and almost entirely written by Mexican superstar and Los Bukis founder Marco Antonio Solís - I might as well admit right here that I consider Mexican pop possibly the least
interesting genre I've ever heard in my life, combining the bathos of ranchera with the vacuousness of Andy Williams-style proto-Adult Contemporary dreck. Slow tempos, keyboards imitating
accordions, endlessly trilling acoustic guitars.
But if you're going to listen to lifeless string-heavy ballads that sound like the soundtrack to a bad telenovela, you might as well listen to Tañón singing them - her voice is
authoritative as always.
The reggae "Mi Perdón" breaks the monotony somewhat, and "Me Subes, Me Bajas, Me Subes" is bit more energetic than the others. I'm not familiar with any of the musicians; I'm assuming
they're Solís regulars.
(DBW)
 Llévame Contigo (1997)
Tañón returned to the driving merengue that made her name, with a new attention to detail (she produced). Arrangers include Tejada, Valdes, Dionnis Fernández and Jaime Querol,
and there are lots of nice touches like ranchera-style belting on "Llegó El Amor," dueling percussion on "Que Bailen Los Niños," and popping bass on "Serpiente Mala."
Meanwhile, the melodies kick butt (title track, "Despierta Corazón," the Juan Luis Guerra-style "Porque No Te Encontré").
And her vocals are hair-raisingly enthusiastic, making lines like "yeah yeah yeah yeah" sound anthemic (the hit single "El Frio De Tu Adió")... If you like merengue at all, this should keep you dancing from start to finish. (DBW)
Te Acordarás de Mí (1998)
Just as quickly, she abandoned merengue again for a mix of overwrought love songs ("Engáñame"), Gipsy Kings-style dance/flamenco hybrids ("El Niño," "Tu Amor"), and synth-pop
("Cómo Pude Haber Vivido Sin Ti," which is silly fun, with 440-style backing vocals).
"Escondidos," a duet with Cristian Castro, brings back bad memories of some 80s power ballad by Loverboy's Mike Reno and Heart's Nancy Wilson.
On the brighter side, there's "Un Hombre Y Una Mujer," a beautiful pop song with an anthemic chorus and a clever horn arrangement, and the lone merengue, "Hielo Y Fuego."
Produced by Rudy Pérez; the many musicians include pop stalwarts Michael Landau (who plays his usual overemotional solo on "Dialogo Mudo"), Paul
Jackson Jr., Neil Stubenhaus and Freddie Washington, with Betty Wright adding backing vocals.
(DBW)
Olga Viva, Viva Olga (1999)
A live record, drawing on all the genres she's worked in: there's merengue (three tracks from Mujer De Fuego), pop ballads ("¡Basta Ya!"),
even a Willie Colón cover ("Ah Ah Oh No"). Just to drive the point home, "Mi Amor" is performed as a nine-minute "mix" in which the song is rendered
as merengue, salsa, rap, techno, and ballad, all done semi-seriously - a cross between a true "megamix" and the Beatles' "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)."
Tañón has riveting stage presence, and her voice is more powerful than ever, so she mostly manages to keep the record from sounding like the stylistic
grab-bag it is.
"Mi Eterno Amor Secreto" is more sparsely arranged and energetic than the Nuevos Senderos version, but the goodwill is immediately dispersed by an excessive six-minute running time.
The new songs aren't much: a boogaloo medley (built around the annoying novelty hit "Bang Bang") drags, "El Papel De Malo" is a forgettable ballad with reggae guitar.
Best is the studio bonus track "Viva La Musica," a listenable bilingual knockoff of "I Like It Like That" by Angel "Cucco" Peña.
Still, the breadth and performance quality are impressive, and with only one song repeated from Lleváme Contigo, it's a good companion to that set.
A Grammy-winner in the merengue category, though most of the songs are in other styles; produced by Tañón.
(DBW)
Yo Por Tí (2001)
This is the kind of work your elementary school teacher graded "Satisfactory": nothing to complain about, but nothing really outstanding either.
Tañón didn't write or arrange anything this time (though she produced as usual), and it's mostly merengue with a nod to other styles.
Manuel Tejada produced much of the merengue ("Quiero Que Tú Me Quieras," title track), and he sticks to the middle of the road, crisp but lacking any hint of innovation ("Como Olvidar,"
also present in a ballad version). And for some reason, her voice doesn't come across as well, lacking some of its usual immediacy and passion.
Peña produced the high-energy salsa "Pegaíto" (written by Manolín) and the middling ballad "Prohibido El Paso."
The opening "Miénteme" is pleasant merengue romantica, with a guest appearance by bass legend Salvador Cuevas (though he's not really audible).
The low points are the Eric Figueroa production "I Wanna Have Fun," an incredibly irritating would-be party record along the lines of "Bang Bang," and the similar, Peña-produced "Me Gusta" -
both flowed from the dubious pen of José Nogueras. Another Grammy winner.
(DBW)
 Sobrevivir (2002)
Another mix of merengue, ballads and salsa, with none of her own compositions, and it's another step down, with only a couple of really fun
tunes (the merengue "Ojos Negros" and the salsa "Caramelo" - both produced by Tejada). The ballads are simultaneously overwrought and
lightweight (title track; the pseudo-ranchero "Mentiras"), and the dance tunes are obvious: "Por Tu Amor" is packed with dramatic pauses,
but they're all easily anticipated and thus lose their effect.
Worst of all is the drippy duet with Luis Fonsi Aparece, "Quién Diría," written and produced by Alfredo Matheus.
Humberto Gatica or the team of Kike Santander and José Luis Arroyave produced most of the tracks, and they don't have an original
idea among them, but more importantly, they don't show any talent for finding a decent tune.
At least there's no grating party record - though there is a vapid "dance mix" of "Caramelo" - and Tañón's voice sounds
great.
(DBW)
 Una Nueva Mujer (2005)
The New Woman still likes to sing the Same Old Merengue, and she's doing it better than ever after a couple of years out of the spotlight.
There are some differences, though: the tempos are slowed down two notches, from finger-crampingly rapid to medium-fast, and rather than detract from the excitement, the pace gives you time to appreciate the melodies ("Abre Tu Corazón").
The compositions are very strong, largely by Tañón alone (the rousing "Vete, Vete") or with producer José Luis Morín A. (the driving single "Bandolero," presented in merengue, cumbia and "pop" versions). Morín manages to mix up the arrangements without interfering with the music's basic pulse, with interesting details like fiddle and harmonica on the slow intro to "Abre Tu Corazón," or sitar and a gong (!) on the intro to "Bandolero (pop version)." He also gets good mileage out of guitars, electric (a groovy solo on "Dime Si Tu Me Puedes Querer") and acoustic ("Muero De Amor"), and background vocalists, thickening the sound so that while Tañón's full-bored voice is always prominent, it's never the only thing to listen for.
Arroyave uses essentially the same approach on his "Desde Que Llegaste A Mi."
Familiar face Manuel Tejada helmed a few cuts, including the title track (not the song Chantelle had recorded in 1990) and "Dámelo Todo," unremarkable except for a guest rap by Willie Torres.
Just two ballads: "Maldito Seductor" and "Sin Ti No Puedo Vivir," an affecting inspirational number with duet vocals from an uncredited child (hers, I'm thinking).
There are a ton of musicians, but the most frequent lineup is Richard Bravo (drums), Cuevas (bass), Leonardo Quintero and Morín (guitars), Milton Sacedo (piano), and Luis Aquino, Ángel Hernández and Ángel Torres (horns).
(DBW)
Soy Como Tú (2006)
Without personal pronouns, what would Tañón do for album titles?
The best tracks are up to the level of the previous disc (the smashing salsa "Duele Duele"), and the arrangements and performances are strong but most of the song material is thin (the merengue "Angeles") to obvious ("Vive Tu Vida"). Tañón wrote or co-wrote most of the tunes, but didn't have much in the well this time.
She's such a compelling singer that she can pull off the bathetic ballad "Desilusionarme," but then she pushes her luck by also inflicting salsa and duet (with Tony Melendez) versions on us.
Again, the best tracks are produced by Morin ("Maria"); Sergio George contributed two disappointing tracks (the semi-reggaeton "Sigue Moviendote") and Tejada produced the empowerment tune "Flaca O Gordita."
(DBW)
Exitos En 2 Tiempos (2007)
Tañón puts her stamp on songs that were hits for other artists - though the bachatas "Soy Otra Mujer" and "Presencie Tu Amor" are self-penned.
There aren't very many different tunes, though, because there are two different versions of "Se Nos Rompió El Amor", three of Juan Gabriel's
"Amor Eterno," and a mind-boggling four trips through "Hoy Quiero Confesarme."
It's the same pattern as Wing's 2007 release - is this some kind of new trend I should be worried about?
Anyway, I don't know any of the songs in their original incarnations, and I'm willing to assume that Tañón gets as much out of them as anyone can, but most of the tunes are unexciting the first time around, let alone the third or fourth... "Amame En Camara Lenta" (originally by Valeria Lynch) is a happy exception.
And oddly, the disc is sequenced with six straight slow numbers at the beginning of the disc... if you last through those, things get a bit better afterwards.
Both takes on "Cosas Del Amor" are duets: Jenni Rivera on the torch ballad version and Milly Quezada on the lively merengue.
Celerino Caban is the primary producer, with other tracks from Peña ("Decisión"), Tejada and Bob Benozzo.
(DBW)
Lleváme.
|
