Vicente Garcia – ‘Melodrama’ CD Review

Although a new artist, Vicente Garcia has already a very promising musical projection. Through his debut album Melodrama, Vicente Garcia has shown the world all the talent he possesses. The album is a big crossover production that reflects all the musical influences Vicente Garcia has been exposed to. Overall, a very nice work.

I would not be surprise to see Vicente Garcia becoming a huge star in Latin music. He has all the features to make it big in the industry. First of all, he got the musical talent. He wrote all the songs that are featured in Melodrama, something that for new artists has been always a good sign. In other words, Vicente Garcia has the bonus of being in control of his own music.

Second, he got an amazing fresh image. His pleasant voice and rasta look bring something different into the realm of Tropical music. If you add that to the crossover music he produces then we get something really interesting.

Crossover Style

Vicente Garcia collects on behalf of his music a nice spectrum of musical influences, which he incorporates quite nicely into Melodrama. Throughout his life, he has been influenced by Stevie Wonder as much as he has been influenced by Juan Luis Guerra. The result, being very personal of course, is a nice funky sound where 70s Pop meet Merengue, Bachata, Salsa and even Bolero.

Melodrama is a nice crossover production. Because of this, Melodrama has different flavors to it. It is modern and traditional as well as romantic and uplifting. It is actually difficult to place this album in a fixed musical genre. It could be an alternative album but I would leave it as a tropical work just because of the heavy Caribbean influences it has.

From the album's first track "Mi Balcon," which is also one of the best singles of this production, we can hear that unique beat that defines Caribbean music. In fact, it is quite evident Vicente Garcia gave lots of attention to the sounds of percussion on this album. Other tracks that are heavily influenced by the sounds of Caribbean sounds include "Mientras Cae La Noche," "Dos Y Siete" and "Agualluvia."

However, being a crossover album, Melodrama also offers a nice mix of Funk, Blues and Reggae sounds that can be better captured in songs like "Poquito A Poquito," "Indiferencia," "Bai Bai Bonita 1" and "Caramelo."

'Melodrama' - Bottom Line

Melodrama offers a refreshing sound. With this album, Vicente Garcia has definitely brought something really unique. This crossover production has everything that is needed to become a big album. Vicente Garcia's talent and innovation deserves five solid stars.

• "Mi Balcon"
• "Poquito A Poquito"
• "¿Como Has Logrado?"
• "Yo Robo"
• "Dos Y Siete"
• "Bai Bai Bonita 1"
• "Agualluvia"
• "Caramelo"

Record Label: EMI Latin
Release Date: June, 2011*

* The original album was released in October 2010. However, in June 2011, Vicente Garcia released the re-launch of the original album with the bonus "Mi Balcon," featuring Cultura Profetica.