CD Review: Gloria Estefan - Amor Y Suerte: Exitos Romanticos

Good compilation disc of some of Estefan's romantic music from the past decade mixed with new track "Ay, Ay, Ay Amor" and duets with Jon Secada and Alejandro Fernandez.

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We haven’t heard from Gloria Estefan for awhile. Her 2003 album Unwrapped went largely unnoticed, even with Estefan promoting it with a tour through Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Amor Y Suerte: Exitos Romanticos (Love and Luck: Romantic Hits) didn’t make that much of a stir, either. Which is a shame, because this album is chock full of tracks that resonate with the sound of the tropics and highlight a classic voice made to sing ballads.

The album contains a combination of tracks from Mi Tierra and Alma Caribena, together with “Tu Fotografia” and “Hoy”, the Spanish versions of “Your Picture” and “Unwrapped” from Unwrapped. “En El Jardin” is a duet with Alejandro Fernandez and “Por Amor” another great duet with fellow Miamian Jon Secada. The album ends with the breakout track “Ay, Ay, Ay Amor”, an upbeat salsa that puts the smile at the end of the romance.

The CD/DVD contains a photo gallery and four video clips: “Tu Fotografia”, “Por un Beso”, live from the Atlantis concert, “Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan” from Live and Unwrapped and “Hoy”, the salsa version from sesiones@aol. The first three videos are a bit of a yawn, (what’s with those dancers on the “Por un Beso” clip), but the salsa version of “Hoy” was pretty entertaining.

I’m not much of a fan of compilation discs – it always feels like I’m paying twice for the same tracks. But in this case, Estefan selected all the songs herself and hearing them together is worth the price of admission.