- "Para Siempre" for a melody as lovely as the story
- None
- 12 tracks of all new ranchera tunes
- Music and lyrics by Joan Sebastian
- Released Sept. 2007 by Sony BMG Norte
Vicente Fernandez has earned his title as the "King of Ranchera" by focusing his formidable voice and charismatic personality on one genre for over 4 decades. He's averaged a couple of albums per year and the subsequent massive discography contains a steady supply of music that ranges from good to great.
Joan Sebastian is not really much of a performer, but his songs and songwriting ability have earned him earned him 3 Grammy awards, 5 Latin Grammies and the informal title of the "People's Poet".
Para Siempre (Forever) benefits from the best of both artists. Sebastian's melodies are on the light side, avoiding the sometimes overly dramatic ranchera stereotype while his lyrics are - well, lyrical. Frequently relying on metaphor and allegory, Sebastian paints word pictures of love lost and gained, returned and unrequited.
These 12 compositions inform the performance. On Para Siempre, Fernandez reins in that big voice and gives an understated performance, focusing on subtlety and nuance, resonating with emotion and mirroring the poetry of the songs. The result is effective and is sure to warm the hearts of fans of both these great talents.
