Here are this week's notable new releases.
1. Calle 13 - 'Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo'
Calle 13 does things their own way which means that their albums are full of surprises. Los De Atras Vienen Conmingo promises more of their urban fusion, this time mixing Puerto Rican rhythms with cumbia villera from Argentina and gypsy music from Eastern Europe.
2. Aterciopelados - 'Rio'
After the exuberant success of their previous album, Oye, including a Latin Grammy award, it will be interesting to see where Colombian grass-root rockers Aterciopelados go with their new album. For fans of Andrea Echeverri's "Baby Blues" from her solo album, the baby Milagros is now 6 years old and joins mom for a song.
3. Hector El Father - 'Juicio Final'
This might well be the last album by reggaeton's Hector El Father (Hector Delgado Roman). Last month he announced that he was retiring to persue a religious career as soon as the CD was released, fulfilling his obligations to his record label. He also said that he had made that decision six months prior to the announcement; I wonder how that decision will reflect on the album?
4. Los Cenzontles - 'Songs of Wood & Steel'
For those of you who are not familiar with Los Cenzontles, their music is a mixture of traditional Mexican music, rock and blues. On Songs of Wood & Steel they are joined by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos who both co-produced the album and performs. Additional guest artists include Linda Ronstadt, the Estrada Brothers, Julian Gonzalez and Pete Sears.
5. Juan Gabriel - 'El Divo Canta a Mexico'
One of Latin music' most prolific composers, Juan Gabriel has released an album that serenades his country with an all-Mexican repetoire. Banda El Recodo guests on the album and it features the controversial illegal immigration track "Cancion 187."
You can either listen to the audio CD or go for the CD/DVD combo or straight for the DVD.
El Divo Canta a Mexico CD/DVD Compare Prices
6. Rodrigo & Gabriela - 'Live in Japan'
For a long time, Rodrigo and Gabriela were much better known in Europe than here in the states but since their debut album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, the guitarists from Mexico City have gained quite a following here as well. Live in Japan was recorded in Tokyo in March 2008; the release is a CD/DVD set.
7. Willie Colon /Ruben Blades - 'Siembra' (30th Anniversary Edition)
There are some albums that blaze the trail and Siembra was the definitive album of classic salsa from the Fania years. When it was time to do a 30 year anniversary edition, Willie Colon started out adamant against this release but was persuaded to put his seal of approval on the album. In an unusual move, Siembra - 30th Anniversary Edition contains 5 previously unreleased tracks: alternative versions of "Dime" and "Pedro Navajo", the 45 rpm version of "Dime", an instrumental edit of "Plastico" and one track that never made it to the original album, "Ligia Elena."8. Yomo Toro - 'La Herencia'
Yomo Toro is the master of the cuatro, the Puerto Rican guitar with 5 sets of double strings. La Herencia is a compilation disc of some of Toro's most notable works.
