ALBUM REVIEW / POP : Satisfying Last Album From Selena : SELENA: “Dreaming of You” <i> EMI/SBK</i> ***
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Originally planned as an all-English album, “Dreaming of You” ended up being Selena’s most eclectic and satisfying album--an appropriate epitaph for the tejano -cumbia superstar.
Built around a selection of radio-friendly pop tunes--including the four R&B-based; English songs she was able to finish before her slaying--”Dreaming of You” lacks cohesion. Still, the need to fill the rest of the album with Spanish songs makes for a collection even more interesting than the original idea.
In the English songs she blossoms into a full-fledged soul singer, with an aggressiveness seldom shown before. But it’s the two new Spanish ranchera songs, backed by El Monte’s Mariachi Sol de Mexico, that are most impressive, as Selena effortlessly adapted to a difficult style she wasn’t very familiar with.
Her three biggest Spanish hits complete a fine presentation of a legend whose magnitude will grow with time. If the plan was to crossover, this small gem should do it.
Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good, recommended), four stars (excellent).
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