Disco de Paulina Rubio: “Ananda”

It took Paulina a while to release a new cd but I think that it was worth the wait. This versatile singer comes back with "ANANDA" that follows her big success of "PAU-LATINA" in the sense of music fusions and sevaral types of music but this time I feel that Paulina has leaned more on rock music instead of her famous rancheras with a touch of hip-hop. Electric guitars are strongly present on tracks such as "NADA PUEDE CAMBIARME" that has Gun's n' Roses's Slash on lead guitar. This song is one of the highlights of the album. In the case of "MIENTEME UNA VEZ MAS" Paulina follows the direction of Evanescence, this song has the very same style of their music and sounds very good with Paulina's voice.

Even though Paulina has concentrated more on rock, I also feel that she wanted to release something for everybody. But this is easy to understand because of group of people that she has chosen for this production. She has the style of Coti with the Ballad "AYUDAME". A mix between Coti and Julieta Venegas on "QUE ME VOY A QUEDAR" which is a catchy song but honestly the lyrics have no sense. She also had Junes as songwriter on "NO TE CAMBIO" this song is really good because it starts the first verse with flamenco and then starts a very nice combination between a very soft reggaeton, a bit of ballenato, pop and hip-hop a real gem for the album. The song that has the biggest ranchera style on the album is "AUNQUE NO SEA CONMIGO" but doesn't have a strong influence as "DAME OTRO TEQUILA" or "EL ULTIMO ADIOS".

"ANANDA" also has pop songs like "RETRATO", "N.O" and the first single "NI UNA SOLA PALABRA" written by Xabi San Martin from Spain's La Oreja De Van Gogh. Comparing this album with her previous one "PAU-LATINA"...well I think that "ANANDA" is very good I really enjoy it but "PAU-LATINA" was more solid, maybe I think this because I heard it more and I got more used to it. The one thing I wanted not to find again is the interludes after each song, they're really short but unnecessary. A positive thing about this production, is the booklet because it has several pictures and lyrics.

To finish this review I think that even though the critics for this album were not very positive. I think that it's a very good step for Paulina. The first single became a #1 hit in the U.S for several weeks and #2 in the main chart of all Latin America and gave Paulina her third entrance on Billboard's Hot 100 with a song that wasn't in English. The album debuted at #1 in the U.S on Top Latin Albums list and #25 on Billboard's 200 and became #1 also in several territories and sold up to 500,000 copies on its release week. Anyway, this is just commercial information but I think that the album is good maybe not her best but good, you won't be sorry with it if you like her music.

I think that it was a good idea to release an enhanced version of ANANDA. The orginal cd is very good but it doesn't include all the extras of this version. On this deluxe version you can find:

1-Music videos ("NI UNA SOLA PALABRA" and "NADA PUEDE CAMBIARME")

2-An interview with Paulina (it's not long, it takes around 10 minutes but it's fun).

3-Behind the scenes footage. This is divided in two parts. The first part is about behind the scenes of both the music videos on the DVD that aren't special because are really short and Paulina barely comments about them and the director doesn't make any comment either. And the sencond part which is about a rehearsal prior a show in Malaga, Spain.

I say that this is a great deal because for an extra bucks you will get the DVD with this features plus on the cd you'll get a bonus track that doesn't appear on the original version of "ANANDA" which is "ME SIENTO MUCHO MAS FUERTE SIN TU AMOR" and two new versions of "NI UNA SOLA PALABRA" and a new extra version of "NADA PUEDE CAMBIARME".

If you like Paulina and you have this album on the simple version, you'll like it because of the 2 videos which are the strings to pull this deluxe version. And if you are willing to buy "ANANDA" because you wanted to have it, well I can say that this is a very good album that follows Paulina's style of mixing several types of music including Pop, Rock, Ranchera, Flamenco influences between others. The first single "NI UNA SOLA PALABRA" became an instant huge hit all over Latin America, Spain and even countries such as Italy where it made a big impression. Between the producers you can find Cachorro Lopez one of the most important producers in the latin market and C. "Tricky" Stewart who produces of singers such as Madonna or Britney Spears. Juanes and Julieta Venagas wrote songs for Paulina, on the lead guitar of "NADA PUEDE CAMBIARME" Paulina had Guns n' Roses's lead guitarist Slash.

This album also sold up to 500,000 copies on its release week and topped almost every latin album chart. Well these are only commercial facts. The album perse is very good. Check "NADA PUEDE CAMBIARME", "N.O", "AYUDAME", "RETRATO" and "MIENTEME UNA VEZ MAS".

I was on a surf trip in miami of all places listening to mega 94.9 latino and proud (im a white kid from new jersey) after 3 raggeton songs, which really sounded like one song that changed keys because the beat is the same, this fresh sounding female voice entered over a regular rockbeat. It was ni una sola palabra. I was interested and after i heard the beautiful chord changes in her voice after the chorus I had to find out who she is. She is paulina rubio, she is HOT, and i liked ni una sola palabra so i bought ananda and I really enjoyed it. The album is a good sampling of rock, dance, and traditional, with even a little western in sin final. I especially like track 4, it sounds very "epic" (i have no idea what she is saying) but the music is good and the drumbeat is suprisingly complicated. Mexican popstars are WAY better than gringos! Latino and Proud!

Wow! The truth is that you can always expect QUALITY from Paulina Rubio. Once again, she gathered a great group of producers and songwriters and she, too, contributed to the penning of three of the album's songs. Ananda transmits what it means in sanskrit, happiness, especially in the track "Lo Que Pensamos". Rubio experiments with a different sound, which is more pop-rock than what we are used to hearing her. Ananda is clearly not a sequel to Pau-Latina, but rather, has a personality of its very own. Who has not yet heard the album's first single, "Ni Una Sola Palabra", which reaches the top spot on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs Chart this week? The truth is all of the album's songs are well-crafted, and you can still expect to hear some of Paulina's musical fusions like a dance-bridged ranchera in "Aunque No Sea Conmigo" and vallenato rhythms in "No Te Cambio" (penned by Juanes). Like Pau says...

"Ananda, Get One... Ananda, Get Two... Ananda!"

In other words, buy it! It's more than worth it and you will see how Ananda (Happiness) is a perfect name for it.

Con este nuevo trabajo de Paulina se nota la madures y calidad de Musica.

Muy buen cd exelente.

Gracias Paulina por traernos nueva musica y por reunir tantos musicos y compositores en este hermoso trabajo.