Shakira Album: “Laundry Service”

First of all, I want to comment on critics who say the meaning is lost in translation on "Laundry Service." Some critics have attempted to compare "Laundry Service" with her former work. It is true that the brilliant "Donde Estan Los Ladrones," is her most outstanding work thus far. In fact it is pure brilliance.

But you cannot compare these two albums!! "Donde Estan Los Ladrones," was fully done in a romance language that can be fully appreciated: Espanol (Spanish). While the majority of the tracks in "Laundry Service" were done in her newly-found language: English. Last, music is universal, and musicians share with the world the talent that emanates from them, so while her music may not be at its best in a new language, her effort is inspiring.

That said, Laundry Service stands all on its own as an awesome, eclectic fresh debut from a very beautiful singing, creative and awe inspiring artist; Shakira. Note that on the back of the CD is says, "Entire album produced by Shakira." Friends, this is the truth! This woman emanates TRUE non-manufactured, raw, poetic, eclectic, lovely talent! Her unique, unforgiving, soaring, and flowing vocals, reminds the first time listener of a modern day Latin Janis Joplin in terms of power in the voice, crossed with Natalie Merchant?s soothing pipes, and Alanis Morisette?s angry voice ultimatums. Not only is Shakira's voice powerful and multi-versatile, but her stage presence, along with her eye candy beauty, makes her the complete all around diva. She can easily polish a heartfelt ballad, and rock like the rockera she is. That is what sets her apart, and that is why she has had worldwide success.

The first track on her mostly English cd, ?Objection (Tango)? is my favorite song on the CD!! This song is so awesome! I felt like a kid in a candy store listening to it more than a month and a half before the CD was released! I knew it would stir up some great sentiment! Objection is a tango song with a hard driving guitar and rhythmic singing that fits nicely. Track 2 ?Underneath your clothes? is a great ballad! WOW! The bridge in the middle is just what the song needed too. It?s almost an aside and then she comes back into the chorus; it works well! Track 3 ?Whenever, wherever? is a great song with an awesome debut video to match too! The hard, yet, subtle drums add life to the song and Shakira?s vocals paint a great picture! Track 4 "Rules" opens with a great guitar and rhythmic drum sound. The song is good. Track 5 "The One" is a great ballad that incorporates a soothing introduction and a continuously infectious hook! Love it! Track 6 ?Ready for the good times? lights up the room with a Selena disco medley beat! Track 7 "Fool" has a paceful beat and truthful lyrics that get your attention! It is a love rock ballad! Track 8 "Te Demo Madrid" is a great track that makes you want to get up, and dance and sing!! It has nice elements of alternative music mixed with rock and pop, the harmonica is great too! Track 9 ?Poem to a horse? is a rock song that has a very meaningful message in the lyrics. Track 10 ?Que me quedes tu? has a great Oriental type of intro with a flavoring 60s guitar, and then is warms into a ?Sombra de ti? (one of her former songs) type of singing and music beat! Love it!! It is a great ballad with soft touches mixed in with some up beat tempo. Track 11 ?Eyes like yours? is the English version of Shakira?s ?Ojos Asi.? This English version pails in comparison to the original Spanish version. I do like the chorus, but the non-chorus parts sound very awkward. Track 12 and 13 are Spanish versions of her English songs on the CD that are just as good as the English-language counterparts.

Shakira is only 24 years old and I cannot wait for all the good music and love that is too come from her! This will hopefully prove to America and the rest of the world, that true talent should rule the music world. Move over manufactured fakes, Shakira has taken the throne in the English market and previously in the Spanish market. Very soon, she will become a long lasting, cementable international star.

I bought Shakira's album a few weeks ago, and it still manages to spellbind me. Her voice, her foot-thumping, dance-inducing beats, and the messages in the lyrics are so amazing that I can't stop listening to it! I don't speak that much Spanish (I'm taking it in school) but it is still so much fun to listen to and memorize the lyrics to them. My favorite songs are as follows:

1: Underneath Your Clothes. This song has a melodic pop-rock-then back to pop beat that keeps me humming and singing all day. The lyrics are strong and the vocals are great.

2: Te Dejo Madrid. No, I don't really know what she's saying, but the music and the fast beat combined with the quick and unforgettable vocals make this song one to remember.

3: Whenever, Wherever. I LOVE this song. It moves fast and never lets go, it's lyrics are constantly playing themselves in my head. I could never play this song out.

4: The One. A slower, yet very emotional song. It displays Shakira's true vocal talent when she spikes at those high, long notes.

5: Eyes Like Yours. This song has a catchy Arabic beat that makes you want to dance (and I do dance!). The lyrics are a little hard to remember, but definitely put this song up there.

Thsi CD is definitely a MUST-BUY for anyone that is interested in having a good time while listening to music.

I was first introduced to the music of Shakira when I moved to Costa Rica five years ago. Her first CD, "Pies Descalzos", was a a huge hit here, as it was throughout Latin America. She followed this up with a slightly different, but equally successful CD, "Dónde están los ladrones?", produced by Emilio Estefan (Gloria's husband), and then with an MTV Unplugged CD. Under the guidance of the Estefans, Shakira learned English so that she could conquer the English-speaking market, and "Laundry Service" is her first foray into that market.

Shakira is a major-league talent. She is Colombian, with a Lebanese father, and her genius lies in her ability to fuse pop, rock, and various rhythms from different countries in an original and sophisticated way to produce immanently catchy songs which people of different cultures can identify with. Prominent examples of this are found on her second CD, where she uses a Mexican mariachi sound on "Ciega, sordomuda" and an Arabian sound on "Ojos Asi" (my personal favorite Shakira song, an English version of which appears as "Eyes Like That" on Laundry Service, translated by Gloria Estefan). On Laundry Service she also uses Peruvian flute sounds on "Whenever, wherever", the first single from the CD. And it is appropriate that for a CD aimed at a North American audience, one can hear, for the first time from Shakira, distinctly American sounds. A surf guitar sound appears on two songs, reminiscent of the guitar intro of Kenny Loggins' "Footloose."

Whoever compared Shakira to Alanis Morrisette doesn't really know Shakira's music. Unless you can say that anyone who sings a song or two about unrequited love is like Alanis, they are not in any way comparable. Her phrasing in a couple of songs reminds me of the lead singer for No Doubt, though I certainly wouldn't categorize her as being like anyone else. Her voice is powerful and unique.

Shakira has become more commercial over the years - she has dyed her hair blonde and she shakes her hips a lot in her music videos. But she is no Britney Spears clone. She is an intelligent, sophisticated artist who writes her own music, and her music is original. Having listened to "Laundry Service" three or four times now, I like it a great deal, though it doesn't grab me as much as her first two. This may come with time, however - I didn't like the second one so much when it first came out, and it eventually became my favorite. But you really can't go wrong with any of her CDs - they are all top-notch.

When you hear a Latin artist has released an English language album, you assume there will be plenty of bland love lyrics set to the kind of music you hear piped into your local Chi-Chi's Mexican Restaurant, where you try to enjoy a Cancun Combination Platter while trumpets blare in your ears.

Sexy Shakira blazes a pretty impressive pop album, with minor missteps. She used an Spanish/English dictionary and a thesaurus, and while some of the the songs are a little awkward, Shakira throws in so much ear candy, you will not care. Her album title refers to love being a jumble of so many different things, like a bunch of clothes in a washer. Song by song:

1. Objection (Tango)

2. Underneath Your Clothes

3. Whenever, Wherever

4. Rules

5. The One

6. Ready for the Good Times

7. Fool

8. Te Dejo Madrid

9. Poem to a Horse

10. Que Me Quedes Tu

11. Eyes Like Yours

12. Suerte

13. Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)

This is a very good personal album, full of different songs. I was reminded of songs by everyone from Metallica to Falco, but Shakira makes all of these her own. She produced, and either wrote or cowrote all the songs, and I am looking forward to her next move. I highly recommend this album, Shakira's songs are a breath of fresh air in a sometimes smoggy pop field.

All of the song lines quoted are directly from the liner notes (when I was able to take my eyes off the very photogenic songstress).

With the release of Shakira's first English album, I find myself wondering how many other hugely talented Spanish musicians there are out there whom I'm missing out on. Not only did Shakira write all the songs on 'Laundry Service', she also produced the entire album. What surprised me after purchasing 'Laundry Service' was the fact that I actually really enjoyed its four Spanish tracks. I was also surprised at Shakira's talent for writing English lyrics. True, they are not amazing or flawless, but she is writing in a second language. I can barely form complete sentences in French or Spanish, let alone write song lyrics. I trust her Spanish albums are much deeper and she wears more of her heart on her sleeve, but I expect that, with practice, hopefully any future English albums will be just as meaningful. I look forward to watching Shakira grow into her second language skills, and hopefully she'll release another English album, awing us all with amazing development.

The album opens with the up-beat dancing track, 'Objection (Tango)'. I've loved this song since the very first time I heard it. It's a very fun and energetic song basically telling off a guy who pays more attention to another girl, rather than Shakira. It's too bad the video for it is terrible. The second track is the beautiful ballad, 'Underneath Your Clothes'. From the very first line of this song ("You're a song/Written by the hands above...") I was hooked. It's lyrics are sweet, and You can't help but fall in love with this song. The third track, and first single, to drop from 'Laundry Service' is the up-tempo 'Whenever, Wherever'. Despite the fact that it was so overplayed, I'm still not sick of it. I must say, that's quite a feat. This was a great choice for the first single, and I'll bet it surprised people when 'Underneath Your Clothes' also happened to be a big hit, knocking the presumed title of "One Hit Wonder" off the end of Shakira's name.

One of my favourite songs off of 'Laundry Service' is the fun 'Rules'. It's an up-beat, humorous track, stating that if her man wants to be with her, he has to be sure to follow all the rules she's laid out for him. These rules include only laughing if he's laughing with her and only crying if he's crying for her. Shakira also never fails to mention that he's condemned to her. I was actually surprised that this one wasn't released as a single, as I prefer it to 'The One'. Speak of the devil, the fifth track on the album is 'The One'. This was the fourth single to drop from Shakira's English debut. This is a mid-tempo love song with sugary sweet, romantic lyrics ("You're the one I need/The way back home is always long/But if you're close to me I'm holding on"). 'Ready For The Good Times' is a very energetic, up-beat track. I love the music on this one, and lyrically it's great too. The title basically explains the theme of the track, Shakira wastes no time in telling listeners that she doesn't want to sit back "watching other people live/Frozen by the fear to fail".

'Fool' is one of the best songs off of 'Laundry Service'. Lyrically, it's about Shakira not being able to help liking a man who doesn't like her back. It's a mid-tempo track and Shakira's voice sounds amazing on it. The first Spanish track on the album is 'Te Dejo Madrid'. Unfortunately, I don't own a Spanish-English dictionary, so I have no idea what she's singing about. Nonetheless, I absolutely adore the up-beat energy it's full of. This is one of the best tracks on the album. I completely love 'Poem to a Horse'. It has a great up-beat tune, and the lyrics are fabulous as well. There's only one mention of reading poems to the horse which occurs in the lines "What's the point of wasting all my words/If it's just the same or even worse/Than reading poems to a horse"). The second Spanish track on the album is the mid-tempo 'Que Me Quedes Tu'. Again, I have no idea what the lyrics are, but I don't mind it at all (this is coming from someone who figured she would have to skip all the Spanish songs). Shakira's voice sounds beautiful, very emotionally driven and sweet.

'Eyes Like Yours' is one of the best songs on the album. It was one of Shakira's Spanish hits, and she rewrote the lyrics in English for 'Laundry Service'. She sounds amazing on this version, and I love the lyrics, so she must sound even better on the Spanish version, and the lyrics must be flawless. The twelfth track on the album is 'Suerte'. It's the Spanish version of 'Whenever, Wherever'. I suppose that if you spoke Spanish, you would probably prefer it to the English version (because artists always seem to sound better in their mother tongue), but I prefer English simply because I'm able to sing along with the words without stumbling over myself. Following in the same footsteps as 'Suerte', 'Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)' is the Spanish version of the English 'Objection (Tango)'. Once again, the Spanish version is probably better, but my lack of bilingualism still sways me towards the English version.

The only thing really keeping Shakira's album from being unbelievably amazing is her lack of practice in writing English lyrics. Hopefully she will make another English record, and will then proceed to (optimistically) dazzle all of us listeners with her writing skills. Until then, I most definitely recommend 'Laundry Service' to all fans of energetic dance music.

THE FINAL VERDICT: 85%