Shakira Album: “Oral Fixation Volumes 1 & 2 (Special Edition)”

Really, this package gets a 4 1/2 from me...why not a perfect 5?? Because the timing of releasing this package is way off, and looks like a Sony BMG ploy to get Christmas sales, it could have had more on there, and the packaging is basically: take the existing Volume 1 and Volume 2, throw it into a box (albeit an ATTRACTIVE box), add an exclusive DVD and bingo. If you didn't have the 2 volumes before, by all means, buy this package. If you want the DVD, buy it, but if you have both discs and don't care about the DVD, stay away. This SHOULD have come out the same time as the redone version of "Volume 2" with "Hips Don't Lie", not now.

To me, what would have made this a perfect 5 is: one, the disc of Volume 1 SHOULD have been the DualDisc, not the regular barebones disc. The reason why is because the DVD side of the dualdisc has a fun segment of Alejandro Sanz interviewing Shaki, and it was basically an excuse for the two of them to pal around, act silly and make jokes. There are subtitles so you can be in on the fun. There is also the making of the "La Tortura" vidclip, and footage of Shaki on the beach hanging out with local kids. The best part of the DVD side is that you can play the album with English translations, so you can follow along and understand what it is she is singing on this artful Volume 1. In this box, you get the album itself, which is fine, and the foldout poster, but I miss the DVD stuff from the DualDisc. ALSO, they could have added on the 3 live bonus tracks from the Target exclusive edition, making the disc 15 tracks.

As for Volume 2, I really love it, but again, they maybe could have added on the remix of "Don't Bother" from the Target edition of the first pressing, pre "Hips Don't Lie", as well as remixes of "Hips" from the import singles. Otherwise, fine, everything else is there, full artwork in the foldout poster, and the tracklisting of the 2nd edition, with that edition's trackorder, including "Hips" and the Spanglish version of "La Tortura".

As for the DVD, it's good to have, because it has all 5 vidclips from both volumes, the clips of "No" and "Dia De Enera" were not on an official release, maybe an import CD single from South America, but that's it. Everything else, the other 3 clips and 3 live performances, except for a remix video of "Don't Bother", were on the bonus DVD from Target's special edition of the 2nd Volume 2. Like I said before, to make this a 5-star release, the COULD have added onto the DVD the video footage from the DualDisc of Volume 1 as well as the remix clip of "Don't Bother". Instead, it's a good, but not complete, 31-minute DVD, oh well.

My suggestion??? Get this package and replace the regular Volume 1 with the DualDisc, or buy the DualDisc and keep both, as many people have problems playing the DualDisc in their car stereos, and you can play the regular disc in those players.

The best part of this release??? You can play the complete "Oral Fixation" in a row, and as good as both parts are separately, it's BETTER as a complete album!!! The 2 parts compliment each other like you wouldn't believe. To me, it's a work of art, eclectic, melodic, catchy, meaningful...everything from bossa nova ("Obtener Un Si"), Latin pop ("No", "En Tus Pupiles/Something", "Dreams For Plans"), new wave ("La Pared"...possibly my fave track on the whole set, in new wave and acoustic piano versions, the punky B-52's-ish "Escondite Ingles", and "Hey You"), heavy dance pop ("Lo Imprescindible"), glamish rock & roll ("Costume Makes The Clown"), slightly-but-not-TOO-commercial catchy as hell powerpop ("Don't Bother", "Animal City"), chanting over rocking pop and dance ("How Do You Do", "Timor"), cool collaborations ("Hips Don't Lie", "Illegal", "La Tortura", "Dia Especial/The Day & The Time") and much more...it's a 25-track album!!! Some tracks have English and Spanish versions that compliment each other, but overall, there are 20 standalone songs, and it cements Shaki's rep as an artful bilingual female pop force of nature with a rock & roll heart (the acclaimed, widespread Rick Rubin DID executively produce this whole set, after the Dixie Chicks, Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash), and I don't care if we have to wait 5 years for her next release. It will be great and worth the wait.

Shakira rocks!!!

Ok, you already know the product: FIJACION ORAL 1 y ORAL FIXATION2. FO1 gets 5 stars from me and OF2 gets 4 stars (only because they added Hips dont lie and La Tortura remix). The packaged itself gets a 5 stars rating.

However, if youre planning to buy this pack considering this is the complete Oral fixation project think again: The DVD is missing her latest videos: LA PARED, LAS DE LA INTUICION & ILLEGAL. Plus, theres a english version of Las de la Intuicion not included on any of the cds that comes with this package.

As I said before get this is you want it for what it is, but if u really want the whole project you wont get it with this pack. Hope that helps :)

If you don't have any of the Oral Fixation albums, then you need to get this box set of both albums (Vol. 2 is the revised edition with Hips Don't Lie), along with an extra DVD with 5 music videos and 3 live performances. It's amazing and worth every cent, especially if it's Shakira.

Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1- This is a great and diverse album. It starts with "En Tus Pupuilas", which is a great acoustic ballad that's soft and has an amazing French part. After that, "La Pared" comes. It has great music, along with the chorus, and then there's "La Tortura", probably the biggest song in Latin history, and the song definitely deserves that title. "Obtener Un Si" sounds like an amazing song that could have been a huge hit in the 60s. It's one of the songs that make the album very diverse. Next is "Dia Especial", which I really like, because it's a nice soft rock song. "Escondite Ingles" is a very up-tempo and vampiristic rock song, which is kind of like a part of rock music that's she's never done, and I like it. "No" is another amazing, sad, and soft standout, which gains a lot of tempo at the end. "Las de la Intuicion" is one of my favorites because of it's catchy electronic music, that's unlike any electronica in the mainstream. "Dia de Enero" is definitely my favorite song on the album though. It's very a very soft song and it's the ultimate highlight of the album. "Lo Imprescindible" is also a great song. I love the German part of the song. The song kind of sounds like industrial electronica. The final two songs "La Pared [Version Acoustica]" and "La Tortura [Shaketon Remix]" are also very good.

My top 3 favorites:

1. Dia de Enero

2. Las de la Intuicion

3. La Tortura feat. Alejandro Sanz

Oral Fixation, Vol. 2- This album is more on a rock-pop side, which I like a lot. "How Do You Do" is a very amazing way to begin this album that has very laid back verses and a great rock chorus. "Illegal" is next and it's a very catchy and relaxed song. Every obviosuly knows the song "Hips Don't Lie", but after a couple years of this song, I still love it, since Shakira songs never get old to me. "Animal City" is kind of like Latin-infused rock, with all of that percussion and it's a very nice blend. The lead single from the album "Don't Bother" is so amazing and it deifnitely deserved more mainstream attention. "The Day and the Time" is the English version of "Dia Especial" on the 1st OF, and I;m glad that it's on this album. One of my absolute favorite songs from Sahkira is on this album, "Dreams for Plans", because everybody could relate to this song, and the beat is also absolutely amazing. "Hey You" is also a very unique and creative song with a very heavy rock edge with a chorus that I love, and then another one of my favorites "Your Embrace" is on this album. I love the acoustic and orchestral music to this song. I also really love the lyrics. "Costume Makes the Clown" is also an amazing song with nice and up-close lyrics. "Something" is another English version of a song off the first OF, "En Tus Pupilas". I love this song, and then there's the closing song (besides the bonus track at the end), "Timor", a very political song, with influences of pop-rock and electro-disco in it. I absolutely love it. The Spanglish version of "La Tortura" is also great.

My top 3 favorites:

1. Hips Don't Lie feat Wyclef Jean

2. Dreams for Plans

3. Timor

The videos are also amazing:

1. La Tortura feat. Alejandro Sanz

2. Don't Bother

3. No feat. Gustavo Cerati

4. Hips Don't Lie feat. Wyclef Jean

5. Dia de Enero

(MTV 5 Star Live Performances)

1. Hey You

2. Illegal

3.La Tortura

My top 3 favorite videos:

1. Hips Don't Lie

2. Dia de Enero

3. La Tortura feat. Alejandro Sanz

Each Cd had great songs, but there were a few songs that were just Ok. Pero por lo menos puedo escuchar los dos Cds sin tener que cambiar ninguna canción.

Mejores canciones de Fijacion Oral vol.1:

En Tus Pupilas

La Pared

La Tortura

Dia Especial

No

Las De La Intuicion

Lo Imprescindible

Best songs of Oral Fixation vol.2:

How Do You Do

Illegal (featuring Carlos Santana)

Animal City

Dreams for Plans

Your Embrace

Costume Makes the Clown

Timor

For having waited 5 years for a CD to come out I think she did a good job, but nothing really blew my mind other than La Tortura, No, and Hips Don't Lie. I'm glad que yo espere antes de comprar los dos Cds individualmente because the deluxe edition comes with all the songs plus a bonus DVD with all the videos for the two albums except La Pared and Illegal.

Shakira is the dominant Latin female singer of our time, her voice and moves have crisscrossed the globe and generated a true pop culture phenomenon. Other pretty faces of Spanish-language music have attempted this feat, including Thalia and Paulina Rubio, with little success, having to hit reverse and stay in their respective Latin markets, but once Shakira released her 2001 English debut "Laundry Service" she became a bonafide crossover star, becoming just as popular here as in Mexico and her native Colombia where she's already a folk idol at the level of Simon Bolivar. In 2005 Shakira showed her daring sense of the creative by releasing a two-part project that showcases her bilengual skills with Vol. 1 being in Spanish and Vol. 2 in English. The result is a sometimes stunning collection of music featuring some beatiful melodies, sounds and rhythms. "Fijacion Oral Vol. 1" is her best Spanish work since "Donde Estan Los Ladrones," it shows a deeper maturity in Shakira's singing, lyrics and overall identity. The album plunges into lust, romance and regret, sorrow and happiness. "En Tus Pupilas" is a dreamy song with floating guitars and a rich atmosphere while "La Tortura" is a feverish dance number with poetic lyrical play and an irresistible mix of Latin rock, Carribbean rhythms and even a light touch of reggeaton. Alejandro Sanz, that husky-voiced gypsy from Spain makes a great cameo here. "No" is a somber piece with beautiful depth and visions of poison and heartache. "Obtener Un Si" is a stylish little piece that feels almost like something out of a 60's catalogue, very sweet. The second volume, "Oral Fixation," is less Shakira the dancer and more Shakira the rocker. This may be one reason why it failed on the charts when first released. The album was quickly re-packaged with a new spicey dance number and bilengual remix of "La Tortura." The addition of "Hips Don't Lie" shot the album up the charts, the song became a radio staple in the summer of 2006 and became a worldwide hit, especially when it was chosen as the theme song for the World Cup. It's a fun jam with Wyclef Jean taking us to Haitian landscapes as Shakira croons about her native Baranquia (which is also native to Shakira's buddy Nobel Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez). The rest of the album is a scorching rocker with the intense "Animal City" that paints the modern world as a cannibal jungle. "Illegal" is not a statement on the current political/social debate in America, instead it's a love song with nice guitar licks by Carlos Santana. "Don't Bother" is a tough in your face song while "How Do You Do" features a church choir, poking at the fact that Shakira was a Catholic schoolgirl. When looked at together it's evident that Shakira has achieved a unique set of songs here with "Oral Fixation" which crosses borders and feelings, one only hopes that this will only embolden the Colombian star to be even more daring in her next venture.