Disco de Ricky Martin: “Life”

Ricky Martin is a phenomenal singer. His latin albums are stunningly good (his most recent spanish language one was the bomb) and his english albums are also generally good. A flaw from the english sets were sometimes mediocre lyrics set to stunning upbeat beats.

With "Life" Ricky Martin injects just that into his music. Where his previous efforts were strictly pop and latino influenced projects, this album boasts more influence from the hip hop genre as well as some lush middle eastern accents. The pop and latino influences are still present and accounted for but they generously share the spot light with new styles. Even though it seems to be a trend that everyone and their mama either tries to incorperate hip hop or angst rock into their styles, Ricky Martin has found a way to make it all seem fresh and new.

"Till I Get To You" opens this album and while it is no "Vida Loca" or "She Bangs" it is a wonderful indication of the direction the album will be traveling in. A mid-tempo gem with middle eastern accents highlighting the melodies and his stunning voice.

"I Won't Desert You" features a woman chanting in middle eastern dialect and again carries on the accents of the orient to stunning effect. This song is also mid-tempo with a beautiful chorus.

"I Don't Care" could get by without the geust spots but for once, it is the guests that add a needed punch to a catchy song. Amerie does fair with her part (anyone female singer in the R&B sect could have sang it) but it is Fat Joe who steals the show with up front rap that confronts and extinguishes infedelity in a lyrical swoop. His rap contrasts with the message of the song (I want you back even though you did me wrong) which makes it all the more intriguing to listen to.

"Stop Time Tonight" is a ballad and fans of Ricky Martin know that when he sings the ballads there are hardly any words to describe how beautiful they are in his hands. This song is no different and what makes this osng intriguing is its melody has a slight resemblence to A-Ha's "Forever Not Yours". Ricky Martin agains shows why he is a singer who captivates so many... his voice.

"Life", the title track is excellent and upbeat, boasting a hint of latino influence along with a blend of hip hop. The message in the song is what people need today... live your life to the fullest... it is short.

"I Am" is a seductive number in which Ricky Martin gets down with his dirty self. His lyrics boast a grittier erotic side that shows he is willing to step out of the good boy image he currently has. This song has an animalistic, raw appeal to it.

"It's Alright" is another good up-beat jam with some rocking guitars and latino hints as well as a good pop appeal. He gets down with this song and it seems like he has fun while singing it.

"Drop It On Me" starts with a prison break siren and then lets loose with a regetron kind of beat. Daddy Yankee and Taboo offer extra vocals and the song is overall appealing regardless of the guests. Ricky Martin can sing (which is the overall message of this review I suppose).

"This Is Good" is best the song title to best sum up the album. The song is well written, well crafted, and well accompanied with percussion. It feature inflence from latin style as well as mid eastern... quite a blend.

"Save The Dance" is another excellent ballad and it features the message that infedelity is the last thing on the agenda. Ricky Martin sings so well on this song with his breathy vocals and that appealing rasp that lends a certain degree of reality to the man on the disc. Wonderful song.

The last two songs are spanish versions of I Don't Care and It's Alright. Both are just as good as the english versions and "Que Mas Da" (I Don't Care) is remixed to a reggetron beat.

I am happy with this album. There are no filler songs to be found and each song was meticulously crafted with the fans and future fans in mind. Fianlly Ricky Martin has an english language album that can be considered an equal to his spanish ones.

Beautiful!

Sony released the official list of all CDs that contain the XCP Content Protection Technology and Ricky's "Life" CD is NOT ON THE LIST!!!

Check out the list:

http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html

Quote from the Sony website :

" Note: Two titles, Ricky Martin's "Life" and Peter Gallagher's "7 Days in Memphis" were released with a content protection grid on the back of the CD packaging but XCP content protection software was not actually included on the albums."

So the CD cover is only labeled with the copy protection software notice, but the CD itself DOES NOT contain any hidden root-kits.

I played the CD on my computer and had no pop-ups prompting me to install any players. Also I checked my system as suggested at this website: [...] and saw that there were no rootkits installed on my machine after playing the CD.

SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO BUY AND ENJOY RICKY'S FABULOUS NEW MUSIC!

I am glad to see that Ricky Martin is back, and that he wrote these songs straight from the heart!! Especially after what he has gone through and seen in Africa and in the Tsunami disaster areas!!!! Thanks for sharing Ricky!!!

For the rest of you that are leaving reviews and speaking so harshly about artists stick to reality if the music is not meant for you don't comment

Thanks

Lbrown

Aurora,CO

Forget everything that you thought that you knew about Ricky Martin. This effort, mostly consisting of songs that Ricky has written, will surprise you, entertain you and show you a totally different side of a talented and incredibly versatile performer. Layers of sound, multicultural ingredients and the thoughtful use of collaborations make this CD an experience. Listen to it several times and hear something different every time. "I Don't Care" and "Drop it on Me" have hip-hop, reggaeton and rap elements. "'Til I Get to You" and the title track are world music influenced, "I Am" is an incredibly sensual use of rhythm and Ricky's voice, which has always been underrated by those who don't appreciate how he uses it as an instrument, "Save the Dance" is probably his best ballad ever and the moving "I Won't Desert You" is close to it in quality, "This is Good" is a great dance song. Ricky's been around the world listening closely to its sounds and this CD takes us with him. "Life" is fantastic!

Ricky Martin sounds great when he sings in Spanish. In his last album, "Almas del silencio", Ricky's unique voice and the right combination of slow and ritmic songs were the key to its success.

Now, in this new production in English I was very surprised since I'm not a big fan of Ricky when he sings in this language (mainly because most of the songs in his english albums are not as powerful as the ones in Spanish albums- there were many 'fillers' in his previous English albums). This CD is very rich and diverse. Highly recommended English album, with energetic songs and very nice ballads.

My favorite songs were "Til I Get to You", "Life", "It's Alright" and "Drop It On Me", which I believe should be the next single to promote -great song. Out of the 12 songs, I liked them all, except for "I am". It's great that Ricky included 2 Spanish versions and reggaetón (with a great collaboration by Daddy Yankee) for the delight of all his Hispanic fans. At the same time, is a way to promote this great rhythm to the US.

And just to remind some people, Ricky launched the Spanish album "Almas del silencio" 2 years ago, and his last album in English, "Sound Loaded" was released 5 years ago. He was absent from the US Rankings, but he was at the top in Spanish ones. And for the people saying that he's a one-hit wonder, let me tell you that for the Spanish-speaking persons, he's an idol, he has so many albums in Spanish and was a big star before starting his music debut in English; he was already a superstar before the mega hit "Livin' la Vida Loca".