Months before this major-label debut appeared, Enrique Iglesias scored a radio hit with the upbeat "Bailamos," thanks to its inclusion on the soundtrack of Wild Wild West. Enrique's bid to firmly place the son of Julio in the mainstream pop firmament leads off with another midtempo dance-pop airwaves candidate, "Rhythm Divine." The track is typical of the rest that follow: highly wrought emotion recalled in a bed of glossy production that uses Latin syncopation as a reminder of the singer's roots while resolutely aiming for chart supremacy next to the likes of Celine Dion. Filled with pop romanticism--a duet with Whitney Houston, a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Sad Eyes," and proclamations on the order of "I've seen the sun make love to the sea"--Enrique is easy enough on the ears, and looks like a surefire hit. --Rickey Wright
95/08 is the first Spanish NUMBER ONES hits compilation in Enrique's career. It will include songs which have made history in his thirteen years as a recording artist, such as "Enamorado Por Primera Vez", Experiencia Religiosa, Bailamos, Heroe or Dímelo (The Ping Pong Song) plus two previously unreleased tracks, the 18th number one hit in his career, "Donde Estan Corazon" and the urban-pop, "Lloro Por Ti".* CD+DVD Deluxe Edition, with 17 number one hits plus 2 previously unreleased songs, DVD with 8 videos and 1 special interview/documentary of his 2007 Insomniac World Tour
After three years of tossing and turning in anticipation of a new Enrique Iglesias disc, fans of the Latin superstar may find themselves losing still more sleep over early reviews that take Insomniac to task for straying too far from the sound that launched him to the loverman stratosphere. No need, though. Despite the presence of Lil' Wayne on the ultra-steamy, street-edged "Push" and some unapologetically catchy pop tunes any male singer, ethnicity aside, could have fun with ("Do You Know," for example, and "Tired of Being Sorry," a Ringside re-tread), white-hot machismo and Latin charm permeate Insomniac reliably. "Little Girl" sends out liquid-eyed outpourings of love to the ladies, "Don't You Forget About Me" delivers a sweet lament over a melting guitar line, and three late Spanish-language tracks--though they're just translations of English versions that preceded them--manage to lift the whole thing into a romantic shangri-la. If it's a peppier shangri-la than normal, chalk it up to No-Doz; Iglesias admits in the liner notes that he, himself, is the insomniac the disc was named for. --Tammy La Gorce
