ENRIQUE IGLESIAS
Enrique
(Interscope)

At precisely the moment that the entire world stopped caring about the massive Latin pop phenomenon that was going to usher in the next century, Julio's boy goes and drops his first English-language album. And, madre de dio, it's chock-a-block full of uptempo, flamenco-touched pop bombast. However, Enrique is a little more complex than you may want to give it credit for. To be sure, there's some completely disposable music on here (actually, there's lots of it), but, unlike a lot of what's being marketed as pop music these days, at least Enrique is actually, well, music. Setting itself quite a few steps away from the cheesy, machine-driven pop dreck that's dominating the airwaves, this is an album aimed squarely at cross-generational appeal. From high-intensity pop overload ("Bailamos") to sugary-sweet balladry ("Could I Have This Kiss Forever," a duet with Whitney Houston that is so over-the-top it virtually creates its own cliché), at the very core of Enrique is a strict sense of pop classicism that, despite Iglesias' insistence, is a direct result of his father's influence.
Not that Enrique is gonna be dueting with Willie Nelson any time soon, but the same traditional approach to making accessible, enjoyable music that made his father such a success is coursing through this debut English effort. Where his previous albums certainly demonstrated it, they were pointed more directly at a young, Latin audience, and therefore bristled with more energy and contemporary flavor. However, with but a few exceptions, this album is definitely meant to get the over-30 ladies swooning. And swoon they will. "I'm Your Man," "You're My #1," "I Have Always Loved You"... hell, even a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Sad Eyes" -- all these songs are so dripping with sensitive sexuality that Enrique can't help but hit with all those Michael Bolton fans who felt betrayed when he cut his hair. Of course, there's some hi-NRG "Latin pop" here too ("Bailamos," "Rhythm Divine," and the down-tempo "Alabao"), but those certainly take a back seat to the saccharine balladry that dominates here. However, whether it's slow jams or dance numbers, the one thing that certainly highlights Enrique is the fact that this is an album made by musicians and not machines. So, whether it's the guitars on "Alabao" or the dense structure of "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (or even the tempered groove of "Bailamos"), it's clear that this is the sort of music that will go over quite well in the Vegas lounges of 2039.

— Jason Ferguson