Olga Tañón - Soy Como Tu (CD)

All Music Guide

Olga Tañón unexpectedly moved from Sony Discos to Univision for Soy Como Tú, the followup album to Una Nueva Mujer (2005), an excellent album that was a welcome return to form for the Puerto Rican merengue legend, who had been out of the limelight for several years prior. The curious label change (curious because Tañón's stock was again on the rise and because one presumes Univision to be a step down from Sony) seems to have affected the marketing more than her music, as little changed creatively for la mujer de fuego since Una Nueva Mujer: she once again collaborates extensively with mainstays José Luis Morín A. and Manuel Tejada, cowrites about half the songs herself, and features one blockbuster hit, "Desilusióname," in multiple versions (including a dynamite Sergio George salsa production). Soy Como Tú is a notable departure from Una Nueva Mujer in one regard, however, as it offers a much greater variety of musical styles. By and large, Una Nueva Mujer was a tropical album through ...and through, even exhibiting moments of fullon merengue, a rarity in this day and age. Hence the returntoform notices that delighted so many of Tañon's longtime fans who forever pine for the straightup Latin dance of fanfavorite albums like Mujer de Fuego (1993) and Siente el Amor... (1994). Moreover, the April 2006 release of 100 Merengue, an allmerengue compilation, seemed to acknowledge the reembrace of Tañón as a tropical figurehead. Yet Soy Como Tú is a departure from that. Its songs are a diverse mix of Latin styles tropical (the albumopening "María") as well as pop (the soaring ballad "Desilusióname"), urban (the reggaetonlite duet "Sigue Moviéndote" featuring Mikey Perfecto), and even regional Mexican (the Marco Antonio Solís cover "Mi Rechazo") and their sum is a dizzying album that darts to and fro stylistically. On an album like this, not every song is as effective as the next, and surely a lot depends on your personal preferences. Any way you cut it, though, there's a healthy serving of gradeA music here, even if it's not all to your liking stylistically; for instance, lead single "Desilusióname" may be a little out of character for Tañon, but it's undoubtedly an impassioned song destined for heavy airplay, thereby ensuring plenty of commercial promise for Soy Como Tú. There's a little something for everyone here, and while that means Soy Como Tú isn't a starttofinish tropical blast like Una Nueva Mujer, it's still a laudable effort from Tañón relative to troubled previous albums like Yo por Ti (2001) and Sobrevivir (2002) that likewise aimed to appeal across the board. - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide Read more Less