There's a palpable sense of joy in Marc Anthony's voice. The salsa star and pop sensation may be slight in stature, but when he opens his mouth to sing, the sheer power and passion of his tenor grabs a hold of your heart a... more »nd makes you sit up and pay attention. The king of contemporary salsa was born and raised in New York City, but as good as Anthony is in his native tongue, he is triumphant when he sings in Spanish. Like Youssou N'Dour, Celia Cruz, and other great voices, Anthony's intensity and purpose transcend language barriers: even if you don't understand his words, it's difficult not to feel what he is expressing. On his first salsa collection since 1997's potent Contra la Corriente (and his first CD since his 1999 self-titled, slightly watered-down pop smash) Marc Anthony allows the emotionality of the rhythm to take control. Backed by a topnotch band, Anthony's supple voice carries the beat along, and on tracks like the propulsive "De Que Depende" he soars. His joy and the joy of hearing a great singer are contagious. --Amy Linden« less
There's a palpable sense of joy in Marc Anthony's voice. The salsa star and pop sensation may be slight in stature, but when he opens his mouth to sing, the sheer power and passion of his tenor grabs a hold of your heart and makes you sit up and pay attention. The king of contemporary salsa was born and raised in New York City, but as good as Anthony is in his native tongue, he is triumphant when he sings in Spanish. Like Youssou N'Dour, Celia Cruz, and other great voices, Anthony's intensity and purpose transcend language barriers: even if you don't understand his words, it's difficult not to feel what he is expressing. On his first salsa collection since 1997's potent Contra la Corriente (and his first CD since his 1999 self-titled, slightly watered-down pop smash) Marc Anthony allows the emotionality of the rhythm to take control. Backed by a topnotch band, Anthony's supple voice carries the beat along, and on tracks like the propulsive "De Que Depende" he soars. His joy and the joy of hearing a great singer are contagious. --Amy Linden
"Every musical artist has a remarkable album in his/her repertoire, the one that stands out from the others, the one that is an instant "hit"and I dare to say that "Libre" is the album that is platinum in Marc Anthony's collection. I trust that most people will be able to recognize and appreciate the manifestation of several different latin rhythms that have been masterfully orquestrated to produce such exceptional music. The genre here is clearly salsa but there are hints of other latin rhythmical sounds such as: vallenato, cha-cha-cha and afrocaribbean mixtures. Marc Anthony has exercised his musical creativity to his utmost potential and out from this unique talent has produced a musical masterpiece. All the songs are worthy of the highest praise for their lyrics and acoustics. Also amazingly enough all are incredibly danceable. I must make mention of one song "De que depende" because it is the best example of how latin rhythms can successfully be combined while the distinction of each rhythm is still heard. I reiterate this is a superb production and it should be in the collection of all salsa lovers! Boricua..."
WOW--BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE! --AMAZING!
Marianopolita2005 | 12/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"WOW! Marc Anthony has done it again and once again he released an album that tops everything else anyone has every done. Buy this album, because the songs are unbelievable! True talent! Every song brings something so special to the album. The single "Celos" will make you get off your seat and start dancing and you will not sit down untill you've played the entire CD several times. If you are into ballads, Marc got it also--the songs such as Caminare (which is incredible, especially in the middle of the song when he breaks into hot salsa), Viviendo (the musical and vocal stylings of which are so beautifull, you wont believe its possible to have such a combination in a song). And of course, Marc does it again with his Salsa. The songs such as "Hasta que vuelvas conmigo" will not leave ANYONE seating still. It's energizing, its addictive, its incredible! And the two beauties of the CD are "Este loco que te mira" AND "Barco A AL deriva", which will blow you away with Marc's ability to make you ache with every note, make you feel every single sound. What an experience! This is his best CD yet and this is the number one CD on the charts. YOU DONT HAVE TO SPEAK SPANISH TO LISTEN TO IT! HIS SONGS ARE UNIVERSAL---YOU'LL LOVE THEM NO MATTER WHAT YOU SPEAK!"
"I'm a big salsa fan, from the old boys (Ruben Blades, Willie Colon, Oscar D' Leon, Hector Lavoe and others) to the new guys like Marc Anthony and Victor Manuelle. I waited a long time for this last Marc Anthony album in salsa, sure his first pop album was good too and I liked very much but to me he shows his voice it's made to sing salsa. Right now this album "libre" is better than "Contra la corriente" and "Todo a su tiempo" his past two salsa albums (and this albums are great too), this album presents nice trumpet and drums sounds, with sounds of instruments never or few times used in salsa in some songs. The whole record is good but if I need to choose the best songs, well, to me are (with no order): Celos, Barco a la deriva, Este loco que te mira, Hasta que vuelvas conmigo and Caminare. I'm in list to buy Mended."
Simply amazing ....
Carmela | Chicago, IL United States | 03/05/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Marc Anthony by far is one of my favorite music artists but honestly I didn't think he could make any CD that would top Contra la Corriente, because that CD manages to tug at my heart strings like no other, but to my astonishment, this CD is at par with that one and has become one of my favorites. Marc Anthony has done it again!All the songs are great! It is very rare that you can say that about a CD, one or two songs always fall short of what you want but Libre has nine songs and you want to listen to all of them, at the same time and all day long. You want to dance salsa? Put this CD on, you can dance to all of these songs. You want to be nostalgic and remember old loves that were lost? Put #9, Caminare and you will be taken back to your past, like if you were currently living it. You want to celebrate love? Put #3, Viviendo, love can't get better than that. You simply have everything with this CD. Your afraid of loving someone? #4 Hasta que Vuelvas Conmigo, will make you take action and just go for it! Praise to Marc Anthony ..... he is the best. There is no that can top him!Kudos!!!!!Keep the salsa coming baby!Carmela Gonzalez
Chicago, IL"
Marc Anthony At His Very Best
Jose R. Perez | Yonkers, NY USA | 03/27/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Marc Anthony's "Libre" stands as perhaps his best album ever, in any language. As a paean to Freedom, the artist inhabits every note and lyric as if he'd been locked up in a prison for years and had finally been allowed to break free. That's the sense one gets listening to his vocals as Anthony testifies to love, jealousies and passion. This is a splendid album that dares the listener to both dance AND grasp the meaning of the words being sung. Unlike his last outing - the English language breakthrough - Marc Anthony has nothing to prove here. Therefore, he gives everything he's got and his fans reap the benefit. "Libre" is simply put, the jewel in Anthony's already-formidable canon of music. A class act all the way!"