Sound (Un)Loaded !!!!. Review on Sound Loaded - Ricky Martin

You love him...Or, You hate him! But, you simply cannot ignore him! Yes, I am talking about Ricky Martin. This 31-year old Latin male artist from Puerto Rico has sold over 42 million albums, including singles till date; and has been breaking his own records year after year. In the course of his career, he won many awards and has been honoured with titles alike.

His first English album - Ricky Martin carved his name as an International Singer. His performance at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards ceremonies in February 1999 first made his presence felt. He received a standing ovation for this one! ''Livin La Vida Loca'' was another hit single from him. It bagged the Best Dance Video and Best Pop video awards by MTV. Also, his single, ''La Copa de la Vida,'' was the official song of the World Cup France '98. (For detailed information on Ricky Martin, you may visit his official web site https://rickymartin.com.)

He released his second English album on November 14th, 2000 - Sound Loaded. I never really liked Ricky Martin for the kind of videos he made...but always enjoyed his foot tapping songs. A month before the release of Sound Loaded, Ricky announced an online contest in conjunction with MSN and MTV. A few simple questions and a slogan to complete ''She Bangs because....'' got me the 2nd prize - an exclusive pre-release copy of the Sound Loaded CD!!

The CD

The CD released by Sony Music is neatly packed in plastic on the CD jacket. On the face of it, it does look very attractive! You'll see Ricky Martin's face on the front cover and his Back on the back cover! (seated on a chair). Quite innovative I guess. The CD is light brown in color and has the songs listed in fine print. The lyric card is also enclosed within.

The Songs

This album contains 15 songs. I've rated each of them separately. Remember, you might have a different taste!

01. She Bangs (4:40)

'Looks like a flower, But stings like a bee...Like every girl in history!!' - is what the song says! How true ;-) The music picks up and tempo of this song increases as it moves on. She Bangs is one of the songs which topped the charts for some weeks before his next song video was on television. I would say-- an ideal dance number.

02. Saint Tropez (4:48)

This is nice soft song and I would recommend it for a lonely evening. The lyrics don't make much sense to me...''There's a town called Saint Tropez, Where a girl like you's a Panchanguera''. Can anyone explain??

03. Come to Me (4:43)

A slow love song with touching words (written by Robi Rosa, David Resnik & James Goodwin). The chorus effect ''Why don't you come to me?'' is just excellent.

04. Loaded (3:52)

The song begins with a bang, but unfortunately fails to give the 'loaded' effect. Ricky has tried twisting tunes in this one. It didn't match my taste! A 'headache' number : -)

05. Nobody wants to be Lonely (5:04)

This one is my Ricky Martin favourite. It was this song which took over the She Bangs after-effect and remained on # 1 for weeks on end. The same song was recorded for the 2nd time as a duet with fellow Latin artist, Christina Aguilera..and within a couple of days the Free MP3 download sites were jammed with requests!

06. Amor (3:27)

I liked the way Ricky Martin carried this song through..but I never enjoyed listening to this one. Again, because of the inclusion of a few Latin words, I couldn't grasp the meaning conveyed.

07. Jezabel (3:48) *

I liked this number ..but I still think that it would sound much better if the tempo is increased and the beats are changed. Perhaps a Remix would make the difference. Something seems to be missing.

08. The Touch (4:27)

This one gets the 5-star rating for the lovely lyrics and excellent music. A perfect love song! I wonder why Ricky didn't make a video for this one. It would soon pick up to come on par with song some evergreen love songs. A song to be dedicated to your beloved :- )

09. One Night Man (3:47)

Great music, Nice beats ..but the lyrics are a let down. If you simply ignore them..you'll enjoy this one for sure. The Arabic chants by Calanit Ledani add to the song.

10. She Bangs (4:36)

Yeah, He Bangs for the 2nd time! (He = Ricky, not a typo!) The Spanish version of the same song. One star less to this one..as you won't enjoy the song as much as the English version...unless you understand Spanish.

11. Are you in it for love (4:05)

The song sounds likes a mix and match of the all the above songs. Nothing new or fresh about this one.

12. Ven a Mi (4:32) *

This is the Spanish version of Come to me.

13. If you ever saw her (3:49)

The song talks about an irresistible girl! A cool song. The drums played by Brian Rawlings and the Guitar by Adam Philips have saved this song from a poor rating!

14. Dame Mas (3:52)

Spanish version of Loaded.

15. Cambia La Piel (5:13)

A slow Spanish number..I couldn't understand one bit of it once again! A 'lethargic' song which can put you to sleep.

Do I Recommend this album?

The answer is NO. The CD would cost you Rs.525/- approximately. ($15.99 -from net). Am not sure about the price of the cassette. The overall rating of the album is not more than ** 1/2. If you understand Spanish, then perhaps you might like to rate it higher. Most of the songs are slow and lack enthu...so, definitely not a party album. Three of the nice songs She Bangs, Nobody wants to be lonely, and Come to Me are also a part of his latest album ''The Best of Ricky Martin''..along with some of his greatest hits. So, you can be better off with that one. Also, music could have been better with the coordinated and lavish use of drums, guitar and percussion. In most of the songs, he has used the same instruments in same doses..which makes the music sound monotonous.

Ricky Martin is, no doubt, a great artist and performer. But, this album fails to live up to the expectations of Ricky Martin fans. Don't waste your money on this one!

--Thanks for reading!