Luny Tunes Albums (5)
'Los Benjamins: La Continuacion'
Release Date 4/24/2007
Tracks 45
Label Machete Music
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Shortly after releasing Los Benjamins, the third volume in their ongoing Mas Flow series of mixtape-style albums, reggaeton production crew Luny Tunes went back to the drawing board and began work on La Continuacion. Essentially a deluxe edition of Los Benjamins, La Continuacion includes roughly two and a half hours of music spread over the course of two CDs and one DVD. The first CD is the original edition of Los Benjamins sans the two unlisted bonus tracks that had been tacked onto the end of that album. The second CD is comprised of remixes of key songs from Los Benjamins, in addition to ten new songs, an opening instrumental, and four "bonus tracks" from the previously released compilation Raices del Reggaeton. The DVD includes a few videos. Amid all of this content, the second CD stands out. There are several new songs here that are really good, each of them highlighting emerging young vocalists: "Vete" (Erre-11), "Welcome to My Crib" (Randy), "Camara" (Yomo), "La Distancia" (Arcangel), "Mia" (Yo-Seph), and "I Think I'm in Love" (Ektor). The remixes on this second CD are equally impressive, for the most part surpassing the original mixes, and they're surprisingly daring, as if the Luny Tunes crew felt emboldened to expand its sound. For instance, the "Hello" remix is stripped down to vocals and piano -- no beats whatsoever. Since Los Benjamins (i.e., the first disc) had been somewhat of a letdown -- no real strides forward, just more of the same, with a handful of clumsy songs that weren't up to par -- this new music is a small revelation: it's promising to hear Luny Tunes explore new sounds, step up their songwriting, and in the case of the remixes, improve upon some of their past missteps (especially "Lento," which benefits greatly from the addition of Wisin & Yandel -- and consequently the subtraction of some RBD vocals). Released on the heels of Calle 13's exciting Residente o Visitante, with Daddy Yankee's long-awaited El Cartel right around the corner, Los Benjamins: La Continuacion was a well-timed and worthwhile venture for Luny Tunes, who have much to gain from the commercial rise of reggaeton. Hardcore fans will want to shell out the cash necessary to hear the new music here, even if half of La Continuacion was previously released. Casual listeners who don't already own Los Benjamins, on the other hand, are advised to pick up this release instead, even if it's a little more costly. With roughly two and a half hours of music, much of it first-rate, La Continuacion offers more than its money's worth. [Note that the album's credits are occasionally puzzling, with errors printed here and there throughout the packaging (e.g., track 12 on disc two).] ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'The Kings of Beats, Vol. 2'
Release Date 12/19/2006
Tracks 20
Label Machete Music
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Los Mas Flow: Los Benjamins'
Release Date 7/25/2006
Tracks 23
Label Machete Music
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Luny Tunes, far and away reggaeton's biggest hitmakers, continued their relentless music output in 2006, releasing not one but three albums, only one of which, however, was comprised of entirely new music. That all-new album, Los Benjamins, is a continuation of their popular Mas Flow series of various-artists albums. Each of these albums features the trademark production of Luny Tunes (even if some of it is co-produced or credited to in-house associates like Nely, Tainy, and Los Presidents) as well as a bounty of reggaeton's most popular voices, with the notable absence of Tego Calderón, who had appeared on all previous volumes. The usual stars are featured -- Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Wisin & Yandel, Zion, Hector "El Father," Tito "El Bambino," Alexis & Fido -- along with the surprising inclusion of RBD, the as-seen-on-TV pop/rock group of exceptional renown circa 2006. The RBD song, "Lento," isn't all that impressive (sounding a little awkward, in fact, since the teens lack the lyrical dexterity for reggaeton), yet it is an interesting attempt by Luny Tunes to cater a hit for even the most unlikely acts (like Scott Storch working with Paris Hilton and Brooke Hogan, for instance). The standout song amid the bunch is "Noche de Entierro (Nuestro Amor)," a star-studded collaboration driven by a novelty production tricked out with odd flourishes, like a flute riff -- not unlike the star-studded collaboration of Mas Flow, Vol. 2, "Mayor Que Yo," which had featured a sped-up rhythm. Don Omar's "Beautiful" is another standout song, as is Tito "El Bambino"'s "Esta Noche." Overall, however, Los Benjamins is a letdown. It's not a bad or disappointing album, granted; in fact, it's quite well executed and should please anyone fond of Luny Tunes' brand of reggaeton. But there are no revelations here. It's just more of the same, and after the relentless output of Luny Tunes in the lead up to Los Benjamins, it all began to sound similar. Perhaps if Luny Tunes slowed down their output -- say, to maybe one album per year, not three! -- their style wouldn't seem so routine, because indeed it is first-rate reggaeton. Yet when their music is so ubiquitous and their releases so unceasingly forthcoming, Luny Tunes are destined to lose some of the freshness they once had, no matter how well crafted their music may be. Then again, perhaps it is all about the benjamins to them. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'The Kings of the Beats'
Release Date 11/23/2004
Tracks 43
Label Universal Latino
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Kings of the Beats serves its purpose well, to showcase the production mastery of Luny Tunes. The two-disc, 43-track album rounds up instrumental versions of many of the duo's most popular work, along with other production shorts exclusive to this album. The Kings of the Beats isn't recommended to casual or curious reggaeton listeners, given its purely instrumental, sampler-like quality. However, if you're a reggaeton fanatic or a beat head looking to delve deeply into the inner workings of Luny Tunes, here you go: enjoy. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Stated simply, Mas Flow is a landmark reggaeton album. Along with Tego Calderón's El Abayarde, also released in 2003, it was the first reggaeton album to meet a mass audience. In doing so, it introduced the world not only to the musical style itself in album format, but also to Luny Tunes, the production duo who would quickly become the biggest hitmakers in the reggaeton world, as they would go on to hit the jackpot in a year's time with Daddy Yankee on his Barrio Fino blockbuster. And too, the mixtape nature of Mas Flow helped introduce a host of first-rate reggaeton vocalists in the process, pretty much every heavyweight the style had to offer circa 2003: Calderón, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Wisin & Yandel, Héctor & Tito, Nicky Jam, Baby Ranks, Zion & Lennox, and many more. Granted, Luny Tunes would develop their style further in the wake of this release (in particular, the second volume is an impressive stride forward), but their trademark galloping beats, stabbing synths, and gunshots are all in place here, albeit in a relatively primitive fashion. In fact, it's quite fascinating to chart the progress the duo would make in the couple years following this release. You can really hear them polish their style with each successive release. But even if Luny Tunes aren't quite up to par here with their future selves, Mas Flow is a remarkable album nonetheless. The fact that it is such a landmark reggaeton release makes it all the more remarkable, of course, but Mas Flow is easy to enjoy even outside of its historical context. In particular, the opening run is outstanding -- Wisin & Yandel's "Aventura," Don Omar's "Entre Tú y Yo," Calderón's "Sazón, Métele," and Daddy Yankee's "Cójela Que Va sin Jockey" -- and there are more highlights like K Mill's "Métele Perro" scattered throughout the 20 tracks. On the downside, because Luny Tunes haven't quite yet developed their style fully, Mas Flow can seem a bit short on ideas after a while, especially if you're unfamiliar with the intricacies of reggaeton or if Puerto Rican Spanish sounds like Greek to you. That conceded, Mas Flow and the similarly styled Luny Tunes albums that would follow it are excellent introductions to reggaeton, not only offering you a lively sampler of the style's best performers but also its best producers by a long shot. This is ground zero for the early-2000s popularization of reggaeton, especially in American markets like New York and Miami, where the style would blossom commercially in the years to follow. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
