Olga Tañón Albums (14)
'Fuego en Vivo, Vol. 1'
Release Date 11/18/2008
Tracks 7
Label Universal Latino
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Fuego en Vivo, Vol. 2'
Release Date 11/18/2008
Tracks 6
Label Universal Latino
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Olga Tañón moved from Sony Discos to Univision for Soy Como Tú, the follow-up to Una Nueva Mujer (2005), the latter an excellent album that had been 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 seems to have affected the marketing more than her music, thankfully, as little changed creatively for La Mujer de Fuego: she once again collaborates with mainstays José Luis Morín A. and Manuel Tejada, co-writes 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 full-on merengue. Soy Como Tú is a departure from that. Its songs are a diverse mix of Latin styles -- tropical (the album-opening "María") as well as pop (the soaring ballad "Desilusióname"), urban (the reggaeton-lite 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 grade-A 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 Tañón, but it's undoubtedly an impassioned song destined for heavy airplay, thereby ensuring plenty of commercial promise for Soy Como Tú. There's something for everyone here, and while that means Soy Como Tú isn't a start-to-finish tropical blast like Una Nueva Mujer -- indeed, it's overlong, bogged down by too much MOR midway through -- 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, albeit too generically for comfort. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Una Nueva Mujer'
Release Date 4/19/2005
Tracks 12
Label Sony International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
There's a sharp difference between Una Nueva Mujer and Olga Tañón's previous all-new studio album, Sobrevivir, which had been released two and a half years earlier, in late 2002. More to the point, there's a sharp difference between Una Nueva Mujer and her previous three all-new studio albums. Not since Llévame Contigo, released in 1997 -- a long eight years -- had Tañón released a new album of entirely tropical music, and not since Llévame Contigo had she released such a thrilling album, one that warrants a full listen, with practically each and every track worthy of inclusion. Una Nueva Mujer is the album a growing legion of disillusioned devotees had been waiting for: her return to form (i.e., tropical music, merengue in particular), and away from the generic pop-crossover aspirations of her previous few increasingly ill-received albums. This isn't a straightforward merengue album like Siente el Amor... or Llévame Contigo, the two mid-'90s albums hardcore fans seem to cherish and reminisce about most. For better or worse, by 2005 the heyday of merengue had slowly but steadily faded from popular consciousness, displaced by the popularity of newer styles like bachata and, most explicitly, reggaeton. So it's understandable that Una Nueva Mujer is a fairly diverse album of tropical music, one that accounts for the recent changes in popular music. The most exemplary instance of this is the album opener, "Bandolero," a magnificent hybrid of the commonplace and the exotic, as well as of tropical and pop. If one song were to bridge Tañón's straight merengue past with her pop flirtations, this song would be it, as it seems to encompass the best aspects of both. Following this wonderful curtainraiser, Una Nueva Mujer breaks into its tropical core, beginning with the title track, a great throwback to the merengue bliss of Tañón's zenith. The album continues unabated, slowing down for the occasional light-tropical song like "Muero de Amor," but mainly keeping the rhythms fast-paced, almost dizzying at times. A couple low-key ballads close the album, admittedly, but they're modest songs -- not bombastic Latin pop -- and the album-closer, "Sin Ti No Puedo Vivir," is particularly touching. It's a heartfelt duet with Tañón's young daughter. About as fine a return to form as fans could have hoped for -- given the state of popular Latin music in 2005, that is -- Una Nueva Mujer also serves as a welcome reminder of Tañón's positive presence as a strong feminine individualist within the sometimes misogynistic Latin scene. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Sobrevivir'
Release Date 11/19/2002
Tracks 13
Label WEA International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Olga Tañón's continuing search for pop-crossover equilibrium again misses its mark on Sobrevivir, another ill-received pop album that resulted in a couple major hits ("Asi Es la Vida" and "No Podras") yet still angered her longtime fans, who wanted more merengue, not more pop. Past albums like Te Acordarás de Mí (1998) and Yo por Ti (2001) had been mixed bags, interweaving tropical music with ballads and pop, but Sobrevivir isn't even a mixed bag: it's a pop album through and through. Sure, there are some tropical-styled dance songs -- and good ones, at that -- namely "Caramelo" and "Asi Es la Vida," but they're not the kind of dizzying merengue barnburners that had brought Tañón such acclaim and devotion during the '90s, when she was clear and away the Queen of Merengue. (That title was highly questionable by this point in time, however.) If you can accept Sobrevivir for what it is -- Latin pop graced with layers of studiocraft and an army of technicians -- it's a fine album, about as good as any adult-leaning Latin pop release of its time. For instance, there are some of Tañón's best ballads to date here -- "Mentiras," "No Podras," and especially "Quien Diria," a duet with Luis Fonsi -- while the aforementioned "Caramelo" and "Asi Es la Vida" are also first-rate. Alas, Sobrevivir wasn't met with universal acceptance, let alone praise, and it ended up becoming Tañón's lowest charting album since Mujer de Fuego (1994), as it only reached number 11 on the Top Latin Albums chart, a relatively poor showing for the former Queen, who was accustomed to scaling the chart, album after album. Consequently, damage control would ensue, beginning with A Puro Fuego, a sure-fire collection of her best merengues, released within a year's time. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Olga Viva, Viva Olga'
Release Date 11/16/1999
Tracks 14
Label WEA International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
As WEA Latina often did during Olga Tañón's off years, the label issued a stopgap release in 1999 -- just in time for the holiday season, of course. That year's stopgap, Olga Viva, Viva Olga, is a colorful live recording from a show Tañón performed at House of Blues, Orlando, FL. The recording was released on CD as well as video. It's a colorful recording because of Tañón's zeal: she injects a lot of energy into her performance and goes out of her way to interact with the rapturous audience. Her zeal, along with the set list of fan favorites, compensates somewhat for the poor mixing of the recording. The music never quite stands out like it should, as none of the instruments sound in relief from one another, as if the show were recorded through a single channel and subsequently unmixed. Needless to say, these performances may be full of zeal, but they don't sound nearly as invigorating as their more illuminated studio counterparts. If you don't care much about sound quality, this won't be an issue, because this matter aside, the performance is well documented here for posterity, especially in the video medium. Tañón works her way through a set of hits, including a boogaloo medley halfway through and a nine-minute rendition of "Tu Amor" toward the end that encompasses an array of various rhythms. As enjoyable as Olga Viva, Viva Olga is, especially for devoted fans who will absolutely cherish the between-song banter, there's nothing essential about this release. Olga Viva, Viva Olga is a welcome stopgap release, certainly -- better than yet another less-than-definitive compilation -- but something only devotees should consider. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Te Acordarás de Mí, released in 1998, is where Olga Tañón's discography begins to go astray. Here she leaves behind the consistently thrilling (and chart-topping) tropical music she'd enjoyed for several albums, namely Mujer de Fuego, Siente el Amor..., and Llévame Contigo. She'd done this once before, releasing an album of Marco Antonio Solís songs, Nuevos Senderos, in 1996. Instead of releasing another album of regional Mexican-styled music, however -- and a modest, enjoyable one at that, as Nuevos Senderos had been -- she courts much broader appeal, fashioning herself as a Latin pop diva à la Thalía. The photogenic telenovela star is the logical point of connection, because Te Acordarás de Mí features key contributions from hitmaker Kike Santander, who had almost single-handedly made Thalía's Amor a la Mexicana the amazement that it was a year prior, in 1997. And, too, Santander had worked with Gloria Estefan before that, on Abriendo Puertas in 1995. So Tañón was clearly aiming far beyond her tropical fan base with Te Acordarás de Mí, aligning herself with a proven popsmith like Santander, and the other telling sign is the absence of her former stable of songwriters: Yaidelice Monrrozeau, Rodolfo Barreras, Raldy Vázquez, and Gustavo Márquez, all of whom are sadly MIA. This was a bold move, for sure, and the result is scattershot. The three Santander songs are fantastic, as expected: the album-opening "Tu Amor" is a barnburner, one of Tañón's all-time best dance songs, while "Hielo y Fuego" and "Un Hombre y una Mujer" are also excellent. Beyond the Santander songs, Te Acordarás de Mí veers all over, generally interspersing uptempo dance-pop with romantic ballads. The uptempo songs tend to be the highlights, most notably the fierce "El Niño." The ballads tend to be generic, on the other hand; the best is "Escondidos," a Cristian Castro duet. So consider this initial crossover venture a measured success: Te Acordarás de Mí boasts a few really great hits, certainly, along with some good album tracks, yet it also includes a surprising number of misses -- not a particularly good omen, given how superlative and rock-solid Tañón's last few albums had been. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After a rash of consecutive hits throughout 1994 and 1995, the reigning Queen of Merengue, Olga Tañón, took a break from tropical music, releasing an album of Marco Antonio Solís songs, Nuevos Senderos. This puzzled hardcore fans, no doubt, even if her off album was a good one, albeit subdued and strongly Mexican in character. So when she returned to tropical music in 1997 with Llévame Contigo, it was with considerable anticipation, to say the least. And return Tañón did, releasing an album that reprised everything wonderful about her best early-'90s music. Llévame Contigo includes songs by all those who had penned her best songs on past albums: Yaidelice Monrrozeau (who had written "Contigo o sin Ti") contributes two songs, "El Frío de Tu Adiós" and "Así Es el Amor"; Rodolfo Barreras ("Es Mentiroso") turns in a pair; Raldy Vázquez ("Una Noche Mas") also turns in a pair; and Gustavo Márquez ("Entre la Noche y el Día") returns, too, with "Porque No Te Encontré." Llévame Contigo easily became Tañón's most successful album yet, topping the Latin Albums chart and spinning off one hit after another, chief among them "El Frío de Tu Adiós." Hardcore fans consistently rank Llévame Contigo alongside Siente el Amor... and Mujer de Fuego as Tañón's best. Song for song, it's not as solid as Siente el Amor..., which was near-perfect from beginning to end. However, Llévame Contigo is definitely more diverse, in terms of songwriting as well as music, and it includes more songs. So if it's not as consistently stellar as Siente el Amor..., it's more broadly appealing. This age-old debate aside, Llévame Contigo is first-rate, any way you look at it, and it's the last beginning-to-end tropical album Tañón would record for years, as she would court pop-crossover success on subsequent albums, to generally mixed results, unfortunately. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
