FIJACION ORAL VOLUMEN 1 - CD

Following her international breakout record--2001's LAUNDRY SERVICE--and a world tour, Shakira absorbed the influences of a wide range of musical styles during her travels, and this is immediately apparent on FIJACION ORAL VOL. 1. This 2005 release, the Colombian performer's return to recording in Spanish, bounces through folky pop-rock, reggaeton, salsa, techno, and punk, yet it never seems the work of a dilettante, rather an artist flush with ideas and excited by the variety of music around her. With the expert aid of producer Rick Rubin (a master of many styles himself), Shakira released one of the most delectable pop albums of the year. Shakira opens FIJACION ORAL with a tone somewhere between Sarah McLachlan and Kate Bush on two exquisitely etched compositions of sweet, ethereal pop, "En Tus Pupilas" and "La Pared." What follows is a musical roller-coaster ride, with all of the requisite unpredictability and exhilaration. Shakira nods to reggaeton with "La Tortura," conjures up Antonio Carlos Jobim on "Obtener Un Si," and flashes back to the intersection of New Wave and punk on "Escondite Ingles," before falling into the torch-song beauty of "No." With FIJACION ORAL, Shakira builds on her LAUNDRY SERVICE-era sound with wild abandon, and the results are fascinating.