Shakira released her album "El Dorado" in May 2017. A few of the singles had been released earlier such as "La Bicicleta," a collaboration with Carlos Vives released in 2016. "El Dorado" has several collaborations and a few songs that sound like them even though no one else is credited as featured. Most of the songs are in Spanish. The first song, "Me Enamore" is rhythmic and upbeat. The next "Nada" is slower. It sounds like it's referring to the L.A. area, but I looked up the lyrics that actually say, "Vuelan los ángeles sobre Berlin." The first part could be "Vuelan Los Angeles …" but the second part is not referring to Beverly Hills as it initially sounded like to me. I downloaded the album from Freegal and do not have any liner notes. The song is about missing someone and how everything else is nothing.
The next song is the first of several to feature someone: "Chantaje" featuring Maluma. It as a more subtle Reggaeton beat that is not labled as "Shaketon" as Shakira used for "La Tortura" twelve years earlier. Both Maluma and Shakira sound like they're rapping the verses and singing the choruses. The song uses minimal instrumentation. At the end Maluma says their names. The album also has a Mambo Salsa version of the song that adds piano, horns, and Mambo rhythm. The next song "When a Woman" is the first track in English. Shakira emphasizes that only a woman "can love this hard." I'm not sure about this gender emphasis.
The next song, "Amarillo" is also fairly calm. It actually mentions several colors: Amarillo, dorado, and rojo. Each color represents something about how she feels about her love. The next song "Perro Fiel" is a duet but no one else is credited. It's faster and more rhythmic than the preceding songs and seems to be a conversation or an argument. Juanes' album "Mis Planes Song Amarte" that he released a bit later in 2017 also has a song with "perro" in the title. The next song, "Trap" is also an uncredited duet. It's more rhythmic than "Perro Fiel," though also quieter. The couple singing get along better. Shakira sings in English for the next song, "Comme Moi," while her uncredited duet partner sings what sounds like either French or Creole. This song is a faster and a bit longer. The next one, "Coconut Tree," is more mellow, all in English, and is not a duet.
The next song is the most popular and arguably the best. It came out in 2016, many months before the album. It's "La Bicicleta," the equal-share collaboration with Carlos Vives. It has a catchy Reggaeton beat and fun pop lyrics. Vives sings quickly for the bridge. The video features Vives and Shakira riding bicycles in different locations in their native Columbia. The song also appears on Carlos Vives' album "Vives." They released no fewer than three other versions of the song including a Vallenato version and a version featuring Maluma. Maluma calls out their names at the beginning of the song and adds many of his own lyrics. The song won the Latin Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year along with a 2017 Premio Lo Nuestro.
The next song "Déjà Vu" is a Bachata collaboration with Prince Royce. Their voices are very compatible with Royce's voice actually a bit higher than Shakira's. The song also appears on Prince Royce's latest album. The next song, "What We Said," is an all-English version of "Comme Moi." It's still a duet and much more understandable than the other version. The last song, "Tonaladas," continues the quiet theme, within only piano accompaniment at the beginning. It's a quiet ending to the album. Overall, I thought "El Dorado" was one of Shakira's better albums. I liked that it was a mix of songs in Spanish and English rather than all of them being one or the other. I also liked that most of the songs were collaborations. This album will tide me over until Shakira releases another album.
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