Search - Shakira :: She Wolf

Big disappointment

vedderoh1 | NJ United States | 12/03/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I still remember the exact moment when I heard Estoy aqui for the very first time: I was in my bedroom, studying for midterms and as the chorus ended I thought "wow, that's a voice". Only after I saw the video did I realize she was roughly my age and full of potential. Shakira's career took off with such impulse that a single trip around the earth would not be enough to make her fuel run out.



Fourteen years later and five albums under the arm the story seems to be the same. Or almost, at least. She Wolf finds her at a point in her life where everything has fallen finally into place, but maybe this has not quite sparked the flame to create an outstanding record. To put it simply, not even her last song in English (that sexy duet with Beyonce) could have prompted me to think twice whether to continue listening or turn off the stereo.



There are many factors that contribute to make Shewolf an utter disappointment for any true fan. First, she cannot convey in English what she transmits when she sings in Spanish. That has been a fact with very few exceptions (Hips don't lie and Underneath your clothes) that no matter how much we try to defend, has no escaping. Her voice finds a wall every time she delivers her verses in a foreign language and, in this case, the added synthesizers and dance beats help no further.

Second, she has allowed individual producers to slaughter her unique style hoping to obtain a more universal appeal. Unfortunately, that gamble results in a lifeless performance that any Britney could replicate.

Third, Shakira has never needed to prove herself to anyone, but in She Wolf she sounds as if every note was written to do so. Otherwise it cannot be understood why her identity is lost at the hands of merciless producers that make her tracks disappear amidst cliches and unexplainable arrangements, or why she seems to navigate aimlessly in creatively chopped paths.



Not everything deserves the waste basket here. Ironically, the six bonus tracks included in the U.S. release of the album (not in the original pressing released in the rest of America) contradict and improve everything that she has offered in the first ten tracks. Thus, Lo hecho esta hecho and Anos Luz, the Spanish versions of Did it again and Long time soar when she imbues them with her soulful native tongue, and acquire a new dimension when she words the meaning of her delectable prose.



I am positive that in a matter of months she will surprise us with a fantastic record in Spanish. She has to. The point of her music was never to gain millions of fans, but to touch them and embrace them, to make them one in all, and with this erratic attempt she has obviously lost that vision. The talent remains, but the form has betrayed her and us, hopefully momentarily."

Great Female Pop with Intelligence

Brian Rooney | Littleton, CO USA | 11/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shakira is not only one of the best pop artists in modern music, even better she is an intelligent, compassionate, creative individual who is unafraid to pursue her own vision despite anyone's expectations. She Wolf is one of her best albums, full of consistently beautiful and uplifting music.



A note to the She Wolf haters: did you somehow mistake Laundry Service for Hamlet? Get a grip. She makes pop music. She has always made pop music. She is still at the head of the pack, and will very likely remain there despite any number of personal reinventions. Pick up the soundtrack to Love in the Time of Cholera--that is very recent new music from Shakira, and it is much more traditional, maybe you'll like it better. Personally I can listen to Did It Again a thousand times in a row before I start getting sleepy. And have you seen that video?! Oh my god she can dance like no other. Those hips don't lie, but they sure can hypnotize.

"

Howls but doesn't bite.

Javier Lopez | Peru | 12/01/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Shakira is an artist who re-invents herself and does it right, but as anybody she can fail. I like Shakira's previous albums, I don't love her music but I enjoy it and think that she has a good voice. Even though I didn't like at all (next to lots of people) the first single of this production "She wolf/Loba", I gave the album a shot when it was released in Spain (one month before the U.S release) but I couldn't hear it all. I just couldn't stand the sounds that Shakira is making lately. I can't understand why a singer with such a great voice wastes her talent making "noises".

Her image has changed a lot and she looks better than ever but her music this time...it's not her best. I think that lots of Shakira's fans are not going to like what I'm commenting here but it's the truth and a proof of this is that she didn't get very good critics with this production and "She wolf" (single) didn't even make the Top 10 in the U.S and other territories."