Aventura+Concert+Review

=**AVENTURA**= June 25th, 2009 | Published in Rizwan

Recently mega star group Aventura, a.k.a. the Kings of Bachata, released what has been rumored to be their last album. This new album, ironically named “The Last”, combines their original sound while infusing all the growth they’ve done since their formation in 1994.

For those who don’t know much about spanish music, Aventura’s music is primarily a style of music called bachata, which originated in the rural areas of the Domincan Republic. Combined with it’s own special dance (curious? Lessons to step your latin game up here) bachata has recently exploded on the latin music scene, now equalizing popularity with the heavily popular other styles of latin music and dance including salsa and merengue. In this genre today, Aventura is by far the most widely known and famous bachata group, revolutionizing the genre by infusing aspects of music they grew up on in the Bronx including hip-hop, R&B, and the newly mainstream reggaeton.

When one starts off listening to the album they are instantly drawn in. In the intro, Romeo (the lead singer), states that this may be the last Aventura album and that it has been an amazing experience for the past 15 years. The second track, “Por Un Segundo” is the first single off the album. Infusing a sort of arabic vibe with latin roots, the song has been a massive smash, shooting up the charts to number on Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks, where it stayed for and entire week. The 12th track on the album, “All Up To You” is the second single. This massive club hit has been played out due to the guest appearances of Akon and super reggaeton duo Wisin Y Yandel and the ever growing popularity of auto-tune, which lead singer Romeo invokes on this track.

Aside from the singles, there are many tracks that stand out on this album. Some of which include the romantic “Dile Al Amor”, the real talk “El Malo”, the beautifully composed “Su Veneno” which incorporates amazing spanish guitar riffs, the amazing love-inspiried “Tu Juguito”, the amazingly produced and written “Spanish Fly” which includes the guest vocals of Mr. Fugee himself Wyclef Jean and the ever amazing talents of Ludacris who actually pulls out the spanish on this one, the warning of “Peligro”, the previously popular through way of radio-leak, “El Desprecio”, the rock-infused “Su Vida”, the ballad of “Soy Hombre”, and of course the end track which combines the many different styles of latin music into one including an ending skit, “Gracias”.

All these songs, even with the skits, combine to create an album that is truly amazing. A definite must-buy for all latin music fans or fans trying to diverse their music tastes. I highly recommend it, giving it a 6 out 5 stars just because I can. This album is a fabulous, unrelenting masterpiece, dealing with love, life and fun. From start to finish, there is not one song I hate, a true classic album.

The album in its entirety can be heard on Aventura’s myspace.