Escape - Enrique Iglesias

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Brilliant combination of tunes, from up - beat to ballads .
Disadvantages:	None at all .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When I bought this album I wouldn't really have called myself an Enrique Iglesias fan. However after listening to what "Escape" has to offer, I was pleasently suprised and am now a huge fan Enrique fan.
The first song I heard of his was "Bailamos",which was released in 1999, and means "We dance" in English, and I absolutely loved it. It is still one of my favourite songs because it's really holiday-esque, and typically spanish with the spanish guitar and some spanish lyrics. So after hearing this and his massive hit "Hero" which was released a few years later I thought I'd give this album a try.
I used to listen to it when I first had it, and then recently got it out again, and it has been in my CD player ever since. By re-listening to it, I realised just what a great album it is, so thought I'd let you know all about it.

~~History~~~
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler was born in Madrid in 1975 to Julio Iglesias (the old famous singer) and Isabel Preysler. He then moved to live in America, after his parents divorced. He has been really succesful as a singer and has released 7 albums to date including "Vivir", "Cosas Del Amor", "Enrique", "Escape" and "Quizas'". With "7" (as it's his seventh album) which includes the hit "Not in Love" (duet with Kelis) being his most recent album. All together, Enrique has sold over 15 million albums world- wide!
*An interesting fact is that he wrote every song on this album (Escape) , "Quizas" and "7".

1. Escape
This song was released in 2002 and was a huge hit here in the UK. It's an upbeat song, but was more famous for the video with that stupid Anna Kournikova (The tennis player-not that I'm at all jelous!). In this Enrique sings:
"You can run, you can hide but you can't escape my love". Run Anna, Run I think there's a stalker after you. Run back to Sweden, leaving Enrique behind! (Please)

2. Don't Turn Off The Lights
This is one of my favourite songs of the album. It's another up-tempo song , which begins slow but then a beat kicks in with a very catchy chorus. The electric guitar is used to full effects in this song, and includes Enrique singing Soprano-high vocals.

3. Love To See You Cry
This is a slightly slower song that most of the others. It's not quite as cruel as the title may seem. But suprisingly he "loves to see you cry" and he doesn't know why, but it "makes him feel alive". This was also released as a single and the video features Enrique wearing an unusual dressing gown/hoodie!

4.Hero
If you haven't heard this song, you must have been in mars for a few years. This was Enrique's biggest succes single, when it was released in 2001, in the UK, and is still a classic. Take a catchy ballad, mixed with a powerful chorus and a lovely melody, combine it with a gorgeous spanish accent and you have a clear winner! This song was number 1 for 4 weeks, and has sold millions of singles all over the world. It was also nominated for single of the year, and it's not hard at all to see why. I still love this love song, because there's so much emotion in it, and his voice is used to his full potential, as you can hear his voice quiver, which just adds to the power/emotion. This has become a very popular song, and apparantly has become a popular song at weddings for the "first dance" song.

5. I Will Survive
No, don't worry Mr Iglesias hasn't done the unthinkable and copied the Gloria Gaynor classic-oh no! Instead he has hit back with a power song about "surviving and making it through". It's a real catchy, feel-good song, which gives you hope.

6. Love 4 Fun
This is a mediocre track, but I still enjoy it, because like nearly every song on this album it will have you singing along in no time. It is slightly repetitive but he tells us he's "making love for fun, working for a holiday"

7. Maybe
This is a ballad and was also released in the UK. It's a good tune, but not as memorable as Hero. This song was writen about his father (Julio Iglesias) and after hearing it a few more times, it has definitely grown on me. Although this album consists of mostly fast songs, I think that it's his ability to combine both light-hearted, catchy, pop tunes, with mega-power ballads like this one and "Hero" is what makes him stand out and be so succesful. The way he sings ballads really show maturity beyond his years, with his voice expressing so much emotion.

8. One Night Stand
Like a few of the tracks on the album this begins slow, and fools you in to believing that it's another ballad. But Oh no! The chorus kicks in and leaves you singing along and wanting to dance!

9. She Be The One
This is a mid-tempo track, and it's not bad at all. Despite not being a knock out tune, it will have you singing and you will enjoy it.

10. If The World Crashes Down
This is yet again another catchy tune, with a great chorus and great guitar riffs.

11. Escapar
This is Escape, in spanish. If you like the English version then you're bound to like this one.

12. No Apagues La Luz
This is track 2 ("Don't turn off the lights") in spanish. As I mentioned earlier it's a brilliant tune, and is equally as good in spanish.

13. Hereo
You may have guessed from the title but this is "Hero" in spanish. It's hard to say which one I prefer, because both versions are trully amazing. The english version is good because I understand the words and can sing along, but then there's something really amazing about the spanish language, and hearing such a good singer, singing this power ballad in his own language makes it even more emotional and can make the arms of the back of your neck stand up.

~~~Would I recommend it?~~~
All in all this is a brilliant album, and I'd award it a 9/10.
Since recently listening to this I have decided that I'm a huge Enrique Iglesias fan, (I didn't realsise it for years) and I'm now trying to find all of his albums on ebay to buy. This is suitable for all ages, and if you're a fan of Enrique you'll love it! I'd even recommend it to non-fans, as there's some really catchy tunes for everyone, and it's quite holiday-esque as it's so up-beat. So if you're too young for Julio Inglesias (or tired of the old guy) and not quite in to dancey/slightly gay Ricky Martin (don't worry Ricky fans I do like him and have his album too!) , then why not give Enrique (that has it all well balanced) a go? The sultry, sexy spaniard will have you bowled over, and singing his praise like me, after a few lines in his accent of "Would you dance if I asked you to dance?"

~Where can i buy this album?~~~
You can buy this CD from most CD/DVD chain stores such as HMV, Virgin Megastore, and also my favourite,-ebay.
www.virginmegastore.co.uk
www.hmv.co.uk- I noticed it's £12.99 from HMV but worth keeping a look out, as it's quite an old album and I imagine it's probably reduced in lots of places.

Thanks for reading,
Claire Iglesias
x x x