As I break into the Alejandra Guzman vault of music, I am at the fourth album in her discography, Flor De Papel, which I feel is a mediocre follow-up to the mass appeal of the third album, Eternamente Bella.
Yes, the album has some great songs on it, but the ratio of good songs to okay songs doesn’t rate this album very well. When I thought about the album, my memory kept telling me it was good; but bringing it out and reviewing each song, I wasn’t all that impressed. I guess I forgot the songs that weren’t all that great.
The first two tracks on the album open up what we think will be a hard-rock album, but like most albums in the ’90s, a ballad breaks up the side (if listening to it on vinyl, which I did when it first came out). “Hacer El Amor Con Otro” had a lot of airplay, but the ballad doesn’t flow like previous ballads Alejandra recorded. The overplayed and performed, “Guera” is the fourth song on the album. Because it was so overplayed during the promotion of the album makes this song a bore after a while. This first song that I truly believe is a great song is the lesser-known, “La Ciudad Ardio” which is straight-up pop-rock.
As we flip, or move on… The first single, which also had the most commercial appeal, “Reina De Corazones” is truly a great song. Upbeat with an edge of rock, the song still holds up after 23 years. Another good song, “Vivir Contra Corriente” was not a hit at all, but it is generic enough to be good. Then we split up the side again with “Rosas Rosas” or “Flor De Papel” (as many fans will call it), which is a much better ballad.
The album ends with two hard songs again, which does nothing for the album. You almost forget about them when you think about the album. As I said, when breaking the album done track by track, the last songs don’t even rank in the top songs.
During this review, it made me rethink where this album falls on my list of Alejandra Guzman favorites.
Since that day, I have been study Latin pop and rock music and have become a Latin pop music historian through the publishing of articles, fanzine, and websites. My goal is to teach people about Latin pop music and the history behind it with my website, Siempre En Domingo.
- REVIEW: Los Claxons – Caminando En Fuego (2022) - November 6, 2022
- Review: Airbag – Siempre Tropical (2022) - November 6, 2022
- Debut: Thalia – Psycho Bitch - November 6, 2022