I normally don’t like reviewing music unless I physically own a CD or an LP of music; but in this day and age, more and more people are putting their music online and available to watch videos and listen to on streaming devices like Spotify and iTunes.
Miguel Cancel, the former member of Menudo, has been working on new material for a while now; especially since the Reencuentro tours have been dwindling down. Miguel needs something to do. Let’s jump back to when Miguel left Menudo, we thought we were going to get Miguel the soloist. He had videos, he was on tv shows, he also put out a 7″ single of his song, “Fun Fun Fun” via his fan club (which I own and will review later on). Then Miguel disappeared. Let’s get our hopes up and then just rip them out from under us. This was in 1984.
Now, jump 20 years later… Miguel finishes his Reencuentro tours up and now Miguel, again, wants to be a soloist. We see a mimic of 20 years ago, with Miguel making videos, Miguel doing small concerts, but are we ever going to see Miguel with a full solo album and actually radio play in more countries other than South America, which is where he has been spending most of his time being a soloist.
This is why I don’t like to review digital music… Anyone can make a video and say I want to be a singer. This is why I normally wait to see something in my hands that I can physically touch. I am afraid to like something that might never see the light. So… Miguel Cancel is here with “Volver A Ti” a ballad that shows us that he can still sing (if you never have seen a Reencuentro show). While Miguel doesn’t sound anything like his former Menudo self, his voice shows maturity and that it can be taken seriously, though the raspy scratch gives us a little air of mystery. The song itself probably lacks the flow that most ballads have that make you want to belt it out with him. Honestly, we didn’t get the power of the ballad until the last round of the chorus. This isn’t necessarily bad as the song is almost a build-up to the power of Miguel’s voice.
Miguel’s style during this song reminds me of Alex Ubago during his duet with Amaia Montero in the song “Me Muero Por Conocerte”, which I love. Now, I have briefly heard another one of Miguel’s solo songs and the style does not fit my genre of music, which seems to be bachata. If this is the case, I probably won’t be on the Miguel bandwagon, but I will take a CD handed my way if someone wanted a review done but I hope that the music falls more into the style of mainstream pop and not island music.
So as for “Volver A Ti”, I think it is a good start for Miguel and could see this song on the radio in the US Latin market. Let’s see how Miguel Cancel plays out for now because like I said… until something is in my hands, I wait for another review.
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.
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