Viento A Favor [Digipak] [Limited]

Performer: Alejandro Fernández
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Dean Parks (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, dobro, banjo); Gustavo Borner (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Marco Moreno (acoustic guitar, harmonica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ); Luis "El Potro" Contreras (acoustic guitar); Kelly Rucker (harmonica); John Gilutin (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Aureo Baqueiro (piano, keyboards); Luis Conte (percussion); Enrique 'Bugs' Gonzalez, The GMT Orchestra, Fernando de Santiago, Abraham Laboriel, Sr., Leyla Hoyle. Alejandro Fernandez built a huge, loyal following in both North America and his native Mexico throughout the 1990s and 2000s singing mariachi tunes and ballads in a traditional style. Fernandez's sensuous voice and passionate delivery are perfectly suited to the style. (His movie-star good looks don't hurt, either). VIENTO A FAVOR (2007) offers more stirring performances from the singer. The disc has a Latin pop edge, but the old-school, romantic vibe is still here in full effect. Viento a Favor, the first studio album by Alejandro Fern�ndez in three years, is in several ways a continuation of the modern Latin pop style showcased on his previous effort, A Coraz�n Abierto (2004). Though producer/songwriter Kike Santander is nowhere to be found on Viento a Favor, his co-producer on A Coraz�n Abierto, Aureo Baqueiro, is once again at the helm. Not only does he produce the album, giving it a modern touch that is both vibrant and dynamic; he also earns a couple songwriting credits. Also collaborating with Fern�ndez once again are songwriters Leonel Garc�a (of the Latin pop duo Sin Bandera), Gian Marco, and Jaime Flores; each was responsible for one of the three standout hits on A Coraz�n Abierto: "Me Dediqu� a Perderte" (Garc�a), "Canta Coraz�n" (Marco), and "Qu� L�stima" (Flores). Singer/songwriter Reyli Barba (aka Reyli, formerly of the band Elefante) also collaborates with Fern�ndez again, contributing two songs this time, including "Amor Gitano," a duet with Beyonc� co-written with Flores. If that weren't enough production and songwriting talent on hand, Fern�ndez also recruited the songwriting abilities of Garc�a's groupmate in Sin Bandera, Noel Schajris (who contributed the song "Solitario y Solo"), and up-and-coming Columbian singer/songwriter Fonseca ("Eres"). So, like its predecessor, Viento a Favor is studded with some of the best Latin pop production and songwriting talent of its time. This is most evident on the album-opening lead single, "Te Voy a Perder," an emotionally moving break-up song, as well as the follow-up single, "No Se Me Hace F�cil," another emotional song about love gone bad, this one decked out in multi-tracked vocals, soaring strings, hard-hitting drums, and even an electric guitar solo toward the end of the song. As for Fern�ndez himself, he sounds engaged throughout Viento a Favor, putting his heart into the songs and singing with true emotion. If sometimes he sounds like one of the numerous hired hands involved with the making of an album this extravagant, that's simply the consequence of crafting a blockbuster pop album such as this. Those who prefer the more stripped-down, intimate ranchera efforts of Fern�ndez such as Ni�a Amada M�a (2003) may be disappointed with the level of popcraft showcased throughout Viento a Favor, which, like A Coraz�n Abierto before it, is intended for a mainstream audience. But for those who enjoy Fern�ndez's mainstream efforts, there's plenty to enjoy here on this well-crafted album, surely one of his best pop efforts to date. ~ Jason Birchmeier

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