MTV Unplugged

Performer: Ricky Martin
Producer: Tommy Torres
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Since his mainstream American breakthrough, Ricky Martin has been associated largely with slick dance-pop. One of the pleasant surprises of this MTV UNPLUGGED set is that it finds Martin returning to an earlier, more organic sound. The UNPLUGGED aesthetic suggests a quiet, stripped-down approach, but that's not necessarily the case here. Martin has a huge band behind him, including horns and strings, but the inventive arrangements and straightforward approach--not to mention the Spanish-only lyrics--present the artist in a refreshingly natural context. The sharp, dynamic performances, on the part of both Martin and his band, don't hurt matters, either. At no point does Ricky Martin's MTV Unplugged sound like an intimate acoustic performance. Like most of the acts on MTV Unplugged since Eric Clapton's Unplugged, Martin brings in a full band, complete with electric bass and keyboards, so even if there are no electric guitars, it sounds big, full, and polished, particularly since his band is augmented by strings and horns. It may not be small-scale, the way that Unplugged was in its earliest days, but the concert does have the effect of stripping Martin back to his basics -- which means that he does no English-language pop and avoids all the silly dance-pop that became his stock-in-trade after "Livin' la Vida Loca," while also avoiding the desperate nature of his 2005 studio album Life. What's left is the power of Martin as a live performer, and he's in good form here, delivering energetic performances of the up-tempo songs and avoiding schmaltz in the ballads. It's an album for the faithful -- instead of stretching, Martin is relying on his strengths -- but it will satisfy those who still stand by Ricky Martin after all the ups and downs in his career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Getting his start as part of teenyboppers Menudo in the '80s, and staying in the public's eye as an actor on General Hospital, Ricky Martin launched his own solo career by the late-'90s. Nobody could have predicted Martin's meteoric rise, topping the charts and selling out arenas on the strength of his monster Latin dance hit "Livin' La Vida Loca."

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