By shelz

Most artists in the music community exist in sonic bubbles.  They carve out their lane and seem to be happy with their little piece of the pie. Existing in an industry that is so over-saturated has made them thankful for any shine they receive even if it’s just a small flicker.

Then there are the others who manage not only to capture the ears of their native land but also have their sound reverberate over oceans and mountains and into places millions of miles away from where they record.   There are only a handful of them and one is the Colombian-born Shakira.

Snicker all you want about the artistic depth of the belly dancing Latin beauty, but this woman is a household name in countries all over the globe. Her feature on Beyonce’s “Beautiful Liar” gave Mrs. Jigga her highest selling single to date and Shakira’s song “Hips Don’t Lie” is the best selling release of the millennium. So it goes without saying that there are millions of people at the edge of their Shakira loving seats right now because after a four year hiatus, the bombshell is back with a new album, She Wolf.

If you are a fan of her music, you know her Latin routes run deep and that is normally reflected in her composition.  However, those elements have taken a back seat on this album to a 70’s throwback sound.  Disco ribbons through most of the tracks but still comes complete with updated twists thanks to the polished Neptunes production.  You can also hear some 80’s rock, folk and techno influences.  It’s a compact LP weighing in really at nine songs as the last three are Spanish versions of the top of the track list.  However, Shakira and her team manage to fit quite a bit of substance into that small time frame.

A deep, pounding bass line and funky guitar riffs introduce the listener to the title track, “She Wolf.” The song is about a woman neglected by her husband who wants to release her wild side from the proverbial closet. It’s pure disco complete with horns, strings and even a spinning disco ball if you close your eyes and think hard enough. She howls, pants and moans to get her point across and manages not to sound silly when she does so.

Then there’s “Did It Again,” an ode to a woman’s favorite mistake.  He’s that guy that you can’t quite stay away from even though you know better.  The song begins with what sounds like a college band drum line but morphs into a synthesized fast paced dance song.  This is definitely some hip shaking club material. She opens up her pipes on this one and puts the vibrato on full display.

The Latin influence supplants all the electro techno for a moment on “Long Time.”  The intro is a sexy, slinky bassline that blooms only into a slight drum, a guitar and a wind chime effect.  The arrangement allows Shakira to play around with her voice as she lets her man know what she wants and what she plans to give in return. Further into the track she adds some whistles and a clarinet.  It’s an interesting track to say the least and will probably serve her well as a single.

The eclectic album rolls on with “Men In this Town” which mixes electro with 80’s rock influences.  “Gypsy,” a story about the nomadic existence of you guessed it… a Gypsy, has a folk overtone that is authenticated by what sounds like a banjo and “Spy” featuring and produced by Shakira’s partner in crime Wyclef brings the vibe of the album full circle taking you back to the disco sound.  Shakira’s attempt at mimicking the sound of a trumpet is a cute touch too.

Now of course there are the drawbacks.  Shakira does not have an earth-shattering voice, but she stays in her lane allowing her ad libs and the music to bring the drama.  And all the huffing, puffing and groaning she does may be off-putting to some as she is a bit heavy handed with it. However, expecting her to stop would be like asking LL Cool J to stop licking his lips or telling Jay-Z to stop saying “Uh!”  We all know that’s not happening. So you will just have to work around it.

The bottom line? For a 2009 pop album, it’s pretty good. Hell, for an album period it’s pretty good.  If you like what she does, you will love She-Wolf.  It’s definitely music to throw on your crop top to so you can wind your hips and watch the disco ball spin. You better believe millions of others will be doing the same thing.
  Out of 5

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