Saturday, November 11, 2000

Good, dumb fun from Ricky

This thing is loaded all right - with more infectious, hip-thrusting, butt-wiggling Latin rhythms and steamy lyrics than you can shake a stick at, plus the stick.

 This is not a bad thing. As long as you take it for what it is: Good, dumb fun.

 Analyze this line from Loaded, which is basically a variation on the Livin' La Vida Loca theme: "Get the bump to the bump de bump de bump soul ... move like a thing, swing like a thong and do your jiggy mama till the break of dawn." You guessed it: Ricky's crazy life continues.

 Filled with flash, sex, drama and heightened emotion, his latest CD comes off more like theatrical revue than a collection of sure-fire hits. Which, by the way, it is. The guest list includes Desmond Child, Dianne Warren, Jon Secada, Emilio Estefan Jr., you name the pop heavyweight. While it's often the case that so many cooks in the kitchen results in an ambitious flop - like that awful new Spice Girls CD - these folks have obviously indulged their every whim and revelled in one of the most welcome styles of music to enter the pop mainstream in a long time. No expense has been spared in crafting the gaudy stage for this Latino heartthrob to prance around on, belting out one sexy sweet nothing after another: "If it looks like love should be a crime, they better lock me up for life. I'll do the time with a smile on my face." What a ham.

 Imbedded in polished pop perfection, every Latin music cliche you've ever heard is here - from the cha-cha-cha rhythms to the Spanish guitars to the squads of trumpets that must've wandered in from a Mexican wedding. There's even a Middle Eastern element on One Night Man. Every note is carefully groomed for the hit parade.

 Even so, there's a charm, honesty and sense of fun that shines through all the la bomba bombast. Call Sound Loaded a guilty pleasure.

Track Listing She Bangs  Saint Tropez  Come to Me  Loaded  Nobody Wants To Be Lonely  Amor  Jezabel  The Touch  One Night Man  She Bangs (Spanish)  Are You In It for Love  Ven A Mi (Come to Me)  If You Ever Saw Her  Dame Mas (Loaded)  Cambia La Piel		Album rating Rate Ricky Martin's Sound Loaded 0 1 2 3 4 5 Results