It isn't hard to understand why, in 2006, Fonovisa was excited about releasing a
Marco Antonio Solís album titled
Trozos de Mi Alma, Vol. 2. The first
Trozos de Mi Alma ("Pieces of My Soul"), released in 1999, was a big seller for the Latin pop superstar, and the title
Trozos de Mi Alma, Vol. 2 is a definite attention grabber for those who are familiar with
Solís' history (which, of course, is a huge amount of people all over the Spanish-speaking world).
Solís isn't as big on concept albums as, say,
Luís Miguel, but
Trozos de Mi Alma, Vol. 2 is one of his more conceptual efforts -- and the 40-minute CD's basic concept is
Solís providing new versions of well known songs he wrote for other Latin pop artists. Over the years, the prolific
Solís has written a ton of songs for other vocalists, and on
Trozos de Mi Alma, Vol. 2, he revisits material that is associated with estrellas latinas (Latin stars) such as
Laura Flores ("Antes de Que Te Vayas"),
Marisela ("Dios Bendiga Nuestro Amor") and the late Spanish icon
Rocio Dúrcal ("Yo Creía Que Sí" and "Extrañándote"). Because of
Dúrcal's fondness for mariachi and ranchera music (she was a pop singer first and foremost, but regional Mexican music was definitely an influence), she was affectionately called "la española más mexicana" (the most Mexican Spanish woman) in Mexico -- and the creative relationship that
Dúrcal and
Solís enjoyed was mutually beneficial. It should be noted that the new version of "Antes de Que Te Vayas" that appears on this disc was used as the theme for the hit Mexican telenovela (Latin soap opera) Mundo de Fieras, which was aired by Televisa in Mexico and Univision in los Estados Unidos. Although
Solís' '90s and 2000s albums are generally solid, not all of them are essential. But the excellent
Trozos de Mi Alma, Vol. 2 will easily go down in history as one of
Solís' more essential releases of the 2000s. ~ Alex Henderson