Four decades and dozens of albums into his career,
Vicente Fernández remains one of Mexico's finest ranchera artists, arguably the best ever. It's as if he gets better with age, for
Para Siempre is a near-perfect album. The singing, the songwriting, the instrumentation -- it's all stellar. The songwriting is particularly notable. All of the songs on
Para Siempre were written by
Joan Sebastían, who, like
Fernández, is a legend of Mexican music. Standout performances here include "La Derrota," "A Quién Vas a Amar Más Que a Mi," "Para Siempre," and "Estos Celos," though because there are so many great songs here, it's difficult to single out particular highlights. ~ Jason Birchmeier