If regional Mexican music has an equivalent of
Aaron Neville, it just might be Ricardo Acosta, lead vocalist for the family affair known as
Los Acosta. The singer has never had a problem hitting the high notes -- actually, he's famous for it -- and his voice has a gossamer quality that brings to mind
Neville. But while
Neville is a veteran R&B singer,
Ritmo y Sentimiento and other
Los Acosta releases are aimed at the regional Mexican market -- specifically, the Latin pop side of the regional Mexican market. This 2004 release contains the very thing that
Los Acosta are best known for: smooth, polished, adult-oriented Latin pop with Mexican overtones --
Ritmo y Sentimiento is essentially Latin adult contemporary (a term that could also be applied to
José José,
Juan Gabriel,
Marco Antonio Solís, and
Joan Sebastían), and the veteran group maintains its ultra-romantic outlook on sleek offerings like "Palabras de Mujer" ("A Woman's Words"), "Tu Me Haces Llorar" ("You Make Me Cry"), "Mi Sufrimiento" ("My Suffering"), and "Te Extraño" ("I Miss You"). On all of those songs, Ricardo Acosta sings with a
Neville-ish quality that is quite appropriate for the group's urbane approach -- and while
Ritmo y Sentimiento isn't R&B, the parallels between Ricardo Acosta's vocal style and
Neville's are definitely there. Acosta is the type of singer who has the ability to make average, routine material sound better than it actually is;
Ritmo y Sentimiento, however, is an above-average example of the grupero style. And while nothing groundbreaking occurs, this CD is a solid and pleasing addition to
Los Acosta's sizable catalog. ~ Alex Henderson