El Amor Que Nunca Fue

Album review

2007, the year in which El Amor Que Nunca Fue (The Love That Never Was) came out, marked Conjunto Primavera's 29th anniversary. The long-running norteño/Latin pop outfit had been together since 1978, and for those old enough to remember the late '70s, it was easy to ask, "Have they really been together for almost 30 years? Were the late '70s really 30 years ago?" Answer: a definite yes. So what is the secret to Primavera's longevity? How have they managed to keep selling out concerts and appearing on the regional Mexican charts year after year after year? It comes down to consistency. No one who knows regional Mexican music greets a new Primavera album thinking that they are going to reinvent the wheel or come out with something really daring and innovative, but they do expect something solid and dependable -- and Primavera offers exactly that on El Amor Que Nunca Fue. They come through for their longtime fans (as well as younger fans they picked up in the 2000s) on waltzes ("Cuando Te Digo Que Te Amo," "El Precio"), up-tempo polkas ("La Flor de Mis Primeros Años," "Basta Ya," "Ya Lo Se Que Tu Te Vas") and lush ballads ("Ese," "Caida Libre"). And true to form, frontman Tony Meléndez continues to deliver urbane, smoothly romantic lead vocals that have as much to do with Latin pop as they do with norteño. There are no compelling reasons why someone with only a casual interest in Primavera's work absolutely has to add El Amor Que Nunca Fue to his/her CD collection, but for hardcore Primavera followers -- the sort of devotees who buy their albums the minute they come out -- this early 2007 release underscores Primavera's ability to keep cranking out worthwhile releases after almost 30 years in the trenches.

© Alex Henderson /TiVo