El tren de los momentos - En vivo desde Buenos Aires (DMD Audio only)

Album review

El Tren de los Momentos: En Vivo Desde Buenos Aires finds Alejandro Sanz and company performing some of his latest material in front of a staggeringly large and adoring audience. The CD/DVD set is the inverse of the standard, offering a double portion of Sanz's lively performance on the video compared a somewhat skinny audio offering. Sanz, presenting mainly his standard repertoire from the recent El Tren de los Momentos (released only a year earlier), has the immense audience eating out of the palm of his hand. The tens of thousands of concert attendees seem more than enthusiastic about both his recent hit, "En la Planta de Tus Pies," and old favorites like "Corazón Partio." The sound quality is slightly subpar for as high a budget as this recording appears to have had. During moments of high intensity, the band's sound leans toward cluttered. Similarly, Sanz's vocal performance clearly profits from the controlled studio environment, and suffers on-stage. There are moments where he's just off and pitchy. On the upside, the band takes chances and liberties with the music that will excite and surprise listeners with a new take on well-worn material. The band's sound is muscular and expert. Though overly complex at times, the arrangements are pure ear candy. The DVD is endlessly entertaining, revealing Sanz and his bandmates as expert performers. Although En Vivo Desde Buenos Aires won't be hard for Sanz to top, fans are likely to find it rich, fun, and worthy of the artist's hard-won reputation.

© Evan C. Gutierrez /TiVo