Milagro (CD - 2003)

Personnel includes: Jaci Velasquez (vocals); Marrufo (acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass); Dan Warner (electric guitar, guitar); Julio Hernandez (bass); Lee Levin (drums); Lena Perez (background vocals).

Producers: Emilio Estefan Jr., Rudy Perez, Alejandro Jaen, Estefano.

Her second album in two months (her Anglo CCM album, Unspoken, was issued in March 2003), Milagro is another chapter in Jaci Velasquez's secular saga for the Latin market. As such, utilizing various top-rate Latin pop producers including Rudy Perez, Emelio Estefan Jr., Oscar Llord, and Alejandro Jaén, Velasquez comes up with a thoroughly enjoyable mix of soft love songs and anthemic heart stirrers that are as reminiscent of Shania Twain's more transcendent pop moments than anything in the Latin pop market. The title track is an enormous midtempo ballad with a moving backing chorus that digs down into the heart of the melody and never gives up as Velasquez soars over the mix in a repetitive refrain. The shimmering sound effects and layered classical guitars in "Es Amor" showcase maturity in Velasquez's phrasing and delivery that hasn't appeared on record before. The album's opener, "En el Centro de Mi Corazon," is as good as anything any of the current batch of Americanski pop "divas" could wrap their voices around. Velasquez goes into the bottom of the well to bring out enough emotion to fill the mix by herself, but the muted power chords of a host of electric guitars don't hurt either. Rhythmically, this recording is not as inventive as her other recordings, but it's a small complaint; this is a song cycle chosen carefully to showcase all of the different sides of Velasquez's big, beautiful, breathy vocal style, and it does so in spades. Recommended as the best effort in her catalog -- in Spanish or English -- to date. ~ Thom Jurek minimize