If money is the great influence, then call Enrique Iglesias the most influential Latin music artist in the world, having sold a record-breaking number of albums over a stretch of several years.
With Escape, his sophomore English-language release, he brings the whole Latin Invasion to a screeching halt, or "maybe" a gentle halt, making for an opportune screeching question: Have Latins traded in their musical roots for the American musical dream? When Latin-flavored music came flooding into the United States in the late '90s, it sounded a lot more, well, "Latin" than it sounds these days.
Repetition and popularity certainly have something to do with it, and keep in mind that the likes of Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, and Jennifer Lopez have had the benefit of hits from American pop writer heavyweights like Diane Warren, Carl Sturken, and Evan Rogers.
Here, however, is an album executive produced by and with every song written (with collaborators) by Iglesias.
The musical result is not exactly consecrated to his native country of Spain, nor his Miami upbringing.
Touring with musicians from the bands of Billy Joel, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen might have shaken loose the rock soul inside of him.
Escape is a pop/rock album through and through, and it is also reminiscent of classic pop albums of the 1980s -- short (ten original songs), sweet, and wildly catchy.
It is not without Spanish flavor, if only for Iglesias' pronunciations and three added Spanish-version tracks; it just has other priorities in mind.
Though Iglesias' songs always turn up as remixes and at dance clubs, and though he could just as easily thicken the sound effects to overtake the basic melodies, he remains reserved in sound and lyric.
On "One Night Stand," he makes reference to intimate belongings left behind by his "girlfriend." There is such a childlike vulnerability in his voice that listeners get the impression this scenario may not have ever happened to him.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EscapeKara DioGuardi, Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, David Siegel | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | Don't Turn Off the LightsKara DioGuardi, Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, David Siegel | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | Love to See You CryPaul Barry, Enrique Iglesias, Mark Taylor, Steve Torch | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | HeroPaul Barry, Enrique Iglesias, Mark Taylor | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | I Will SurviveKara DioGuardi, Aaron Fishbein, Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, David Siegel | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Love 4 FunKara DioGuardi, Aaron Fishbein, Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, David Siegel | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | She Be the OnePaul Barry, Enrique Iglesias, Mark Taylor | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | EscaparKara DioGuardi, Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, David Siegel | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | HeroePaul Barry, Enrique Iglesias, Mark Taylor | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | If The World Crashes | Enrique Iglesias | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 39 mins | 90 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 280 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niall Acott | Engineer |
| 2 | Rusty Anderson | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 3 | David Ashton | Assistant Engineer |
| 4 | Paul Barry | Bass, Composer, Drums, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Andy Blackwood | Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | James Blackwood | Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Javier Cofiño | Groomer, Stylist |
| 8 | Kara DioGuardi | Composer, Producer, Vocal Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Aaron Fishbein | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 10 | Drew FitzGerald | Art Direction |
| 11 | Cheín García | Spanish Adaptation |
| 12 | Brian Gardner | Mastering |
| 13 | Brian "Big Bass" Gardner | Mastering |
| 14 | Siedah Garrett | Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Isobel Griffiths | Contractor |
| 16 | Niki Haris | Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Dorian Holly | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Enrique Iglesias | Composer, Executive Producer, Primary Artist, Producer, Spanish Adaptation, Vocal Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Sylvia Mason James | Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Sebastián Krys | Engineer, Mixing |
| 21 | Marc Stephen Lee | Assistant Engineer |
| 22 | Lee Levin | Drums |
| 23 | Fabian Marasciullo | Assistant Engineer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 24 | Sylvia Mason | Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Lester Mendez | Composer, Keyboards, Producer |
| 26 | Perry Montague-Mason | Leader |
| 27 | Steve Morales | Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Programming, Vocal Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 28 | Carlos Paucar | Engineer, Vocal Engineer, Vocal Producer, Vocals |
| 29 | Barry Paul | Bass, Drums, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | Adam Phillips | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 31 | Brandy St. John | Groomer, Stylist |
| 32 | Jon Secada | Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 33 | David Siegel | Composer, Keyboards |
| 34 | Alan Silfen | Photography |
| 35 | Ivy Skoff | Production Coordination |
| 36 | Robin Smith | Conductor, String Arrangements |
| 37 | Shane Stoner | Engineer |
| 38 | Mark Taylor | Bass, Composer, Drums, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Mixing, Percussion, Producer, String Arrangements |
| 39 | Steve Torch | Composer |
| 40 | Walter Turbitt | Mixing |
| 41 | Guy Wiffen | Assistant Engineer |
| 42 | Jong Uk Yoon | Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |