La Vida Es un Ratico en Vivo

As a Christmas present my wife downloaded songs from the CD “La Vida es Un Ratico en Vivo” by the Colombian rock musician Juanes.  In late October 2007, Juanes released his studio album “La Vida es Un Ratico” (LVEUR) that translates to “Life is Short” or “Life is a Moment.”  We purchased it and continue to enjoy it very much.  This latest album “LVEUR en Vivo” consists of that latter album plus three bonus tracks and seven live tracks.  My wife burned a CD of just those bonus and live tracks since we already had the original LVEUR album.

I’ve been listening to Juanes since 2002 when my brother got me his second album, “Un Dia Normal”, a very pop sounding album and his first to get multiple Latin Grammy nominations.  I subsequently purchased his first album from 2000, “Fijate Bien” that has a more rockin’ and less polished sound.  In late 2004 I purchased his third album, “Mi Sangre” that has a more eclectic sound including the traditional-sounding but also rockin’ song “La Camisa Negra,” the tempo-changing “Nada Valgo Sin tu Amor” and the softer but still pop sounding “Volverte a Ver.”  We saw him live at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal Citywalk in May 2005.  I learned that he’s quite the heartthrob for young women and that surprised me because his more rockin’ songs can have a slightly abrasive edge, though he also records some soft romantic songs such as “Fotographia,” a duet with Nelly Furtado on “Un Dia Normal.”  Before he went solo, Juanes was part of a Colombian metal band called Ekhymosis.

His latest studio album, “La Vida es un Ratico” has more traditional-sounding upbeat songs.  The first two on “La Vida es un Ratico en Vivo”, both new studio tracks, continue this style.  The first is the reflective and slightly sad “Odio por Amor” or “Hate for Love”.  It’s a slightly political song about making the world better by trading our hate for love.  Juanes sings the refrain “It’s time to change” in English.  This is only the second time I’ve heard him sing in English.  The first was his duet with Tony Bennett, “The Shadow of your Smile”.  The next song on “. . . en Vivo”, “Falsas Palabras” is louder with an even more traditional rhythm and more accusatory tone.  Its title translates to “false words” and it’s about catching a lover lying and the subsequent pain caused by it.

The third song, “Hoy me Voy” is from LVEUR but this version is a duet with female singer Colbie Caillart.  She sings lines from the chorus in English.  The duet works even though both are singing the same part as someone leaving someone else who doesn’t love them.  The next seven songs are live tracks.  “Clase de Amor” from LVEUR has a 5-beat rhythm similar to “Falsas Palabras”.  It’s also an accusatory song by a hurt lover.  Juanes seems to know this role well.  Partway through the song, Juanes shouts, “Puerto Rico!” indicating where he’s performing.

The next song, “Bandera de Manos” has a faster 4-beat rhythm.  It’s about pride in one’s origins with the title translating to “Flag of Hands.”  This one is performed in L.A. as Juanes shouts, “Ya son las manos mias, Los Angeles!”  He did perform at the Nokia Theater in 2008.  The next song comes from the 2004 album “Mi Sangre” and is the first song off it, “Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor”.  The title translates to “I am worthless without your love.”  It has medium speed verses and fast choruses.  I remember when he performed it during his encore when we saw him live.  It was amazing.  This time he asks the audience in “Miami” to sing a line and they oblige.  The next song, “Me Enamora” is also sung in Miami.  It’s a celebratory love song with a traditional rhythm from LVEUR.  He shouts “Miami” many times and they really get into it.  The Miami show continues with “Bailala”, a faster song urging everyone to “dance it” to cure the heart.  He then does a live performance of “Hoy me Voy” and this time it’s not a duet except perhaps with the crowd.  I think the song works better as a duet in English and Spanish with Colbie Caillart.  He doesn’t should out where he’s performing during the song.

The last song on the CD is the live version of a song I hadn’t heard before called “Rebellion.”  At the beginning Juanes says something like, “Dejeme mano la cuento un parasito de la historia negra, de la historia nuestra, caballero!” that I’m guessing translates to something like “help me tell the story of our dark history (or black as in African-American history).”  I’m not sure why the word “parasito” is in there.  I may have heard it wrong.  The song has the 4-beat rhythm of what almost sounds like a Mambo.  The first words sung are, “en los anos mil seisientos” (“in the 1600’s”), “cuando el tirano mato” (when the tyrant killed), “en las calles de Cartagena aquella historia vivio” (“that other history occurred on the streets of Cartagena”).  He goes on to sing about people being enslaved and sings the repeated line, “No le pegue la negra” that I think means the blacks (Africans) did not give up.  During a long rhythmic piano solo he shouts “Descargame, descarga!” that literally translates to “Unload me, unload!” but in this context probably means “Set me free!”  It’s a long song that pays tribute to a defiance of long ago.  It’s about injustices of the past similar to “Cherokee” by Europe and “Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil.  Again, Juanes doesn’t shout out where he’s performing perhaps because he’s caught up in telling the story.

Overall, “La Vida es un Ratico” is an excellent CD.  It offers some new songs, a new version of a song, a hit from over four years ago and many spirited live tracks that celebrate where he’s performing and involved the crowd.  It is not a greatest hits CD but still a great record that showcases many facets of Juanes’ music.