Shakira: Fijacion Oral, Volume 1 : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Longtime fans know Shakira as a singer-songwriter of more depth and breadth than her 2001 English-language breakthrough, Laundry Service, revealed. For her first album of new Spanish-language material since 1998's Donde Estan los Ladrones?, the Colombian songstress flaunts sides to her musical personality repressed by the hip-swiveling babe who stormed American radio with "Whenever, Wherever" and "Underneath Your Clothes." Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1 begins by referencing the same French 1960s pop a la Beck and Stereolab, then moves on to show some love to early Eurythmics, breezy bossa nova, vintage Elvis Costello, classic Depeche Mode and the Argentinian rock of Soda Stereo, whose former frontman Gustavo Cerati collaborates on "Dia Especial" and "No." Executive producer Rick Rubin helps restore Shakira's artistic integrity by keeping the industry at bay: There's a light touch to ballads like "En Tus Pupilas" that's a world away from the Ricky Martinizing of Latin pop.