Gloria Estefan

This past weekend I drove home and spent a little time with the family. Sunday morning came around and I thought I’d help my mom go through some of my boxes of stuff in the basement.

During this clean up, I found one of my sister’s tapes from the 80’s/early 90’s. I figured I might as well listen to the tape on my long ride home and review it here on mikedidonato.com.

REVIEW: Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
8 Song Karaoke Kassette!
C 1992.

As I put in this tape I couldn’t help but think that I was in for a treat. I looked over the song list on this cassette and recognized a few classics including Conga, 1-2-3, and The Rhythm is Gonna Get You. Most of the titles were familiar and I figured I might even be able to sing along with a few.

If you like synthesizer beats and faux cowbell this tape is for you. If however, you like hard rock, great vocals, and awesome riffs, I would recommend anything else. There was one measure of CONGA that I had to rewind and listen to a few times. It was during a horn breakdown and those dudes really pulled it together. They were solid. The tape was otherwise lackluster.

In fact, it took me a few tries to get through the whole tape. After Conga, there was a serious lull in quality. I hoped RHYTHM IS GONNA GET YOU would save the tape, but it too was a disappointment. After that song I had to turn off the tape and sit in silence for a good 35-40 minutes before I was able to start it up again.

It might just be that Gloria Estefan isn’t quite my style and perhaps her newer* stuff is better. AND it’s even possible that, this being a Karaoke tape, it wasn’t even Gloria singing. In which case, I give my apologies to Gloria.

In any case, I would give this cassette a solid D+

*does Gloria have newer stuff?

3 thoughts on “Gloria Estefan

  • 6/26/2006 at 8:22 am
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    Wow. Listening to a karaoke tape in the car. That sounds like the worst thing, ever. Especially to songs like that, which are only vaguely familiar, in that nobody knows more than a few lines of the chorus.

    Technically, shouldn’t the album be attributed to just “The Miami Sound Machine”? It seems like Ms. Estefan mostly just did the singing, and if there’s no vocals…

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  • 6/26/2006 at 8:28 am
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    Ahh, yes. I should have clarified. On one side of the tape there were vocals, and on the other side there were no vocals.

    I listened to the vocal side.

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  • 6/26/2006 at 8:30 am
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    I think Gloria Estefan did some songwriting, which would certainly make sense for her to be listed on the kassette… But I’m not sure.

    Anyways, back on target, karaoke tape in the car?
    Yes.. bad idea.

    Reply

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