4/5 GREAT ALBUM, FANTASTIC VOCALS, but missing that WOW factor
  by P. Eisenman (Upper Michigan)
I really like this album. It's thoroughly enjoyable and one you'll want to listen to more than once. Amaia Montero continues to deliver the great vocals which we are accustomed to.

If you liked LOVG, you'll like this album. But, for me, it seemed to be lacking that special WOW factor that elevates a really good album into a five-star classic. I guess the best way to describe it is that it's too consistent. While it's consistently GOOD, there's not really any track after you get past QUIERO SER that really reaches out and grabs your attention.

Overall, I'd give the solo debut from AMAIA MONTERO four stars. Lyrics booklet included. It's worth the price of admission and a CD you can listen to repeatedly without tiring of it.

5/5 The power of two!
  by MJF
I was hugely disappointed when the news broke that Amaia was leaving LOVG. It was a sum of the parts can't be as good as the whole - sort of feeling. Either Amaia or LOVG was going to become history. Never the less I awaited the promised solo effort with bated breath.
Fortunately for us listeners, we now have two great acts. Ms. Montero's debut solo effort is very welcome and pleasant success for fans of her unique voice (of which I'm one). Considering she wrote the music and lyrics for every track on the disk, it's an even greater success.
Also fortunately for us listeners, the debut of her replacement, Leire Martinez, makes Van Gogh's new album another welcome and pleasant success for LOVG fans (of which I'm one). I know some folks will fall over (screaming blasphemy!) but yes, Amaia was apparently replaceable.
Both albums are great. There will be detractor's that think Amaia WAS Van Gogh and vice a versa. Too bad for them.
But if you enjoy this genre, you'll like both of these if you listen to the music without the personality-cult-fan creeping in.
It's a win-win for us and them.


5/5 Leire, or Amaia? New Oreja, or new Amaia?
  by kabumpo (USA)
When lead singer Amaia Montero left La Oreja de Van Gogh (other members include Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas, Álvaro Fuentes and Haritz Garde) back in November of 2007 to start a solo career, we all wondered: which part of the band was the Van Gogh, and which part was the ear? (I should explain this analogy a little better. If you take Van Gogh, its still pretty cool, but a cut off ear all by itself is kinda gross. Its the two of them together that make the magic; apart their nothing to special. On the other hand, perhaps both parts of the group were Van Goghs; or maybe ears, only together amounting to something special.)

In other words, which part of the band contributed to the band's success? Was it Amaia's incredibly talented vocals that had already contributed to such successes as "El 28," "La Playa," "Pop," "Rosas," "Puedes Contar Conmigo," "En Mi Lado del Sofá," and many, many others? Or was it Xabi and Pablo's signature song writing, which dealt with things like love, friendship, and things that can occur in relationships, which made us fall in love with La Oreja in the first place? Was it the song, or the one singing the song?

When the rest of the band members announced the the new lead singer of La Oreja in the following July, Leire Martínez (former contestant on the reality TV show Factor X), along with their new single, "El Último Vals", we all thought it must have been Xabi and Pablo who had made La Oreja a sucsess. So it seemed on September 2, when their smash hit "A las Cinco en el Astoria" (At five in Astoria) hit store shelves. The two writers split writing the lyrics, with Xabi doing all the music. Highlights include "El Último Vals," "Inmortal," "Más," "Sola," "La Primera Versión," and the incredibly moving "Jueves," dedicated to the March 11th Madrid train bombings. While the album wasn't the same as old albums, it was nonetheless a great album. Leire's youthfulness and deeper voice bring a lot to the new, different Oreja; most of what we loose with Amaia was her song writing.

And still we had nothing from Amaia, not until a few months later in mid-November, with her self-titled solo debut, "Amaia Montero". The first single, "Quiero Ser," which was dedicated to her mother, premiered on the Spanish radio station "Los 40 Principales" in October. It went on to become the longest charting number one single in Spanish airplay history with 13 consecutive weeks in the number one spot. Other highlights include "Tulipán" (which was dedicated to her former band mates in La Oreja), "407" (dedicated to her father), "4 Segundos," and my favorite, "Por Toda una Vida." "Amaia Montero" was the ninth best-selling CD in Spain in 2008, published only a month and a half before the end of the year ("A las Cinco" was number 12).

So which one is better? Apples and oranges. While comparisons are inevitable, both albums are really great; if you were a fan of the old Oreja, then you should get both of them. I suppose if you have to pick one, then it really depends on what you like best, the song writing or Amaia's voice. If I had to pick, I would go with A las Cinco. Its definitely a new Oreja, and it hasn't quite figured out how to get the right balance between the old writing style and the new voice (although in all fairness, it must be said about Leire that she has a lot of talent), but it definitely shows promise.

As for Amaia? I personally find some of the writing a little flat. All eleven songs are written by her, and while they are all great (I already mentioned that I really like "Por Toda una Vida"), they do seem to blend in with one another. They all sound very similar (I have a hard time with "4 Segundos," I'm not really sure why; its a great pop song, but it just feels a little rushed to me). On the other hand, Amaia does deliver a great performance. The vocals are great throughout, and I can't find anything to complain about there. I think that makes up for the writing a lot, but also hope that with a little more writing experience, there will be a little more variety on her next album.

One final note: its should be said that while Leire's fresh voice brings a lot to La Oreja, it is by no means as developed as Amaia's. But I will say this for Leire, this is her first CD, and she sounds a lot better then Amaia did on her first try (Dile al Sol), so if your more into Amaia's voice, I say give Leire time, you might find she grows on you (I have heard Leire sing some of the old Oreja songs live, and while sometimes she sounds really good, as in "Muñeca de Trapo," or "20 de Enero," I do think that her versions of "Rosas," "Cuídate," and "La Playa" are a stretch, and "París" is just downright bad in my opinion. On the other hand, if Amaia tried to sing songs such as "El Último Vals," "Jueves," "Más," "Sola," "La Primera Versión," and the bonus track "Veinte Penas," I am convinced that she would not sound good. Some of Leire's songs maybe she could pull off, but on others I think she would be a flop.).

So yeah, I definitely recommend both albums, but try not to compare them old favorites like "Guapa", or "Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías La Dormida". Think of these instead, as first albums in a new era: good; they've definitely got our attention, and now we look forward to hearing more.

5/5 Fantastic!
  by J. Harrison (Tucson, Arizona, USA)
This is an excellent CD and well worth the money. I have listened to it at least thirty times already.

1/5 I can't believe she left for this!!!!
  by Francisco Partida (Wisconsin, USA)
Without the band she is so empty. There are 4 songs in the entire album that i actually enjoy and out of 11 songs that doesn't say anything good for this album. People who rated this 5 stars must be HARD-CORE fans of hers trying to give her good reviews but you can only be so blind/deaf.

Its really obvious that the album doesn't have nearly the same quality of songs and music and she really abuses the "chorous" parts on the songs (almost as if she needs to make the song longer becuase she couln't think of anything else to write).

She should have waited another year to write more songs and she could've entered better material to make this a really good album but she threw out what seems to be something she had stored before she left the band. she went in a studio and recorded songs that were filler material. Extremely disapointed. I hope she can do better next time.

Skip this album and wait for ner new one and hopefully she'll take more time to do it.