Crossing over from the Latin pop market, Freddie Colloca (a.k.a. Federico Colloca) makes his English-language debut Dance El Ritmo on One Voice Records. (That's Dance the Rhythm for you gringos.) It is a reissue of Mas que un Sentimento, which was nominated for the Best Spanish Language album Dove. "Dance El Ritmo," the title track, turns up the heat with complex beats, driving rhythms, and a spicy feel. More Enrique Iglesias than Ricky Martin, it's a fun track and sets the tone for Colloca's brand of Latin-flavored pop. Colloca's voice sounds amazingly similar to that of Steve Shannon from 80s rock band Idle Cure. It has strength and range fitting for his style, plus that unique touch that makes him recognizable in a crowd of crooners.
The CD is loaded with music, with thirteen different songs plus a Spanish version of "Love's Raining Down" to make a total of fourteen. Colloca wrote nine of the tunes and co-wrote a tenth with producer Alvaro Lopez who also produced label mate Ileana Garces and his own album, The Alvaro Lopez Project.
The only track that didn't make much of an impression was the "latinized" version of "At The Cross." It might have come off better on the Spanish album, but barely passes muster here. The difficulty of doing updated versions of hymns shows itself here.
Dance El Ritmo gives Freddie Colloca an energizing start into the popular Latin-flavored Christian pop format. His upbeat dance tunes and sonorous ballads make for a promising debut.
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