专辑简介

by Alex HendersonIn Spanish, the title Mensajero de Amor means "Messenger of Love." But the love that Rabito addresses on this late 2004 release is not romantic love; the Latin singer is speaking of love in a spiritual sense. With this hour-long CD, Rabito continues to use smooth, sleek Latin pop to promote a Christian message. A non-Spanish-speaking listener who knows nothing about Rabito's background could easily assume that Mensajero de Amor is an album of secular, romantic Latin pop -- musically, what Rabito does on this disc isn't much different from what José José, Julio Iglesias, Marco Antonio Solís, Joan Sebastian and Juan Gabriel ordinarily do. But lyrically, Mensajero de Amor is another matter -- and to those who do speak Spanish, it is obvious that Rabito is very much a Christian singer. Song titles like "El Hombre Necesita a Dios" ("Man Needs God"), "Dios, Tengo Paz" ("God, I Have Peace") and "Yo Soy Jesús" ("I Am Jesus") let you know exactly where Rabito is coming from lyrically and philosophically. Just as Stryper combined a Ratt/Quiet Riot/Def Leppard type of sound with lyrics that had more in common with Sister Clara Ward or Andraé Crouch, Rabito uses the Iglesias/José José/Gabriel/Solís school of Latin adult contemporary to get his Christian message across (adding a bit of Phil Collins to his vocal intonation). Rabito isn't the only Latin pop singer with a Christian focus, but he is one of the more noteworthy ones -- and Mensajero de Amor is a likable, if less than groundbreaking, addition to his catalog.