Tatiana's Rock n' Roll Heart

A review of Tatiana's album Acapulco Rock
by Godspeede
(not posted to Epinions because this album wasn't there yet at the time)

With Acapulco Rock, Tatiana has gone in a new direction. Originally planning to cover the works of the Mexican children's artist the late Cri Cri, she was thwarted by Cri Cri's heirs, who were reluctant to have his songs updated and modernized. Instead, Tatiana turned to the bedrock (no pun intended) of modern music, early rock n' roll. In many ways, this was a typically shrewd move; the driving beat of early rock music has an universal appeal both among adults and children. So how did she do?

The simplest answer is "as usual". "As usual" the visual appeal of the CD is highly attractive, this time suggesting the 1950s through color (aqua predominating) and symbols (Tatiana in bobby sox and leather jacket). "As usual" the arrangements and productions are diverse, sometimes surprising, but always entertaining. They are also intelligent. Usually when contemporary artists undertake to cover an early rock n' roll song, they bury it under layers of instruments and sounds, forgetting that it is a genre best performed simply. After all Elvis created rockabilly with only a bass, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, and a shaky leg. In the rocking numbers here, Tatiana achieves the fifty's ambience (with more modern sounding instrumentation), making for some highly successful renditions. "As usual" the song choice is very good (more on that below). Most importantly, "as usual" Tatiana performance is technically excellent, at times emotionally gripping, and always charismatic. For those of us who follow her it is clear that with each album she is honing her craft as a vocalist.

Many of the songs will sound familiar to Americans. Some are direct translations or have very similar melodies to English- language hits: Popotitos (Bony Moronie by Larry Williams), Hasta Luego Cocodrilo (See You Later Alligator by Bill Haley and the Comets), La Playa (Party recorded separately by Elvis and Wanda Jackson), Rock del Reloj (Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley and the Comets), Nina Con Vestido Azul, (Devil in the Blue Dress, version most well-known by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels), and the medley, Popurii (includes Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, and Hanky Panky by Tommy James and the Shondells). The other songs are mostly Mexican rock n' roll hits and some are outstanding including La Favorita del Profesor, a modified doo wop number that allows Tatiana to really sing, Perro Lanudo, a good rocking tune, and most of all the wonderfully weird, Mahna mahna featuring some cool scat singing by our heroine, and which is just not long enough! The music and its beat will unquestionably appeal to both youngsters and adults. It is also an interesting introduction to the heretofore obscure (at least to most gringos) catalogue of Mexican rock music. If for nothing other than great entertainment, buy this album!

Although this CD with its cover featuring Tatiana and her cartoon characters from her television show is aimed at children, it is not as clear that this is actually "children's music". Certainly, there is no comparison between what Tatiana does and the silly monotone singalongs so often marketed as music for kids. In the end, I think, it can be called "children's music" because thematically she forgoes teenage sexual angst, romantic pain, and middle age melancholic reflection, the three predominate subjects of adult pop/rock etc. Instead, her music becomes childlike, not because she is denying that those things exist, but because her implicit message is that life, including its pain, should be balanced and transcended with joy and love, a theme that a child instinctively endorses. In a world where increasingly nothing is sacred, not God, not the law, not the truth, not human relationships, not life, not marriage, not children, or even motherhood, that may indeed seem naïve and childish. Personally, I find it to be a source of hope and uplift. Support love, peace, truth, and understanding, listen to Tatiana!

This page was first created 09 Feb 2001, and last modified 14 Jul 2002.
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