Latin Music Album: Marc Anthony’s 3.0 Review

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A lot can change in 9 years; but then again, sometimes they don’t. Marc Anthony’s Salsa music album “3.0” seems almost a sequel to his 2004 hit Salsa album “Valio la Pena”.

However, “3.0” does deliver pop-Salsa from one of the best at this style of Salsa, containing good song selection and great musicality. Although the album at times seems too commercial, Marc Anthony continues to perform with the same commanding voice that helped him built the huge fan base he enjoys.

What I Liked About “3.0”

  • Latin music star Marc Anthony released "3.0" after 9 years from his previous Salsa album of original material.
    Latin music star Marc Anthony released “3.0” after 9 years from his previous Salsa album of original material.

    Good Song Selection – the selection of songs was done very carefully as the lyrics are of high quality compositions. Ironically, for me the exception in this regards is the hit single Salsa song “Vivir La Vida” (of which you can read a full review HERE). Although it’s a very happy song, lyrically its not any marvel. However, the Salsa songs “Flor Pálida” of Polo Montañez, as well as “Cambio de Piel” and “Cautivo de Este Amor” both from the pen of Julio Reyes are beautiful songs well performed by Marc.

  • Great MusicalitySergio George is a producer of Grammy albums because of the musical quality he puts into his productions. Sergio is a master of the pop-Salsa and Salsa Romantica. He has the touch of turning pop songs into Salsa songs with swing. The music quality of “3.0” is 1st class.
  • Marc Anthony’s Singing – Marc has a powerful voice, we’ll suited for this pop-Salsa music style. His execution is almost flawless, with one exception which I’ll mention below.
  • My Favorite – pretty easy selection; “Flor Pálida” of the late Cuban singer songwritter Polo Montañez. What a beautiful song this is, and Marc Anthony does a great tribute to Polo’s original version with his performance.

What I Didn’t Like About “3.0”

  • Pop Salsa; Same, Same, Same – I’ll start by apologizing to pop-Salsa fans. I find it a bit boring. As the great pianist and bandleader Oscar Hernandez (Spanish Harlem Orchestra) told me, “pop-Salsa is all about one thing; the singer” (you can read my interview with Oscar HERE). I agree with multi-Grammy winner Salsa pianist. Marc Anthony is a great singer, but the songs are all the same cookie-cutter predictable formula, that pop-Salsa and Salsa Romantica fans like (you can read on the history of Salsa Romantica HERE).
  • “La Copa Rota” – This classic bolero of the late Benito de Jesus (ex-founding member of the famous Trio Vegabajeño) was 1st made famous to Salsa music fans by Ismael Miranda in his 1975 album “Este es…Ismael Miranda”. That interpretation is the base of this version by Marc Anthony that falls short of both, the Ismael Miranda’s and Trio Vegabajeño’s versions. My favorite is Ismael Miranda’s version.

My Recommendation of “3.0”

Marc Anthony fans will be delighted with this album. It has a good song selection, with great music and Marc’s performance is as good as usual. I for one found the album too commercial and predictable with only a couple of exceptions.

I have a hard time subscribing to the cookie-cutter formula of Sergio George’s pop-Salsa. There have been justifiable exceptions, like Luis Enrique’s “Ciclos”, with had plenty of original songs with positive messages, combined with a variety of rhythms and tempos, to complement Luis Enrique’s great performance.

After 9 years I was expecting something a bit different from Marc Anthony. If his previous Salsa music album “Valio la Pena” was “2.0”, then I found “3.0” to be “2.0, part 2”.

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