José Nogueras “La Vivo y La Gozo” Review

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It’s Christmas, and José Nogueras brings us his album #40 with “La Vivo y La Gozo“. The long-awaited Christmas production includes nine songs to celebrate the holidays.

Music in “La Vivo y La Gozo“.

The music in “La Vivo y La Gozo” is very good. To make the songs catchy, José Nogueras uses a good dose of plena which pretty much guarantees the joy in the songs. Of the first four songs on the album, three are Plenas.

Luis García, as usual, was José Nogueras’ main collaborator in making sure the music was first class. However, I owe you the names of the other musicians who contributed their talent to this recording. I could not find their credits anywhere on the internet, not even on José Nogueras‘ webpage.

Below is the video of the lead single from this album; “Parranda Pa Ti“.

One of the Best by José Nogueras

One of the best qualities of “La Vivo y La Gozo” is the quality of the song lyrics. I recently read an interview with José Nogueras, where he talks about how his first recordings came about in a more organic way, but then expectations led him to plan them more formally.

I loved those early recordings because the lyrics had beautiful messages. They were positive messages that reminded us of what is really important at Christmas.

 

José Nogueras always tries to sprinkle his songs with joyful situations, and we tend to like that type of song. It’s almost part of the Puerto Rican spirit.

The album with Ismael Miranda, “Versos de Nuestra Cultura” (1986) remains, in my opinion, José Nogueras’ masterpiece. The lyrics reflect that true Christmas spirit to which I refer above.

“La Vivo y La Gozo“, being Nogueras’ 40th recording, returns to that line of lyrics with beautiful messages, reminding us of what is truly important about Christmas. And of course, also the socially healthy and enjoyable experience of partying with our friends and family. All of that is always good and that’s what Christmas is all about.