Calling all burning hearts and dancing feet: LO QUE LLEVO POR DENTRO is Frankie Negron's third full-length effort and probably his strongest work to date. This young, New York-based singer touts a brand of modern salsa that's immediately hip, rootsy, and hard-hitting en el corazon. While he surely fits the bill for "consummate romantic," Negron rarely gets mired in the sticky-sweet warblings of some of his contemporaries. Indeed, purists may turn a nose up at the occasional synth-layering, but the hard clave, melodic, staccato horn hits, driving piano, and sing-along coros are all here.
"Enamorado De Ti" is offered in two flavors: the first is a sweet, steady-rolling salsa with the kinds of rhythmic breaks that always add fun to the dance floor, while the ballad version replaces the horn section with gentle guitars and soprano saxophone as Frankie takes his time with each lyric. "Esta Noche" opens in classic ballad style, yielding to Frankie's bays for a lover's nocturnal kiss and Angel Fernandez' punchy horn production. "Recordando a Mi Papa" is Frankie's lovely, self-penned bolero ode to his father. The tune picks up into a slow salsa as he mournfully addresses his father's spirit before soft nylon-string guitars cast a final touch.
