100% Merengue

Album Review

100% Merengue is a welcome addition to the Olga Tañón catalog, for it compiles highlights of her prime years, when she truly was the Queen of Merengue. That means most of the songs here date back to the mid-'90s, with a couple exceptions like "Como Olvidar" (2001) and "Asi Es la Vida" (2002) that are poppier and thus a bit lighter than the frenetic rhythms of her earlier work. About half a dozen songs compiled on 100% Merengue were featured on an earlier collection of Tañón merengues: A Puro Fuego. Both are excellent collections, and while the overlap is a little frustrating for discretionary consumers, the similarity isn't enough to dissuade recommendation of both. After all, it's hard to have enough of this music, especially since Tañón abandoned this style in the late '90s, more or less. 100% Merengue isn't quite as excellent as A Puro Fuego, so go with the latter if you only can afford one purchase. The best approach, though, is to find the studio albums from which these best-ofs were compiled: Llévame Contigo (1997) and Siente el Amor... (1994), in particular, are packed with thrilling music. In any event, you can't go wrong with any of this timeless music. The more the better, which is why this admittedly superfluous compilation is nonetheless welcome.