Volvio el Dolor

iTunes Review

A veteran of the Dominican music scene, Luis Vargas was one of a host of singers who revolutionized Bachata in the late ‘80s. Vargas’ albums from this period such as Sin Hueso and El Tomate featured the blistering guitar work of future solo star Anthony Santos, and were notable for their upbeat, merengue-influenced rhythms and salacious doble sentidos, entendre-laden songs which won the duo censure from the Dominican press, and innumerable fans amongst habitués of the rough-and-tumble cabarets that proliferated in the working-class districts of the Dominican Republic’s major cities. However, by the late ‘90 doble sentidos had been surpassed in popularity by the well-mannered pop of acts like Avenutra and Monchy y Alexandra. In response to this shift Vargas cut Volvio el Dolor, an album of sentimental, Bolero-influenced ballads that hearkened back to Bachata’s rural origins, and appealed to an older audience who felt nostalgia for the era of romantic songsters such as Luis Segura and Fabio Sanabia. Vargas excelled in this style, and Volvios el Dolor would prove one of his most popular recordings.