Julieta Venegas Bueninvento CD

BEUNINVENTO was nominated for the 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Best Rock Solo Vocal Album. "Hoy No Quiero" was nominated for the 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

Julieta Venegas made a remarkable debut in 1998 with Aquí, an album of enormous breadth and boldness. Her follow-up, Bueninvento, is no less bold, though it is more stylistically consistent from beginning to end. The piano songs that characterized the second half of Aquí are nowhere to be found on Bueninvento, as Venegas instead delves headlong into the style of driving rock en español exemplified by "De Mis Pasos," one of the two singles from Aquí. Like "De Mis Pasos," the songs of Bueninvento are driven by drums (often programmed), accordion accents, electric guitar, and compelling choruses. There's also a lot of keyboard, which becomes evident immediately, on the album-opener, "Fé," which sounds like an amped-up rewrite of "Cómo Sé," the other single from Aquí. The second song on Bueninvento, "Hoy No Quiero," makes evident the degree to which guitars play a large role in driving these songs with aggressive forward momentum. In fact, the entire opening stretch of songs showcases the qualities of Bueninvento; for instance, "Casa Abandonada," the third song, opens with a minute-long solo accordion riff, while "Enero y Abril," the fourth song, is richly layered with programmed beats. As Bueninvento progresses, the variations in mood and intensity from song to song become the most noticeable aspect of the album: downbeat songs often follow upbeat ones, and loud choruses often cut through the calm opening verses, with a chaotic finale capping off most songs. A few songs toward the end of the album stand tall: "Bueninvento," which rattles along on a nervy beatscape and erupts with strings toward its close; "Sería Feliz," the successive song, which mesmerizingly seems to sway back and forth; and then "Instantánea," which opens with a couple minutes of tense acoustic guitar strumming and fragile singing, then ruptures gloriously. Despite the many standout songs, Bueninvento plays like one long 14-song suite. The songs themselves have their unique characteristics, to be sure, yet end up seeming like sequenced movements when the album finally comes a close after 54 tumultuous minutes. While this can make the album difficult to penetrate at first listen -- make no mistake, this is not pop music -- Bueninvento is a deeply rewarding album, one that is rich with te

Engineers: Joe Chicarelli, Daniel Mendez, Patrick Shevelin.

Personnel: Julieta Venegas (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, accordion, piano, organ, keyboards, drum machine); Joe Gore (guitar, mandolin); Gustavo Santaolalla (guitar, tuba, ron roco); Quique Rangel (guitar, double bass); Alvaro Henriquez, Rick Boston (guitar); Emmanuel del Real (12-string guitar); Novi Novog (viola); Steve Berlin (flute, saxophone, tenor saxophone); Kim Bullard (organ); Joey Waronker (drums, percussion); Curt Bisquera (drums); Luis Conte, Michito Sánchez (percussion); Frankie Blue (programming).

Recording information: Canam Records; Mad Hatter Bomb Factory; The Mix Room.

Editor: Daniel Mendez.

Personnel includes: Julieta Venegas (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, accordion, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, keyboards, programming, caja de ritmos); Joe Gore (acoustic & electric guitars, electric mandolin); Gustavo Santaolalla (guitar, ronroco); Quique Rangel (guitar, acoustic bass); Alvaro Henriquez, Juan Manuel Ledezma (guitar); Emmanuel Del Real (12-string guitar); Javier Casalla (violin); Claudio Tarris, Novi Novog (viola); Steve Berlin (midi saxophone); Mitch Mannon (trumpet); Kim Bullard (Hammond B-3 organ); Rick Boston, Fernando Saunders (bass); Joey Waronker (drums, electronic percussion); Luis Alberto, Curt Bisquera (drums); Michito Sanchez (percussion); Frankie Blue, Patrick Shevlin, Toy Hernandez (programming).

Producers include: Gustavo Santaolalla, Joe Chicarelli, Ricardo Hass, Antonio Hernandez, Quique Rangel.Rolling Stone (10/12/00, p.94) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...[She] is a popster at heart, with a mischievous preference for loungy organ flourishes and bouncy drum machines....her sugary hooks make you close your eyes and smile..."
CMJ (1/08/01, p.42) - Included in CMJ's "N Essential 5 From 2000".
CMJ (8/7/00, p.38) - "...Unfalteringly good and inventive....one of Mexico's finest songwriters....her velvety voice soars over upbeat indie-rock melodies..."