Ricardo Arjona Quien Dijo Ayer CD

Issued in 2007, this two-disc set presents many of the finest tracks by renowned Guatemalan performer Ricardo Arjona. Including some songs in both remixed and original form, QUIEN DIJO AYER showcases Arjona's thoughtful ballads (see the delicate early version of "Sin Danos a Terceros"), and is an ideal introduction to the beloved folk-pop singer.

Celebrated singer/songwriter Ricardo Arjona looks both forward and backward on Quién Dijo Ayer, a double-disc greatest-hits collection featuring 13 of his best-known songs on one disc and new recordings of those same songs on the other disc, plus three new songs. The hits compiled here are mostly from the 1990s, when Arjona emerged as one of Latin pop's most impressive songwriting talents: "Te Conozco" (1991); "Mujeres," "Jesús Verbo No Sustantivo" (1993); "Historia de Taxi," "Señora de las Cuatro Décadas," "Realmente No Estoy Tan Solo" (1994); "Se Nos Muere el Amor," "Tu Reputación" (1996); "Dime Que No," "Tarde (Sin Daños a Terceros)" (1998); "Si el Norte Fuera el Sur" (1999); "Cuándo" (2000); and "A Ti" (2002). After the turn of the century, Arjona began to release progressively less new material; in fact, after Santo Pecado (2002) he has released only one album of new material, Adentro (2005), to date. Like Lados B (2003) and Solo (2004), Quién Dijo Ayer is therefore likely to frustrate some longtime fans who would prefer an album of new material rather than yet another set of recycled material from years past. Thankfully, there are the three new songs, two of which ("Quién," "Quiero") are great, so much so they fit right in alongside all the hits. As for the newly recorded versions of Arjona's greatest hits, they're generally faithful to the original versions. The most evident exceptions are "Si el Norte Fuera el Sur" (performed in a ska style with Panteón Rococó) and "Historia de Taxi" (performed in a salsa style with Marc Anthony). There are a few other duets, but the arrangements are similar to the original versions. While only a couple of the new versions depart stylistically from the originals, the contemp

Special Edition

Recording information: Cabanna Studios Ver; Conway Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Hit Masters, Miami, FL; Jet Wash Studio, Miami, FL; Jocoteco Studios, Mexico; Kirkos Beats, Miami, FL; La Chicken Station, Mexico; Legacy Studios, NY; MedaStudios, Milan, Italy; Picks & Hammers, Miami, FL; Studio Red, Led Madrid, Spain; Super Charango, Buenos Aires, Argentina; The Hit Factory Criteria, Miami, FL; The Tiki Room, Miami, FL; Wally World, Miami, FL.

Photographer: Ricardo Calderon.

Arrangers: Ricardo Arjona; Sergio George; Fernando Otero; Lee Levin.

Personnel: Dan Warner (acoustic guitar); Eros Ramazzotti (electric guitar, background vocals); Don Gorri, Monel (electric guitar); Rodrigo Cárdenas, Darío Espinosa, Otávio DeMoraes, Sal Cuevas, Julio Hernandez, John Falcone (bajo sexto, bass guitar); Pedro Alfonso (violin, strings); Sami Merdinian (violin); Wolfram Koesser, Rodrigo Duarte, Chris Glansdorp (cello); Miami Symphonic Services (strings); Missael (saxophone); Juan 'Figlito' Casas (trumpet); Fernando Otero (piano); Pete Wallace (Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards); Kim Ballard (Hammond b-3 organ); Lee Levin (drums, percussion, programming); Hiram Paniagua, Jorge 'Chiquis' Amaro (drums); Dennys 'Papacho' Savon (congas); Tanis 'El Bambino' (electronic percussion); Luis Dr. Shenka, Tommy Torres, Eric Lopez (background vocals); Tony Rijos (guitar, electric guitar); Michael Landau (electric guitar); Hector del Curto (bandoneon); Dante Vargas (trumpet); Paco Barajas, Alberto Barros (trombone); Doug Emery, Sergio George (piano, keyboards); Milton Sesenton, Matt Rollings, Robbie Buchanan (piano); Felipe Bustamante (keyboards); Aaron Cruz, Pablo Aslan (double bass); Robert Vilera (bongos, timbales, percussion); Armando Montiel (percussion); Jose Gomez (programming); Alfredo Oliva.

Additional personnel: Marta Sánchez (background vocals); Fernando Otero, Marc Anthony, Panteó