Romantic Classics

Julio's first English-language album in 12 years, the Master of Romance returns with an incredible collection of modern love songs, primarily from the 1970s and 1980s. Having performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Julio's sensual voice has impacted the souls of generations for over 30 years.

Julio Iglesias--he of the endearing Latin accent, endless-summer suntan, and stunning charisma--could make "Mary Had a Little Lamb" sound sexy, so it's no surprise that the 11 selections here smolder with the approximate heat of high noon in his native Madrid. What may be surprising to longtime listeners, though, is the range of songs he chose to cover. While "It's Impossible," the Perry Como hit with the famously pretty-sad melody, comes across an obvious choice and benefits from a swooning yet sure-footed performance, two Foreigner classics, "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You," seem somehow beneath our debonair ladykiller. Still, smothered by his signature passion, they play like entirely new songs--less earnest and searching, more insistent and sweet. Such is the case with Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting" and, to some extent, the Cars' "Drive"; instead of sounding like lite-FM retreads, they become heated extensions of his Julio-ness. Older hits--"This Guy's in Love with You," "The Most Beautiful Girl"--benefit from a certain effortlessness; these are numbers pre-dipped in the knee-weakening romance Julio specializes in. Overall, it's a modern/classic commingling that proves what millions of women worldwide have suspected for decades: where practitioners of pulse-quickening, fantasy-fueling vocals are concerned, there is no equal. --Tammy La Gorce