DC Reviews: Chente Barrera – El No. 7

I’ve been following this guy since he was hidden behind Jay Perez and a drum set.

Chente Barrera broke out into a solo career with his first CD, Puro Taconazo, which featured a duet (Celos) with his late father, “Pato” Barrera (a la Nat King and Natalie Cole) and backed up by Pato’s original back-up band, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales. And he hasn’t stopped, since.

Never fearful of pushing the envelope and resurrecting old-school Tejano hits and re-branding them with his own bit of “sabor,” Barrera returns with El Numero 7.

A mix of Tejano rancheras and cumbias, acordeon y bajo sexto, and Barrera’s unique voice, Numero 7 opens with the smooth ranchera, Tu Ganas Otra Vez and the acordeon-heavy Las Mujeres. Then, Barrera shows some boldness in his reggae-cumbia remake of Frampton’s Baby I Love Your Way (en Español, of course).

One sure hit is the ranchera Encanto Divino with its danceable rhythms complemented by that romantic melody aptly delivered by Barrera. Barrera then takes us back to the classics  with the country-tinged El Potro Lobo Gateado, which kind of has a Roberto Pulido y Los Clasicos flavor to it.

Barrera further shows us that the younger Tejano generation not only appreciates the classics, but are willing to undust them, as he does with Cuco Sanchez’s  Por Una Mujer Casada and the Jose Alfredo Jimenez classic, Amor Sin Medida.

You get some fun comic relief from the cumbia Maria, Tacha y Chona, as well as some more Tejano classiness from Hasta Cuando Corazon, Una Vieja Cancion de Amor, and Ya No Se Que Hacer.

This is definitely one for the collection, which you can get on I-Tunes. What makes me respect Barrera’s work even more is that he is now his own boss, with the CD produced by his own Q-Vo Records, which has its own line-up of Tejano talent. Only through some independence from bossy producers who know nothing about our music can we stay true to our roots, I always say.

All in all, El Numero 7 exhibits that foundation on where our music was built and the direction in which our music is going. And the main message:  Tejano will never die!