Latin Hits

The Countdown Singers have taken on Latin music before, but on Latin Hits, they have their hands full with three discs of Latin pop from 1998 to 2001. Still, this is a genre that they can mimic quite successfully, and this particular collection is one of their best. Whoever they have singing Ricky Martin's songs is fantastic; he sounds exactly like the Latin pop sensation. In fact, most of the imitators are above the usual standard for soundalikes, making up for the rather cheesy keyboard parts that are used in place of real horn parts. If there is any major problem with this set, it is the lack of original instruments used. Keyboards take the place of many unique Latin instruments that are too distinct to re-create. But there are some real smoking versions of "Rhythm Divine," "La Copa de la Vida," "If You Had My Love," "Cuidado con Mi Corazone," and many others. There is always the issue about getting the original performance on album, and admittedly these are not as good. But kudos to the Countdown Singers for coming as close to it as they can. To anyone who does not care about who originally performed the songs, this album would be a very inexpensive way to get all of them on disc.