The Romantic is released, an all-played album that favors quality over quantity. 31 minutes and 9 songs
It’s a “Latin pop affair” the first album by Bruno Mars after ten years. Co-produced by Mars with D’Mile, and made with Anderson .Paak, The Romantic is a record of times gone by. Which sounds great amidst brilliant brass counterpoints, conga rhythms and highly refined vocal arrangements. A decidedly old school album also for the choice to focus on the essential, favoring quality over quantity: 31 minutes and 9 songs.
The album is very beautiful and it is a pleasure to listen to it in its entirety, getting lost in the meanders of the many references to the music of the sixties and seventies: from Curtis Mayfield to the O’Jays, and then Motown and psychedelic soul. And again the vintage project, Silk Sonicsigned by Mars with Anderson. Paak a few years ago.
Love songs that bring together the best influences of Latin pop, Santana’s sound, see Something Curious where it is difficult not to notice the resemblance to Oye Como Va by Tito Puente; without missing out on funky-soul and R&B suggestions that recall the legendary Temptations. The soft side of the album is masterfully represented by two ballads destined to leave their mark over time: Why you wanna fight? and Nothing Left.
Making a record today like The Romantic it means making an almost counter-current gesture. In an era where the algorithm seems to dictate the length of songs, the aesthetics of productions and even the structure of choruses, choosing to record nine songs for a total of thirty-one minutes, without a gram of rap or invasive electronic stratificationis a radical act of faith in the music played.
It’s trust in the hands, even before the software. In the fingers that touch the keys, in the breath that passes through the brass instruments, in the skin of the conga that vibrates under the human blow, imperfect and therefore alive. The difference can be heard: it is not just a question of timbre, but of breathing. A piece built on real instruments moves, oscillates, pulsates. It’s not stuck in a grid: it dances. A fully played record is not a return. It’s a return to the center.
