Back in the early 80's, Spanish sex god Pedro was a teen heart-throb and found international success with some fabulous latino pop though after 2 albums and 2 million records sold in 3 years (1980-1982), he packed it in to work in finance. Returning to the limelight in 2005, Marin starred in a Spanish
Survivour style reality TV show
La Isla De Los Famosos, posed nude for
Zero magazine and recorded a cover of Amanda Lear classic
Run Baby Run - which later became part of a new album,
DiamondsUnlike his earlier (and subsequent) work,
Diamonds is recorded in English and like its precurser
Run Baby Run it consists of Amanda Lear covers paying homage to the tracks disco roots and modernising them into stylish electro anthems. Pedro's distinctive vocals work well with the tracks, though the delivery sometimes seems a bit robotic though that is probably down to the nuances of singing in your native tounge not always translating into foreign langauges. Each track is lovingly reworked with rich production that always complements the vocals and tone of the track with excellent use of instrumentation and vocals. As well as ten stunning tracks, remixes of 7 of the tracks accompany the album. Not being familiar with some of Amanda's originals I can't compare all of Marin's versions to hers but for the most part they are worthy of (and in some cases better than) Lear's.
Black HolesA stunning opener that wouldn't look out of place on a Kylie tour - like
Light Years (complete with countdown) but much darker. 10/10
Follow MeA haunting rendition of this Lear classic and the albums only single. 10/10
Run Baby RunAnnoying backing vocalist intro aside, its the kind of track the likes of The Presets and Lily Allen would kill for. Slightly more raw vocals from Pedro on this one 7/10
Blood & HoneySexy electro-with-guitars and smooth bassline. Sultry. 9/10
Fashion PackAnother fabulous and catchy reworking, though slightly irritating backing vocals work against it 7/10
GoldBoth retro and modern at the same time. 7/10
The SphinxTaking the tempo down a few notches, this atmospheric track suffers only from beign a tad too short 9/10
EnigmaLovely production let down by some rather dodgy lyrics. While being essentially a good track, it is one of the weakest on the album. 5/10
TomorrowAnother brilliantly produced track that doesn't quite hit the same standards as the rest 6/10
DiamondsFunnily enough, this is the only other dud on the album - and its still quite good. 5/10
Follow Me (Isaac Junkie Remix) 9/10
Gold (Juanimysterfly Remix) 8/10
Fashion Pack (Oblique Mix) 8/10
Tomorrow (Onedbshon Remix) 6/10
Black Holes (Onedbshon Alien Remix) 6/10
Run Baby Run (Pedromarinronniespectormix) 7/10
The Sphinx (Skinnyproject Remix) 9/10
Follow Me (Video) 9/10
Bap rating: Dannii's WMDD's
If you like this: look out for further posts about this Spanish stud or look for Amanda Lear originals if you aren't familiar with them.
Visit:
Pedro Marin - Official Website
