Irene Farrera

In several respects, Walking in the Jungle was a departure from Irene Farrera's first album, Alma Latina. While that debut found the Venezuelan pop singer putting her stamp on well-known songs from different parts of Latin America, she wrote and produced everything on Walking in the Jungle. And while Alma Latina was acoustic-oriented and favored a folk-like ambiance, Walking in the Jungle is more produced and goes for a jazzier, sleeker, more quiet storm-like approach; at times, the CD is mildly Sade-ish. But like before, Farrera finds a variety of Latin rhythms to be useful. During the course of the album, she incorporates everything from Afro-Cuban salsa to Brazilian samba to Venezuelan joropo. Most of the lyrics are in Spanish, although Farrera successfully detours into English lyrics on "The Way You Love Me" and the title song, and Portuguese lyrics on the Brazilian-minded tracks "Tanta Saudade" and "Desperta." Walking in the Jungle isn't Farrera's best or most essential album; for beginners, 1995's Alma Latina or 1999's Soy de Ti would be a better starting point. But it's a pleasant CD that's worth acquiring if you already have those two albums in your collection. ~ Alex Henderson , All Music Guide