Otra Nota

Otra Nota
Studio album by Marc Anthony
Released January 26, 1993
Genre Salsa
Length 37:01
Language Spanish
Label RMM
Producer Sergio George
Marc Anthony chronology

When the Night is Over
(1991)		 Otra Nota
(1993)		 Todo a Su Tiempo
(1995)
Singles from Otra Nota
  1. "Hasta Que Te Conocí"
    Released: April 1993
  2. "Palabras del Alma"
    Released: July 1993
  3. "Si Tú No Te Fueras"
    Released: October 1993

Otra Nota (English: Another Note) is the debut album by American singer Marc Anthony that was released on January 26, 1993, by RMM Records. Produced by Sergio George, it was the first album by Anthony to record in salsa after starting his career as a freestyle musician. Recording of the album began after Anthony asked RMM president Ralph Mercado to record Juan Gabriel's "Hasta Que Te Conocí" in salsa after hearing it on the radio during a taxi ride. Recorded on a low budget, the album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Tropical Albums chart and reached No. 30 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.

The album was well received by critics who complimented George's production and Anthony's youthful voice. Anthony received two awards for "Best New Artists" at the Billboard Latin Music Awards and the Lo Nuestro Awards. The album produced three singles: "Hasta Que Te Conocí", "Palabras del Alma", and "Si Tú No Te Fueras", all of which charted on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. As of 2002, Otra Nota has sold over 300,000 copies.

Background

Marc Anthony began his recording career in 1980s as a freestyle musician during which he was a backup vocalist for boy bands such as Menudo and the Latin Rascals.[1] Anthony also wrote songs for his school friend Sa-Fire, including "Boy I've Been Told" which became a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[2] Anthony got his start as a lead vocalist when he collaborated with Little Louie Vega on the album When the Night Is Over. The lead single "Ride on the Rhythm" became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.[3]

RMM manager Ralph Mercado invited Anthony to record a salsa album, but Anthony declined the offer due to a lack of interest to record in Spanish. The following day, while in a taxi, Anthony was listening to Juan Gabriel's song "Hasta Que Te Conocí" ("Until I Met You") on the radio and was motivated to record in the song in salsa and told Mercado about his change of decision.[4] Mercado introduced Anthony to Sergio George who would produce the album. According to George, the album was an "total experiment", citing that it was on low budget, recorded with one musician at a time without a band, and the full production was done on computers while George handled the keyboards.[5]

Music and lyrics
Marc Anthony "Hasta Que Te Conocí" (1993)
A sample of the lead single, "Hasta Que Te Conocí" a cover of Juan Gabriel's song.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The album includes five compositions and three cover songs. The lead track "Palabras del Alma" ("Words from the Soul") is a cover originally performed and written by Ilan Chester.[6] "Si Tú No Te Fueras" ("If You Would Not Leave") was composed by Nelson Frank and Jaime Gutierrez.[7] "Hasta Que Te Conocí" was first performed and written by Juan Gabriel.[8] "El Último Beso" was composed by Anthony's father Felipe Muñíz.[9] "Make It With You" is a cover of American band Bread's song.[10] "Necesito Amarte" was written by Luis Castillo who composed songs for RMM recording artists including José Alberto and Tito Nieves.[11] Sergio George co-wrote "¿Juego O Amor" ("Game or Love?") along with Adam Sez.[12] The final track, "Si He de Morir" ("If I Were to Die") was composed by Luis Díaz.[13]

Commercial reception

Otra Nota debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Tropical Albums chart during the week of April 17, 1993, behind Jerry Rivera's Cuenta Conmigo and remained at this position for eight weeks.[14] During the week of June 11, 1994, the album debuted and peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums, where it spent nineteen weeks on the chart.[15] Otra Nota has sold over 300,000 copies as of 2002.[16]

Singles

"Hasta Que Te Conocí" was the first single to be released from the album and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.[17] The second single "Palabras del Alma" peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.[18] "Si Tú No Te Fueras" was the last single released from the album which peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.[19]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [20]
Wilson & Alroy's [21]
Los Angeles Times [22]

Evan Gutierrez of Allmusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars and complemented Anthony's voice as "developed, unique, and individual" and felt that Anthony's debut "brought quality and passion to his listeners from the beginning." Gutierrez also found the songs in salsa enjoyable while calling the ballads. Gutierrez praised Sergio George's arrangements as "outstanding" though he felt the production was outdated in places.[20] David Wilson of Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews also gave the album a 3.5 out of 5, calling "Palabras del Alma" and "Si Tú No Te Fueras" as "danceable" tunes and noted "Hasta Que Te Conocí" as the highlight of the album.[21] Enrique Lopetegui gave the album 3 out of 4 stars, noting that while Anthony was viewed with skepticism on the salsa market, he felt that Anthony "may be the best of the many newborn salseros." Lopetegui also praised Anthony's vocals as "excellent" and described the overall album as "noble effort" though he criticized Anthony's cover of "Make It With You" as unnecessary.[22] In 1994, Anthony received a Billboard Latin Music Award for "Tropical/Salsa New Artist of the Year" and a Lo Nuestro award for "Tropical - New Artist of the Year".[23][24]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Palabras del Alma"  Ilan Chester 5:00
2. "Si Tú No Te Fueras"  Nelson Frank, Jaime Gutierrez 4:28
3. "Hasta Que Te Conocí"  Juan Gabriel 5:00
4. "El Último Beso"  Felipe Muñíz 4:29
5. "Make It with You"  David Gates 4:19
6. "Necesito Amarte"  Luis Castillo 4:56
7. "¿Juego o Amor?"  Sergio George, Adam Sez 4:33
8. "Si He de Morir"  Luis Díaz 4:16

Credits and personnel

The following credits are from Allmusic.[25]

Performance credits

  • Bobby Allende – bongos
  • Gabriela Anders – vocals (background)
  • Luis Bonilla – trombone
  • Lucho Cabargas – vocals (background)
  • William Cepeda – trombone
  • Ray Colon – bongos
  • José Garcia – arranger, guitar, tres
  • Sergio George – arranger, Keyboards, Vocals (background)
  • Phil Hamilton – guitar
  • Ite Jerez – trumpet
  • Renaldo Jorge – trombone
  • Lewis Kahn – violin
  • Joe King – vocals (background)
  • Rene Leyva – horn arrangements
  • Luis Lopez – trombone
  • Pablo "Chino" Nuñez – timbales
  • Papo Pepin – conga, percussion
  • Johnny Rivera – vocals (background)
  • Piro Rodriguez – trumpet
  • Rubén Rodríguez – bass (electric)

Technical credits

  • J. Albelo – artwork, design
  • Phil Austin – nastering
  • Ricardo Betancourt – photography
  • Sergio George – drum programming, engineer, keyboards, mastering, producer, programming
  • David Maldonado – executive Producer
  • Elena C. Martínez – art direction
  • Ralph Mercado – executive Producer
  • Kurt Upper – engineer, mixing

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums[26] 30
U.S. Billboard Tropical Albums[26] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Tropical Albums[27] 7

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Craig. "Marc Anthony - Biography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation.
  2. ↑ "Boy I've Been Told - Safire". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Ride on the Rhythm - "Little" Louie Vega". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  4. ↑ Lopetegui, Enrique. "Marc Anthony's Putting a Real Kick In His Salsa". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company.
  5. ↑ Louis, Nestor. "The Sergio George Interview Part I". Palo Salsero. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Palabras del Alma - Ilan Chester". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Si Tú No Te Fueras - Marc Anthony". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Hasta Que Te Conocí - Juan Gabriel". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  9. ↑ Ilich, Tijana. "Marc Anthony - Profile of New York Salsa's Marc Anthony". About.com. New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Make It With You - Bread". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Luis Lambis Castillo - Songs Composed By". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  12. ↑ "¿Juego O Amor? - Marc Anthony". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Si He de Morir - Marc Anthony". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Tropical Songs - Week of April 17, 1993". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. April 17, 1993. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Latin Albums - Week of June 11, 1994". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. June 11, 1994. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  16. ↑ Santiago, Javier (June 27, 2002). "Biografía de Marc Anthony". Los 40 Principales. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Hasta Que Te Conoci - Marc Anthony". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. May 22, 1993. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Palabras del Alma - Marc Anthony". August 14, 1993. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Si Tú No Te Fueras - Marc Anthony". October 23, 1993. Retrieved September 1, 1993. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Gutierrez, Evan. "Otra Nota - Marc Anthony". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Wilson, David. "Wilson & Alroy's - Marc Anthony". Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lopetegui, Enrique (July 11, 1993). "LATIN PULSE : Salsa Converts and Veterans Flavor Sassy Beat With Meaning". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  23. ↑ Lannert, John (May 21, 1994). "First Latin Music Awards Recognize Range of Talent". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 106 (32): LM-52. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Lo Nuestro 1994 - Historia de Premio lo Nuestro". Univision. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Otra Nota – Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Otra Nota - Marc Anthony". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  27. ↑ "1994 Top Tropical/Salsa Latin Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 31, 1994. Retrieved September 10, 2012.