Personnel: Jerry Rivera (vocals); Maximo Torres (guitar, tres); Ito Serrano (guitar); Vicente "Cusy" Castillo, Angel Machado (trumpet); Miguel Rivera, Gamaller Gonzalez (trombone); Ramon Sanchez (piano, keyboards); Domingo Garcia (piano); Pedro Perez, Martin Santiago (bass); Tito de Gracia (bongos, congas); Alberto Machuca (bongos); Georgie Padilla (congas); Charlie Sierra (percussion); Darvel Garcia, Chegul Ramos, Johnny Rivera, Osvaldo Roman, Tema "Ese", Yanira Torres (background vocals).
Trio Los Varones: Julio Mendez (vocals, requinto); Feliciano Otero, Edwin Pino Rivera (vocals); Pedro Cruz (guitar).
Engineers include: Papo Rios, Richie Perez, Eduardo Ramos.
Recorded at Mixing Recording & Telesound, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Extreme Music, Miami, Florida.
DE OTRA MANERA was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Salsa Performance.
With DE OTRA MANERA, Jerry Rivera establishes himself as one of salsa's best young voices. After years of plying the teen idol trade, Rivera's voice, though still fluttering at the higher registers, has matured into one of the genre's most consistent and powerful. Like the best singers, Rivera covers remarkable ground with seemingly effortless bursts of emotion, riding the crest of his talented orchestra, particularly the kinetic frenzy of pianists Domingo Garcia and Ramon Sanchez.
Rivera is still choosing songs that appeal to a younger set--in "Si quieres amar," he promises a date he'll be gentle if this is her first time: in the title track he fantasizes about having an adult affair with the girl next door; and in "Si tu me faltas," he simply admits that "I'm a zombie when you're around." On "Entrega," "Ese," and "Hiereme sin Compasion," he takes advantage of the '40s-style bolero craze that has made Colombia's Los Tri-O major players. But it's the combination of Rivera's piercing, sometimes delicately double-tracked vocals with the engaging, shifting rhythms of his backup band that make this album a winner.
