Though he's a Berklee College of Music graduate whose first recordings owed a considerable debt to Manhattan Transfer, Juan Luis Guerra made his name with a series of merengue-based albums in the 1980s. Guerra's 2004 recording, PARA TI, his first since 1998's NI ES LO MISMO NI ES IGUAL, returns to this winning sound, but with a twist. This collection of ballads, merengue, and pop-based tracks is firmly based on religious themes, from the opening militant merengue of "Soldado" to the simple beauty of the acoustic "Cancion de Sanidad."
Accompanied by simple, mostly acoustic instrumentation, Guerra turns his lyrical acumen (which on previous albums has found him upholding the rights of the poor and disenfranchised) to 11 straightforward and often--as in the case of the pulsating "Los Dinteles"--extremely danceable hymns of praise to God. A Beatles influence may subtly inflect the "Across the Universe"-type riff of "Tan Solo He Venido," but PARA TI remains focused on godly inspiration, and this is powerfully displayed throughout the devotional set.