Mana: Fher (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Sergio Vallin (acoustic & electric guitars); Juan Calleros (acoustic & electric basses); Alex Gonzalez (drums, percussion, programming, vocals).
Additional personnel: Bob Tansen (flute); Rick Bartist (trumpet); Juan Carlos Toribio (keyboards, programming); Randy Walman (keyboards, samples); Luis Conte (percussion); Pablo Aguirre (programming); Jose Quintana (background vocals).
SUENOS LIQUIDOS won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Latin/Rock Alternative Performance.
As trippy and loose-limbed as the album art may be (echoes of Santana's ABRAXAS), SUENOS LIQUIDOS finds these rockeros Mexicanos creating an ever-more refined sound. It's a free-and-easy rock & roll that's been baked in the Yucatan sun, with all the fun of Bryan Adams, the drive of the Police and an unflinching love of the ballad. With a nylon-string guitar fill here or a harmonized vocal fadeout there, frontman Fher and drummer Alex Gonzalez display an impeccable production sense, enhancing the mood while keeping the mix clear and each instrument distinct.
Fher's gone and caught gypsy fever, with his dreamy, dust-throated crooning about a mermaid enchantress on "Hechicera." Lead guitarist Sergio Vallin provides fine shredding over the song's reggae-rock beat, a familiar Mana sound. "Un Lobo" and "Clavado" are pure chunky-riff fun, songs about the highs and lows of being lost in love. And who could resist all those sweet chorus harmonies? These chicos may be getting a little older, but their music is still full of life, y en Espanol como siempre.
