Juanes: 'MTV Unplugged'

The whole point of MTV's live concert series is to strip down pop songs to a natural, acoustic format that showcases the songwriting itself, rather than studio production. That's why it's a shame that Colombian superstar Juanes opens his new album with one of the sterling recordings of his career, "Fíjate bien," from his riveting eponymous 2000 debut. Rather than revealing new dimensions to the sinewy, ominous tune about land mines, the sped-up rendition here is tropicalized and trivialized with a bouncy and brassy arrangement. Lesson: Don't mess with a masterpiece. The singer's other hits survive relatively intact, though not noticeably improved, on the rest of the 14-track album, produced by Dominican superstar Juan Luis Guerra. New renditions of "La camisa negra" and "La paga" lose a measure of their folkloric sabor. And the anthemic "A Dios le pido" sounds not too different from the original. Luckily, Juanes saves the day with three new songs, among the best he's ever written, including the new single "La señal." His tender, delicate rendition of "Todo en mi vida eres tú" is a quiet show-stopper, while the playful "Azul Sabina," with sly Spanish songwriter Joaquín Sabina (arguably the best lyricist in Spanish-language music), is just delightful.

★★★ (out of 5 stars)