Selena: 'Enamorada de ti'

Is it OK to mess with pre-existing Selena vocal tracks and songs? Should we touch them at all? Capitol Records and the Quintanilla family — as well as the many top stars who took part in this "new" album and the fans who took the album to a number one debut in iTunes U.S.A. and Mexico — are all for it. But some Selena diehard fans are crying "Heresy!" I belong to the first group, and will take the new pop duet of "Amor prohibido" with Camila's Samo over the cheesy cumbia original anytime. And the idea of hearing Selena's voice dressed only by a superb acoustic guitar in the unplugged versions of "Cobarde," "Si una vez," and "No quiero saber" is an offer I can't refuse. The new technology made it possible to change the tempo of Selena's original tracks without changing the pitch, and her duet with Cristian Castro (a wonderful ranchera version of "Como la flor") is proof of technology put to good use. But the album's crowd-pleasing section (the merengue in "Enamorada de ti," and the reggaeton-ish duet with Don Omar in "Fotos y recuerdos") is unbearable. Selena herself is terrific, as always, forever. So get the album, but be ready to use the skip button.

★★ ½ (out of 5 stars)