Como Ama Una Mujer (Epic)

Como Ama Una Mujer may be J.Lo's first full-length Spanish language album, but it's hardly a return to her Latina roots. In fact, David Foster, the whitest producer in adult-contemporary music, could have just as easily shat out this flavourless beige crap. Ironically, though, Lopez enlisted a Latin dream team to man the boards. Colombian composers Julio Reyes and Estefano as well as Marc Anthony (aka hubby number three) are to blame for this collection of overproduced ballads that just happen to be sung in Lopez's parents' native tongue. "Amarte Es Todo" ("Loving You Is Everything"), "Porque Te Marchas" ("Why Are You Walking Away"), and the title track ("How a Woman Loves") are altered versions of the same song. All follow that Top 40 blueprint for studio-made melodrama. Think Céline Dion minus the ear-shattering vocal crescendos. (Lopez wisely stays in her very limited range.)

There are a couple of exceptions, including "Te Voy A Querer" ("I Am Going to Love You"). Incorporating some subtle South American rhythms and a Vallenato accordion intro, this traditional-sounding track is a fiesta unto itself. On backup vocals Anthony adds more conviction to this one chorus than Lopez does throughout the entire album. The only place where she shines at all is "QuÉ Hiciste" ('What Have You Done"). For this impassioned rocker, which has already hit No. 1 in Italy, Switzerland, and Spain, Lopez reminds everyone why we loved the spicy Puerto Rican so in the first place. But these moments are so few and far between on Como Ama Una Mujer, it's like adding paprika to a TV Dinner and calling it chili.