Mi amor se va en el primer tren.

I haven't been in the mood for outfit shots lately, but I still want to keep this blog going until I do get another outfit post. So, today's post is dedicated to an album I've been listening to a lot lately:
Todo Me Recuerda A Ti by Sheena Easton (1984).

**Look at how friggen FIERCE she is on the album cover!**

Yes, Sheena Easton en espanol. I don't even understand Spanish, but yet I am obsessed with this album. This goes to show how much power Sheena's supersonic soprano vocals have over me.

The concept of this album was simple: Let's introduce Sheena to Spanish-speaking countries by having her sing a greatest hits compilation kinda-sorta translated in Spanish but with a few new numbers thrown in there. Cheesy concept, but such a great album. I have to admit, her songs are awesome in Spanish. Also, her vocal quality was very substantial and solid in 1984 as opposed to the young green tone she had in 1981 and in 1982, so the re-recordings are truly lovely. And whoever coached her on how to sing the lyrics did an outstanding job.

By the way, Sheena is so bad-ass that she even won a Grammy for best Mexican-American performance for her duet "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" with Mexican teen heart-throb Luis Miguel.

Here's the track listing and their English equivalents:
1. Telefono = "Telefone (Long Distance Affair)"
2. Todo Me Recuerda A Ti = "Almost Over You" --- My coworker Maria says this title in Spanish actually means "Everything reminds me at you" and is therefore grammatically wrong. Instead, it should have been "Todo me recuerda de ti".
3. Amame = track written specifically for album
4. La Noche Y Tu = "We've Got Tonight"
5. El Primer Tren = "Morning Train (9 to 5)"
6. Una Vez En La Vida = track written specifically for album
7. Mi Corazon Vuela Hacia Ti = "Wind Beneath My Wings" - Wait, "My heart flies toward you"?
8. Me Gustas Tal Como Eres = track written specifically for album
9. No Puedes Dejarme Asi = "Don't Leave Me This Way"
10. Brindo Por Un Amor = "You Could've Been With Me"

So, I subjected Maria to listening to this album, and, wow, she thought Sheena sounded cute singing in Spanish! And I also asked Maria to interpret the songs. Uh, whoa? What she translated didn't really match the original versions! Well, it should come as no surprise that someone had to take great liberties in re-writing the lyrics. There's no way "When you come back around / after painting the town" from "Almost Over You" would even make sense in Spanish.

Before coming across this album, I wasn't really into "Morning Train (9 to 5)". Hearing it as "El Primer Tren" made me appreciate the original English version. So, now, I just adore both songs. Here's the most random bit about the Spanish version that bothers me: Okay, so the lover in the English version works from 9 to 5, but why does the lover in the Spanish version work "nueve a seis", 9 to 6?!?! Why does he work an extra hour??

Even though the entire album as a whole is excellent, I do have my favourites. These are the songs that I can listen to on repeat over and over:
- Telefono -- This is a great New Wave synth pop song in any language.
- Todo Me Recuerda A Ti -- This version has emotions straight out of a telenovela. It is so intense!
- El Primer Tren -- This version is really cute!
- Mi Corazon Vuela Hacia Ti -- I've always wanted to hear "Wind Beneath My Wings" in Spanish, and this is such a beautiful rendition.

To close this entry, I'm going to post my fave example of a liberty taken with the Spanish version.

The closing lyrics from "Almost Over You":
When you come back around
After painting the town
You'll see I'm almost over you

The closing lyrics from "Todo Me Recuerda A Ti":
Cada paso que doy
Cada historia de amor
Incluso el aire huele de ti

The literal translation, courtesy of Maria:
Each step that I take
Each story of love
Even the air smells of you

I really love how the point of the song was completely changed from someone slowly getting over a failed relationship to someone totally obsessing over a failed relationship!