Origen by Juanes – New Album Review

Finally, a new Juanes album. Well, kind of. Origen is the latest studio album from the legendary Colombian artist.

The concept of Origen is simple, it’s 12 covers of songs that have had an influence on Juanes’s career in one way or another. We have songs originally made famous by Juan Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Arroyo, and Juan Luis Guerra (among others).

Juanes is a master of taking these classics and really making them his own. This is incredibly clear from the jump. Rebelion is one of the greatest salsa songs of all time and one of the most influential in Colombian history. Juanes has no problem making a legendary salsa track a very danceable and enjoyable rock song. With Could You Be Loved, he’s able to take a reggae classic and turn it into a funk rock track. His ability to keep the core of each song while making it entirely his own is nothing short of incredible.

One of the highlights of the album to me is Y Nos Dieron Las Diez. It’s a perfect way to close out the album and it’s one of the tracks that I believe Juanes improves. If I had more Spanish speaking friends, that sound would be our version of Closing Time.

There aren’t many, if any, major misses on this album. The only two songs that I thought were definitely surpassed by their originals were La Bilirrubina and maybe No Tengo Dinero. Otherwise, each song was a fantastic interpreation of songs spanning a wide range of the Latin catalog.

This is the kind of album I’ll have on repeat this summer while I sit on my balcony crushing beers as the sun goes down.

Final Score

Juanes is a king of making any song his own. Blending styles while leaving his undeniable mark on each track is no easy feat but Juanes is able to manage it all on his own. With few misses, this album is solidly one of the best of the year.

8.7/10