Reviewed by George Luke

Hailing from Puerto Rico, Jacobo Ramos is a singer, pastor, worship leader and author. 'Dile Al Corazon Que Camine' (in English, 'Tell The Heart To Walk') is his third album; musically it's mostly mellow pop with a sprinkling of tropical "sabor" (taste) here and there. The title track is a rallying call to Latino people everywhere to walk with God; a pleasant blend of reggae and bachata with a few piano montunos thrown in for good measure. "Te Alabaré" (I Will Praise You) is quite rocky, but the choir of children singing the chorus in English sounds like a horrible concession to any Gringos who might be listening (actually, if you don't like kids singing, you may find yourself hitting the skip button on your CD player's remote control quite a few times whilst listening to this album). The tempo slows down considerably after the first two songs, with a string of ballads. I gather from the sleevenotes that one of those ballads - "Si Acaso Se Me Olvida" (Just In Case I Forget It) - is the title of a book Jacobo has had published. The song's quite stirring, and by way of an intro Jacobo does a brief unplugged version of it with his children (yep, those kids again!). Colombian singer Alex Campos makes a guest appearance on "Me Has Conocido" (You Have Known Me), which sounds a bit country-like but has some nice soprano sax warbling running through it. The album then goes up-tempo again, with more rock on "Vivo Agradecido" (I Live Grateful). "Tanto Bien" (Good Enough) is all electro-synth-pop with AutoTuned vocals. It segues nicely, if disconcertingly, into '¿Donde Esta?' (Where Is.?), a merengue-like call-and-response chorus which ends just as you're starting to get your Latin groove on. The album ends as it began: with another interlude - a collage of noises and radio news snippets. I'd have preferred fewer ballads and more stuff in the vein of "¿Donde Esta?" and the title track (and I could have done with "¿Donde Esta?" being a proper full-length song, rather than another short interlude), but this is a solid effort nonetheless. I'd be interested to see what Jacobo's saying in his book, since it's obviously linked to the album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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Singer/songwriter and Pastor Jacobo Ramos has written hit songs for many of today's Latin Christian artists and on the debut single of his latest project, Dile Al Corazón Que Camine, Ramos once again hits the top of the charts with his sweeping ballad Si Acaso Se Me Olivda.

Latin superstar, Alex Campos, also makes a special guest duet vocal.

This album captures the heart of a shepherd and empowers the listener to be an overcomer.