Reviewed by Chris Webb

NewSpring Church in South Carolina and US resident, but Venezuelan born, Charlee Buitrago have joined together to offer five Spanish translations of songs from the NewSpring 2014 album 'Salvation Rise'. Charlee has a smooth, passionate voice that snakes around the Spanish syllables with all the comfort of a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. Musically this is contemporary pop with barely a hint of Latin as a new vocal is dropped onto the existing album tracks. The 2014 album has unfortunately not been reviewed on the CR website but the mix for the English version on that album is much better than on "La Gloria Sea A Ti" ("Glory Be To You") which could do with some attention as Charlee's voice is almost drowned out by the musicians. There is so much passion in this man's voice. When the backing drops away as on the beginning of "Por Tu Gloria Y Por Mi" and on "Mi Defensor", where a gentle picked, acoustic guitar supports a duet, Charlee with a haunting female vocal, the gripping emotional edge to his voice comes through like a ray of sunlight through a dark sky. Here is a pearl requiring cleaning and polishing. Give him an album of his own rather than a piggy back on these borrowed backing tracks, which despite, generally, their positive musicianship tend to overwhelm rather than support.

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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