Courtesy: Press Junkie PR
Independent performer Carlos Xavier released his latest full-length studio recording Vive Todo Ahora late this past March. The San Francisco-based artist’s new offering is a work that is certain to appeal to fans of not only Xavier, but fans of Latin music in general. That is due to musical arrangements within each song that are deeply rooted in Xavier’s own Latin roots. The songs’ lyrical themes are just as accessible as its musical arrangements. This is proven right from the album’s outset in the form of its opener and title track, which translates roughly to Live Everything Now. This song will be discussed shortly. ‘Yo Quiero Ser’ (I Want To Be) is another addition to the album that serves to support the noted statements. It will be addressed a little later. For those dealing with the heartache of love lost, Xavier hits on that, too in the form of ‘Tres Dias’ (Three Days). That song is just as accessible for listeners as ‘I Want To Be’ and ‘Live Everything Now.’ Each of the songs noted here are important in their own way to the whole of Live Everything Now. When they are considered along with the six remaining songs that make up the rest of the album, the whole of the record becomes a work that will leave listeners enjoying everything featured in the record.
Carlos Xavier’s new album Vive Todo Ahora is a work that is certain to appeal to Xavier’s fans just as much as those of Latin music. It is a work that will leave listeners enjoying “everything” featured in the record. That is due to the overall accessibility of the album’s musical and lyrical content. The album’s opener and title track is just one of the songs featured in the LP that serves to support the noted statements. That is due in part to the song’s musical arrangement, which incorporates some familiar Latin elements, such as bongos, congas and horns and with cabasa. The arrangement even incorporates a familiar Latin style piano line in rather subtle fashion to add to the arrangement’s impact. The whole of the elements creates a song that conjures thoughts of a night in Havana. That in itself is certain to put a smile on the face of any Latin music aficionado. Of course the joy brought through the song’s musical arrangement is just one part of what makes the song stand out. Its lyrical content does just as much to make it appealing.
Xavier sings in the song’s lead verse, “We live in the present/Preparing for the future/The daily routines are the safest step/Let’s still fight/Looking for a better morning/Don’t miss the moment now/Or escape through the window/Don’t walk to the front with devices in hand/Raise your head/Search for the life of your own/In the least expected places/You will find happiness.” The lyrics here are roughly translated from Xavier’s originally Spanish lyrics, as English translations were not available. Even with that in mind, the translation is close enough to get from this verse, Xavier is presenting a very positive message here; a message of making the most of life and not staying in one’s comfort zone. The positive message continues in the song’s second verse, as Xavier sings, “You’ll never have good memories/If you don’t live them at the moment/Forget your sorrows/What’s done is already done/And in the least expected places/You will find happiness/And embrace every strong second/That the seconds do not return more.” Once again, listeners get a message of living life to the utmost – seizing the day so to speak. It’s hardly the first time that any performer of any nationality and ethnic background has ever presented such a positive message. That aside, it is still a message that will always be welcome among listeners of every background. When that positive message is coupled with the song’s equally accessible and upbeat musical arrangement, the whole of the song shows in itself, and in a big way, why listeners will enjoy this record. It is just one of the songs featured in the album that makes the album a positive offering from Xavier. ‘I Want To Be’ is another example of the album’s strength.
The musical arrangement at the center of ‘I Want To Be,’ much like that of the album’s opener, features plenty of familiar Latin instruments. What really makes the arrangement stand out in this case is the sound produced through the whole of the song’s instrumentation. The sound is one that takes listeners back to the 90s (and maybe even earlier). It also boasts a certain R&B influence through that whole. That influence is just subtle enough that when coupled with the song’s more decidedly Latin sound, makes a whole that is once again a whole that is widely accessible. It is just one part of what makes the song stand out. The song’s lyrical content adds to that accessibility.
Xavier sings in the song’s lead verse, “I can only imagine your love/How would it be, to have your pleasure/Every day I think more about your love/Imagining me in your arms/And the taste of your skin/And I know you’ve come to enter my life/And also you need to heal your wounds/And I will be who will give the sweetest caresses/Forever have you clinging to my arms, woman.” He goes on to sing in the song’s second verse, “I will not find calm if I do not have your love/You are my breath, my breath/And when I let go, I just think about you/Imagining your smile, which lives in me/And without you, maybe the value is lost, in my life/You occupy the most valuable place, my darling/That’s why I will be who will give you the sweetest caresses/Forever cling to my arms, woman.” It’s pretty obvious what is going on here. This is a love song. It is a work that any female listener is certain to enjoy, needless to say. When such saccharine sweet lyrics are coupled with the song’s musical arrangement, the whole of this work proves one that will appeal to plenty of listeners. When it is considered along with the album’s opener, the two song together create an even clearer picture of why the album in whole has such appeal for listeners. They are not the album’s only notable additions. Another notable addition to the album comes in the form of ‘Three Days.’
‘Three Days’ follows immediately, ‘I Want To Be,’ and presents another easily accessible musical arrangement that presents a feeling much unlike that of the noted predecessor. While somewhat upbeat, the song’s feeling is more reserved than its predecessor and some of the album’s other compositions. That balance of melancholy and more upbeat mood in itself makes the song stand out. It does a good job of illustrating the emotions exhibited in the song’s lyrical content.
Xavier sings in the song’s lead verse, “It’s been three days since I left my room/And the walls are slowly closing/Hang memories of moments we spent/And as time goes by, you keep on burying me/I do not know what more time, I will follow it by gagging/I extend my hands by reshaping the past/Facing the reality is what is suffocating me/But lose another day, that would be a failure.” He goes on to sing in the song’s second verse, “I cannot live anymore/You started the desire that I had to feel/Drowned in my sorrows since you’re not here/But today the sadness ends, for you I do not suffer again.” In other words, for all the pain that this song’s subject has endured, he or she is no longer going to ruminate on that emotional stress, but instead will move forward. That sentiment works in tandem with the song’s musical arrangement. As noted already, the song’s arrangement balances a certain sense of melancholy with a more upbeat vibe. The last lines noted explain that balance. The way in which the song’s accessible lyrical content and equally accessible musical content comes together makes the song in whole yet another clear example of the album’s overall ability to appeal to listeners. When it is considered alongside the other songs noted here and the six remaining songs not directly noted here, the end result is a work that will certainly appeal to Xavier’s fans just as much as it will to fans of Latin music in general.
Carlos Xavier’s new album Vive Todo Ahora is a strong new offering from the Canifornia-based Latin musician. That is proven time and again over the course of the 38-minute record’s body. The songs discussed here serve to support that statement. When they are considered along with the rest of the album’s songs, the whole of the LP is certain to leave listeners enjoying “everything” featured in its body. More information on Vive Todo Ahora is available online now along with all of Carlos Xavier’s latest news and more at:
Website: http://www.carlosxavieronline.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carlosxaviermusic
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CarlosXavier1
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