Venezuelan nueva cancion veteran Irene Farrera sings and plays guitar and cuatro on this, her third CD. Musicians include steel-drum wizard Andy Narell (also the album's producer), violinist Darol Anger, and percussionists Jesús Díaz, Jackeline Rago and Michael Spiro, who collaborate in a spare but savory array of pan-Latin compositions, all but one by Farrera. Singing both in Spanish and English, Farrera's is a dusky, dramatic contralto whose passionate intensity is perhaps best appreciated live. For the fortunate few, her autumn 1999 CD tour will touch down in North Carolina, the Midwest, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. - Michael Stone