Miguel Bose
11 maneras de ponerse un sombrero (WEA)
Miguel Bose is unquestionably one of the Spanish-speaking world’s most curiously inventive and prolific artists. An actor frequently featured in Pedro Almodovar films, he consistently takes chances, playing characters that are often less than heroic. Bose is neither an extraordinary singer nor musician, but his taste — his taste for adventure in particular — has always produced marvelously personal, distinctive pop music. So, at a time when everybody’s doing romantic covers, leave it to Bose to ignore the currently popular boleros for songs by a diverse crew that includes Jacques Brel, Fito Paez and Carlos Varela. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work this time out — Varela’s “Muro,” for example, misses the point entirely when it comes off like a Spanish Velvet Underground. This one’s for diehard fans only; all others, go back to “Laberinto.”
