Just as the title says, the 13-track
3 Decadas de Exitos...y Mas offers 30-plus years' worth of Latin pop hits by Colombia-born, Miami-based singer and bandleader
Carlos Oliva. A mainstay of the south Florida Latin pop community (among his many achievements was his early discovery and championing of
Gloria Estefan's breakthrough band,
Miami Sound Machine) since the late '60s,
Oliva and his band, Los Sobrinos del Juez ("The Judge's Nephews," a quirky tie-in to the then-popular catch phrase "Here comes the judge"), have stayed on top of trends in Latin pop, and this 13-track set moves from English-language covers of pop hits ("You've Lost That Loving Feeling") through weepy boleros to Afro-Cuban dance grooves. Pop-oriented but only occasionally straining for a crossover audience,
3 Decadas de Exitos...y Mas is a fine introduction to a legend of Miami's Latin music scene. ~ Stewart Mason