Throughout his career, Jose Feliciano has been a man of many hats, from counterculture icon to Latin crooner. In the liner notes, he credits his lifelong love for boleros to his mother, subsequently fostered by his wife and children. That tender sort of love shines through his passionate, resonant vocals on SENOR BOLERO 2, the follow-up to his popular collection of Latin torch songs released in 1999.
Where the original SENOR BOLERO balanced between traditional classics and new compositions, its sequel sharpens the focus more on the new, mostly supplied by songwriter/producer Rudy Perez and Robert Livi. Livi and Perez's pieces shimmer, as seductive as they are sentimental, possessed of a certain pop grace imbuing the doleful lyrics with a fetching magnetism. However, it is Feliciano's own compositions, the final three on the record, that shine with a most alluring sincerity. The remarkable closing track "Un Ciego No Vive En La Obscuridad," combines all aspects of his career and highlights a beautiful folksy harmonica intro and solo, drawing a close to SENOR BOLERO 2, a sparsely beautiful record.