Duetos (Armando Manzanero album)

, was one of the co-producers for Duetos.|alt=A man wearing dark clothihng is performing in front of a microphone while holding an electric guitar. Following the release of his studio album, Amor Mio (2000), Armando Manzanero announced that his next project would be an album of duets. He conceived the idea of this project when the singer met members of Presuntos Implicados. He previously recorded his song "Esperaré" with the band on their cover album, Version Original (1999). "This album was very easy to make. I've never before recorded with such naturalness, with the charm and magic that the project gave me, which is also 100 percent Spanish," Manzanero commented. It was co-produced by Emanuele Ruffinengo and Nacho Mañó (the bassist for Presuntos Implicados) and the album was recorded in Mexico, Madrid, Spain, Duetos features several artists such as Olga Tañón, Alejandro Sanz, Lucero, and Miguel Bosé performing Manzanero's well-known songs along with the artist. Manzanero composed two original songs for the album, "Antes de... Después de..." and "La Mujer Que Me Ama". The former is a duet with his son Juan Pablo Manzanero while the latter is performed with Spanish duo Cómplices. The artist also invited Luis Miguel to record "Por Debajo de la Mesa", a song Manzanero composed for Luis Miguel on the album, Romances (1997), but was unable to reach out to him. Musically, the arrangement of Duetos draws inspiration from various styles namely jazz, blues, and flamenco. "Somos Novios" is performed as a bossa nova song. On "Esperaré", the track starts as a bolero before transitioning into salsa. ==Release==

Two versions of the album were released, one for Spain which mainly features artists from the country, and a Mexican version where some of the Spanish musicians were replaced by those from Mexico. while the latter version was launched on 25 January 2001 by WEA Mexico. In Mexico "No" was released as the album's lead promotional single from the album, In Spain, the Spanish editions of "Somos Novios", " Contigo Aprendí", and "La Mujer Que Me Ama" were released as promotional singles in the country. ==Reception==

Deborah Davis of El Norte rated the album three-out-of-five stars; she praised the duets with Ricardo Montaner, Francisco Cespedes, and Carlos Cuevas as the best tracks due to the artists already being associated with romantic music and commended Bosé's performance on "Mía". However, she felt that Café Quijano "ruined" "Esperaré" and Manzanero's son "left us wanting to rediscover him with 'Antes de, Despues de'." Eliso Cardona wrote a positive review of Duetos which he regarded as the "checkmate of a craftsman who knows how to connect with young audiences without altering the essence of an old repertoire". Cardona commented that the arrangements "manage to banish the sepia tone" and affirmed that the album is for collectors. La Prensa critics Daniel Domínguez and Karla Jimenez rated the album four-out-of-five stars stating Manznero "amazes" with his the new versions of his songs. At the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2001, Duetos won Best Pop Vocal Album, Duo or Group. The Spanish edition of Duetos was certified gold by Productores de Música de España for shipping over 50,000 units. Within three weeks of its release, the album sold over 100,000 copies. ==Track listing==

The following credits are from AllMusic • Dayan Abad – tres • Pedro Barceloe – drums • Luis Carmona – palmas • Chris Cameron – arranger, director, piano • Tom Cardenas – drums • Luis Dulzaides – bongos, congas, guitar, maracas • Benny Faccone – mixing • Juan Luis Gimenez – electric guitar • Bernie Grundman – mastering • Mariano Losada – assistant engineer • Armando Manzanero – piano, producer • Segundo Mijares – flute, saxophone • Nacho Mañó – bass, acoustic guitar, producer • Pablo Navarro – programming • El Negri –palmas • Marcelo Novati – drums • Barbara Oberhagemann – producer • Antonio Pallare trombone • John Parsons – guitar • Paquete – palmas, Spanish guitar • Pavo –performer • Gino Pavone – bongos, shaker • Lulo Perez – arranger, fiscorno, timbales, trumpet • Gisela Renes – horn • Juan Ramos – keyboards, soprano saxophone • Emanuele Ruffinengo – arranger, engineer, keyboards, piano, producer, programming • Eduardo Ruiz – assistant engineer • Antonio Serranos – harmonica • Javier Salas – photography • Joan Tomas – photography • Roberto Maccagno – engineer, mixing • Saint Navalon – Rhodes piano • Salva Ortiz – drums • Perico Sambeat – alto saxophone • Rafa Sanudo – design, photography • Vicente Sabater – programming • Pepo Scherman – assistant engineer • Ludovico Vagnone – acoustic guitar, electric Guitar • Oscar Vinader – engineer, mixing • Steve Walsh – engineer ==Certification==