Ricky Martin - Sound Loaded CDs • Vinyl Records • LPs • Music Albums

blowouts (the irresistible "Amor") and voodoo hussies (oh, pick one -- "Jezebel"). The singing sounds a little tired, but the monstrously effective production is firmly in place, with arena-size swells swamping the ballads ("Come to Me" eventually drowns) and Latinate curlicues (like the arabesque-ing guitar that redeems "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely") peeping from the corners. The best number is also the most bizarre -- "Loaded" is Cuisinart schlock pop, whirring, skronking jump horns, the requisite slamming "do your jiggy, mama, till the break o' dawn" chorus and a bridge that the Monkees inexplicably overlooked. Ricky is smart to recognize the ephemeral joys of his business, and he offers himself up unapologetically as a temporary "suavecito" stud muffin, most directly on "One Night Man." And that's the good news -- it means there might be enough Ricky to go around. (RS 856/857)

ARION BERGER