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Dot Music

Just knowing Shakira is still in the world and capable of making albums as inspired and assured as "Fijacion Oral Vol 1" is like finding out ABBA are reforming or that the real Michael Jackson was kidnapped and replaced with an evil imposter shortly after making "Thriller".

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Entertainment Weekly

Shakira's finest work to date. [17 June 2005, p.79]

The New York Times

She's a pop songwriter above all; the songs are catchy, with melodies good enough to tempt non-Spanish speakers to sing along. [13 Jun 2005]

Blender

It's more consistent than Laundry Service, and maybe even more irresistible. [Jul 2005, p.120]

All Music Guide

Given the strength of this album, it's hard to wait for the second part to arrive.

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Amazon.com

Shakira's bleating, biting voice is in fine form, and it gives the material an electric urgency.

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Billboard

Shakira, of course, is unmistakable. But the coup is that each track is absolutely distinctive, even on several songs with no clear-cut choruses or hooks.

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PopMatters

So if you approach Fijación Oral expecting it to be Laundry Service Revisited you will not be happy. If, on the other hand, you can just listen to it without holding a lot of preconceived "this is not what Shakira is supposed to sound like" ideas, you will have one hell of a good time.

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E! Online

Tunes such as "Escondite Ingles" work in any language, mixing mad Latin percussion with big rock riffs and Carribbean rhythms.

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Rolling Stone

There's a light touch to ballads like "En Tus Pupilas" that's a world away from the Ricky Martinizing of Latin pop.

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Los Angeles Times

By inviting us to fixate on the words her mouth emits, Shakira puts a spotlight on the work's weakest link -- its lyrics. [26 Jun 2005]

Paste Magazine

Strikes a nice balance between Shakira's more straightforward earlier sound and the bluster of her big crossover hits. [Aug/Sep 2005, p.122]

The Guardian

If there is a market for music for tapas bars with sexually frustrated customers, Shakira has it cornered.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 116 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Darren R gave it a10:
I think it's interesting how the average score given to this album by critics is over 10% lower than the user score . . . in my opinion this is evidence that critics don't always know what they're talking about. This album is destined to be a classic in every sense, more than can be said about just about every album released in the last several years. There are other artists who may be more popular (though that's hard to imagine in this case, at least internationally), or more critically acclaimed, but most of them get dull after repeated listenings. This album gets better every time I hear it, something that I can say about very few albums at all (and something that surprises me greatly given the way Shakira's music is packaged to American audiences like it's no different from any other pop singer like [insert random female pop singer here]). Such a classification of her music might make sense if you're talking about her English-language stuff, but her voice really works much better speaking her native language and combined with her songwriting abilities puts this album on an entirely different level.

Nick M. gave it a10:
I don't speak much spanish, so i really have no clue what the lyrics mean, but Shakira's voice is so amazing that it doesn't really matter, i can still feel the emotion thats in every lyric without knowing what they mean......the songs also have a very catchy and exciting beat, its awesome.

luis g gave it a10:
A wait it has been for shakira to release a spanish album ...ooh the relief its nothing like laundry service which catapulted her to mainstream....Vol . 1 offers us a mature and very precise shakira ...with en tus pupilas opening the album with such softness and yet inspiring ....and of course include LA TORTURA the lead single which is music bouncing off the walls ....the rest of the album is a instant classic...with less flare and more soul and a core to poignant it hurts right where its suppose to the heart...you can actually close you eyes and invision a sea of emotions ...shakiras best album to date.

Amber M gave it a10:
Shakira is a completely extraordinary artist in the latin/pop genre. I do not speak Spanish, but I am learning in school. I did not even know that Shakira eexisted until a teacher mentioned her, and I got the album to practice hearing and understanding it, and this has actually made me become a big fan of her! Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 is completely amazing, and I went out and bought "Oral Fixation Vol. 2" along with more of her CD's. Overall, I would give Shakira a 10/10 on almost any album and any song that she sings.

Andrew R gave it a10:
Absolutely stunning. I don't speak Spanish, but this connected with me hard; I can only imagine how much more it would impact me if I knew the language.

Jose C gave it a10:
THIS ALBUM Is A MASTERPIECE! every song, every lyric, ... the voice. damn this is one album NOBODY CAN SAY NO TO!

Ed J gave it a9:
Until you can understand Spanish, you can't really understand how good this album is. Joining up with Gustavo Cerati is pure brilliance.

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Fijacion Oral Vol. 1

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