Lo Esencial

Sony BMG’s Lo Esencial collects 15 tracks from legendary singer/guitarist José Feliciano’s pre-”Light My Fire” years, concentrating instead on the Puerto Rico-born artist’s best Spanish-language material. Fans looking for Feliciano renditions of ’60s hits like “California Dreamin,’” “In My Life,” and “Suzie-Q” would be better off with Legacy’s more commercial (as in English) Best of Jose Feliciano, but they’d be missing out on some of the singer’s best material, specifically Latin chart -toppers like “La Copa Rota,” “Usted,” “Nuestro Juramento,” and “Lágrimas Negras.” – James Christopher Monger