Franky Perez

FRANKY PEREZ
"POOR MAN'S SON"
(Lava, 2003)


"Class Act"


Franky Perez may be a full-blooded Cuban, but he was born and raised in Las Vegas, and except for one or two songs on his 18-track debut album, his sound is just about as American as can be. Imagine a Cuban version of John Mellencamp -- good old-fashioned, jeans-and-T-shirt rock and roll, with a bit of a Latin twist.

Yes, that's right ... eighteen songs are stuffed onto this album, which not only means that it's well worth the money, but also significantly increases the odds that most everyone will find at least one or two things on the album to enjoy. Don't let the depressing subject matter of the first few tracks give you the wrong idea ("Cecilia" is a frantic plea to a self-destructive young runaway to come home, and "Something Crazy" paints a dark picture of a woman physically abused by her boyfriend), because the album lightens up considerably from then on.

Just a few of the highlights include an uplifting ode to youthful innocence ("Angel Park"), a coolly raging angst-rocker ("Leave Me Alone"), a beautifully breezy Latin ballad ("Bella Maria"), a pair of music-themed anthems ("Cry Freedom" -- not a cover of the Dave Matthews song -- and "Love Soul Rock N' Roll"), and one of the gentlest and sweetest love songs I have ever heard ("Beautiful Mistakes").

I must confess that this is another of those CDs that I'd owned before and traded in -- and now I wonder whatever possessed me to do such a thing. It's safe to say that this CD will never be leaving my collection again.