If her agents were looking for a way to infuse Lopez's musical career with a newfound sense of depth and authenticity, they couldn't have made a better choice than to cast her as the diva of a Spanish-language romance album. "How A Woman Loves" is a marked departure from Lopez's Top 40 pop-hop standards.
The album is a collection of romantic studio songs made lush with acoustic guitar, piano and a sprinkling of reserved beats. If you're not a fan of easy-listening ballads, be forewarned: There are moments where Lopez sounds a lot like Barbra Streisand at the apex of her "I Am a Woman in Love" fame. The tracks evoke that same sense of aching feminine melodrama.
Perhaps what makes this CD surprisingly original is simply the surprise that Lopez has turned out something so straightforward and sincere. It sure doesn't feel like the music of a tabloid queen.
