Let It Loose

After several albums as the featured singer in the Miami Sound Machine, Gloria Estefan finally stepped up to top billing on Let It Loose, and her coming-out party became a major success. The album features no fewer than four Top 10 singles, including the hot Latino club grooves of "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" and "1-2-3," and the sweet, affecting ballads "Anything for You" and "Can't Stay Away from You." By the time of the album's release in 1987, Estefan had not yet grown into the assured and charismatic singer she would become. And some of the songs here bear the cheesy production techniques of their time. Overall, however, Let It Loose shows an artist beginning to assert herself with considerable charm and élan. --Daniel Durchholz