Frankie Ruiz Gold (2-CD)

There have been many Frankie Ruiz compilations, before and after his untimely death in 1998. This one, part of the double-disc, discount-priced Gold series assembled by Universal Music's Hip-O reissue division, compares favorably to a couple of earlier two-CD packages. Among its 31 tracks are 15 also contained on the 25-track Leyenda of 1999, but it is particularly similar to the 2001 collection Serie 32, not only sharing 27 selections, but also putting many of them in the same non-chronological sequence. Clearly, there isn't much debate about what Ruiz's best and most popular tracks are. The salsa beat never lets up, and the singer is unflagging in his enthusiasm; he may have lived a troubled life, but those troubles are nowhere apparent on these lively recordings. ~ William Ruhlmann