POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Emmanual Explores Genre of Romance

Despite his good intentions, Mexico’s Emmanuel is yet another name in the long list of successful romantic singers who will never be remembered for their music.

But unlike most of his colleagues, the former bullfighter at least tries hard to reach seldom-explored places in the genre.

Emmanuel’s concert on Saturday at Universal Amphitheater was a general review of his 18-year career, although he did find time to sing most of the songs of “Esta aventura” (“This Adventure”), his latest album.

But while he had the enthusiastic near-capacity crowd on its feet on several occasions, Emmanuel once again showed his unmatched ability for mixing first-rate material with standard throw-away syrup.

Emmanuel isn’t a great singer. His main strength is still his genuine feeling and rich sources of inspiration, borrowing from Caribbean rhythms and even pure blues. When he and his 12-piece band merged this challenging attitude with songs by the likes of Victor Victor and Manolo Tena--two of Latin pop’s most interesting songwriters--Emmanuel showed that he has plenty of ammo left for this stage of his career.

When he gave the people what they wanted--insufferably corny balladry--he was just one more of the bunch.