Mended  (Audio CD) 
by Marc Anthony

It's impossible to dislike Puerto Rican superstar Marc Anthony, even if his English-language material sits safely in pop's middle road. Mended, Anthony's follow-up to last year's sweltering salsa collection Libre, features the same midtempo grooves and emotive ballads that made his 1999 crossover effort a smash--and a textbook example of how record labels sometimes water down passionate Latino artists for U.S. audiences (see also Shakira). Nothing on Mended is particularly unlistenable or offensive, but there isn't much to get excited about either. The lilting pop gem "I Need You" (also included in Spanish) and the sweet sentiments of "Everything You Do" are nice diversions, but producer Cory Rooney has candy-coated everything for mass consumption. Anthony is a powerful, fiery vocalist, and he deserves better than run-of-the-mill arrangements and puppy-love lyrics. On Mended, he's barely able to break a sweat. --Joey Guerra