Those who only familiar with Olga’s Tanon 2 releases since the beginning of the century may not recognize her in her older albums. Starting with the girlish tones of Sola And Mujer de Fuego, Olga evolved into a mature sophisticated merengue singer.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Llevame Contigo. It is not only her best album, but qualifies as a merengue classic. It is certainly a major effort: there are 14 songs, and the CD lasts over an hour, which is highly unusual. Every song is memborable, with wonderful arrangements by the likes of Tejada and Querol. The background singing adds much to the quality of each song.

The album starts off with the wonderful Despierte Corazon, and just continues on with one great merengue after another. Yes, There is a similarity to the songs, especially in the first half, but rather than coming across as repetitive, they all fit together into a beautiful coherent whole. I particularly love the final “Siempre en mi corazon”: such a warm and heartfelt song, that always brings a smile to my face.

This album is so thoroughly infectious from beginning to end, that it is still among the top 5 or so merengue albums I keep coming back to for many repeat listenings.

Llevame Contigo is an album that will be listened to for many years, as new people come to appreciate the great Olga Tanon.