I Can See

One of Latin music's favorite falsetto balladeers, Ralfi Pagan croons a few mid-'70s favorites on this brief collection of smooth Latin pop. Though Pagan is quite bewitching on covers like 'Ooo Baby Baby,' 'I Could Never Hurt You Girl,' and 'Just for a Little While,' the arrangements (by Louie Ramirez and Marty Sheller) are very tepid. In fact, the music barely deserves the Fania name considering there's practically no hint of Latin percussion other than Bernard Purdie's standard drum kit. Pagan sounds about as emasculated as Michael Jackson on the harder funk of 'La Vida,' and the CD reissue has a muddy sound and undisguised vinyl transfers.