Corazón de poeta (; Spanish for "Heart of a poet") is the fourth studio album by English-born Spanish singer Jeanette, released in June 1981 on RCA Victor. The album was almost entirely written and produced by composer Manuel Alejandro, who had written "Soy rebelde", Jeanette's 1971 breakthrough as a canción melódica singer. After releasing an LP record in France and an unsuccessful foray into disco in Germany, Corazón de poeta was Jeanette's return to the Spanish market, as well as to the soft, sentimental ballads she had been known for. Corazón de poeta intended to reinvent Jeanette's childlike image into a more mature one, reflected in its erotic tone and its promotional campaign.
Three singles were released from the album: the title track, "Frente a frente" and "El muchacho de los ojos tristes", with the former two becoming hits and aiding Jeanette's resurgent popularity in the Spanish market. The singer's best-selling studio album to date, Corazón de poeta was a commercial success upon release, performing well in Spain—where it received a double Gold certification—as well as Latin America—where virtually every song from the record found success. It remains Jeanette's most acclaimed album, and is considered by the singer herself as her best work. Various tracks from Corazón de poeta are among Jeanette's most famous songs, and several of them have been covered by other artists.
Background and production
Jeanette had previously worked with Corazon de poetas composer Manuel Alejandro in her solo debut single "Soy rebelde", released in 1971 on Hispavox. The orchestral song was a departure from the folk rock-influenced style of her previous group Pic-Nic, and established Jeanette as an internationally renowned melodic singer. After the European success of her hit single "Porque te vas"—popularized by its inclusion in the 1976 film Cría cuervos—Jeanette found herself working mostly abroad. Moving away from her career in Spain, the subsequent years she recorded an LP record in France with André Popp, as well as various singles for Germany and the Netherlands. The latter attempted to reinvent Jeanette as a disco singer, something she disliked and later criticized. In a 1981 interview on talk show Retrato en vivo, Jeanette stated: "They wanted to change my image, what I really am. Because the people here in Spain know me as a singer of melodic, soft songs... [...] And I really did not like it very much, and left it.
Jeanette then decided to refocus on the Spanish career she had put on rest, signing a new contract with RCA Victor. She stated: "my illusion was to record an album with Manuel Alejandro, which would ultimately mean returning to my roots, to do what I have always done." He took a year and a half to compose the songs, which he later played in his piano to Jeanette. She recalled: "I liked them all. But with him you can not say much because he sends you out. He tells me: 'You're going to sing this because I say so'." Corazón de poeta was recorded in early 1981 at Sonoland Studios, Madrid. According to Jeanette, the sessions took a month and featured sixty session musicians in the studio, "without sophisticated machines or anything". Regarding his experience working with Jeanette, Alejandro recalled in 1999: "She had the tiniest voice I've ever heard in my life. They had to record the vocals twice on two tracks. But it was incredible."
Composition
Corazón de poeta was Jeanette's return to the soft and melodic sentimental ballad-led style she had been famous for during the 1970s. In a 1981 interview with Heraldo de Aragón, Jeanette explained: "... it can be said that [on the album] there is a bit of everything, although what predominates are the soft songs, which is my usual style and where I am most comfortable." Unlike her previous works, however, the album presented a more erotic tone and less naive lyrics, that corresponded to a more mature woman. The organizers of Festival Europa Sur stated in 2014 that with tracks like "Corazón de poeta" and "Frente a frente", Jeanette "demonstrated that a canción melódica song can be approached from a pop optic".