Happy 30th Anniversary to Gloria Estefan’s second solo studio album Into The Light, originally released January 25, 1991.
There is something incredibly beautiful and humbling about Gloria Estefan, if not a little mysterious. She is one of those rare artists that has achieved an incredible amount of success both critically and commercially, and yet through it all, she always seems humble and grateful for all that has been afforded to her. It’s safe to say that Gloria Estefan is the word “legendary” personified.
After the phenomenal success of Estefan’s debut solo album Cuts Both Ways (1989), the former lead singer of the Latin influenced Miami Sound Machine was riding high on a well-deserved career break. Halfway through the Get On Your Feet Tour in support of said album, Estefan had a near-fatal accident that resulted in her having two titanium rods implanted to stabilize her spine. Her world stopped, as did the tour.
In true Estefan style, less than a year after the accident, she was not only back touring, but about to release the follow-up to her solo debut smash. The term “comeback” would forever be rewritten to fit the near impossible criteria that Estefan had now established. She was only thirty-three years old.
On January 10th, 1991, Estefan released the lead single from her forthcoming sophomore album titled “Coming Out Of The Dark.” The song, rooted in gospel, pays homage to the accident that nearly took the singer’s life. Written by Estefan, Jon Secada and Estefan’s husband, Emilio Estefan Jr, the name was taken from a phrase given to the singer by her husband as she was transported by helicopter for emergency surgery. The ballad was a celebration of triumph rather than that of sorrow for Estefan, one of her finest and one that yet again secured the number one spot on the charts.
If Cuts Both Ways was the move that Estefan needed to break away from the sound of Miami Sound Machine, then Into The Light was the icing on the cake when it came to solidifying her more adult contemporary sound. With a total of six singles released from the album (four in the US and five in both the UK and Europe), three of these truly stand out: the aforementioned “Coming Out Of The Dark,” the album’s second single “Seal Our Fate,” and the infectious pop sound of “Live For Loving You” that is nearly reminiscent of her days fronting Miami Sound Machine.
It’s impossible to ignore the impact of Estefan’s accident on this album, something that she truly earned the right to write about and explore in an almost cathartic way. This is evident on the powerful and heartfelt ballad of “Nayib’s Song (I Am Here For You),” a song dedicated to her son Nayib, who also broke his collarbone in the accident. Staying on the same path, “Remember Me With Love” is a love song clearly dedicated to her husband. Stripped back, melancholic and raw, it is an extra layer of gratitude within an already grateful album. Beautiful.
Into The Light is clearly a very personal album and it shows. Estefan not only wrote or co-wrote the majority of the tracks, but she enlisted the likes of Diane Warren and Jon Secada, as well as husband Emilio, as contributors. Even with the somewhat serious message of Into The Light, there are some lighter moments on the album that allow Estefan a pop playfulness that only adds to the album’s wider appeal. Pure ‘90s dance pop tracks like “Sex In The ‘90s” and “What Goes Around” epitomize this playfulness and provide a little respite from some of the more meaningful content.
There is a reason that Estefan is considered the number 1 crossover artist, as she never fails to add that little bit of Latin spice to all that she does. Sure, this album isn’t Mi Tierra (her first Spanish album released in 1993 and one of her finest and most stunning pieces of work—please listen to it if you haven’t), but it also wasn’t ever meant to be Mi Tierra either. What Estefan did deliver is an album of triumph and one that needed to bring her back to a place of peace with all that had happened. Considering what she had been through in the months leading up to this album, it’s a feat in itself that it was even created.
But hey, that’s the thing about Ms. Estefan, she isn’t looking for a pity party. On the contrary, she just wants to make music that resonates with her audience, no matter the journey. And that she did.
LISTEN: