Track Listing

1. Clandestino
2. Desaparecido
3. Bongo Bong
4. Je Ne T'aime Plus
5. Mentira
6. Lagrimas De Oro
7. Mama Call
8. Luna Y Sol
9. Por El Suelo
10. Welcome To Tijuana
11. Dia Luna...dia Pena
12. Malegria
13. La Vie A 2
14. Minha Galera
15. La Despedida
16. El Viento

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1830 in Music
• Released on: 2000-11-27
• Number of discs: 1

From Amazon.com
As one of the driving forces in the French-Spanish ethno-punk band Mano Negra, songwriter-guitarist Chao delivers a surprising solo endeavor. Centered around a simple editorial writing style and an acoustic guitar, this album chronicles his political and personal travels around the world, studying the foibles of life in Latin America and the Caribbean, through Africa and back to Europe. He quotes but never actually plays salsa, son, reggae, Latin pop, and African folk music, all to the service of his songs (written and sung in English, French, and Spanish). The backing is a deceptive hodgepodge of guest artists and collected sounds he has pasted together to service the simple songs he sings. There is a circuslike feel to the whole project, a childlike sense of wonder coupled with a cynical and sometimes sly glance at the "real world." This is a single piece of work, each song bleeding into the next without stopping, a train ride that slows at each station along the way but never stops. It has charm, wit, and depth--a rare and potent combination of virtues for a pop musician. --Louis Gibson

Customer Reviews

Fantastic!
Throw aside all your prejudices against world music, forget the half-baked Robbie Williams cover of "Bongo Bong", and enter the magical world of Manu Chao. Simply a fantastic album, all fits together so well, a beautiful blend of musical styles and influences. Make this the soundtrack to your 2007!

THE TIME IS NOW FOR MANU CHAO
It's a pity the UK record buying public is so biased towards foreign language albums, and you have to look in the 'World Music' section to find this superb album. I have to admit to being prejudice myself until going to Turkey and hearing a lot more foreign language music.

This is such an eclectic album, with Mexican, Cuban and Latin (and we are not talking Ricky Martin here!), and a dash of reggae all mixed up to form a wonderful sound. All the songs effortlessly blend together and there are plenty of 'hooks' and grooves that lodge themselves in your head! For most of the album I haven't got a clue what he's singing about, but when the music is this good, I don't really care. In summary, buy it!!

Eclectic to say the least...
It's a pity the UK record buying public is so biased towards foreign language albums, and you have to look in the 'World Music' section to find this superb album. I have to admit to being prejudice myself until going to Turkey and hearing a lot more foreign language music.

This is such an eclectic album, with Mexican, Cuban and Latin (and we are not talking Ricky Martin here!), and a dash of reggae all mixed up to form a wonderful sound. All the songs effortlessly blend together and there are plenty of 'hooks' and grooves that lodge themselves in your head. For most of the album I haven't got a clue what he's singing about, but when the music is this good, I don't really care. In summary, buy it!!