Customer Reviews

Clandestino - Esperando La Ultima Ola

5 star:		(109)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This CD... it is such a masterpiece a la fois full of spirit, energy, tristesse, love... too many emotions to list, and the strangest thing is you discover more upon successive listenings. As a musician, Manu is energetic and impeccable; as a songwriter and lyricist he can be inspired, profound, light-hearted or revealing, and the producing is seamless (often literally, as one track slides into the next). This isn't Pop Music though it's doing well on the charts in Europe, it's only 'Ethnic' Music if you don't speak Spanish or French (get a frend to translate for you! Of course, it grooves so hard you can simply smoke to it, but you'd be missing out...) but I wouldn't say it defies classification: This is International music at it's best... They say that 'language is the only homeland', and that 'Music is the earth's only true language'... In both cases it's obvious that Manu Chao has proven himself a Citizen of the Earth at his best and brightest, taking 3 languages, even more music traditions and whipping them up into something we can all understand with simply the ears and the heart.

If you speak Spanish or French this album is truly a treat. The title track " Clandestino" sets the tone for this international star. This is his first effort since "Mano Negra" broke up their legendary band. In the opening track he brags of his exploits as he travels the world. Chao has a nasal voice that is very entertaining and fits quite nicely with the acoustic guitar work. This troubador has an amazing set of stories to relate to his audience that are highly political and controversial as he deals with subjects that people many times try to avoid. There are lighter topics such as "Bongo Bong"(in English and French) that is about a person who starts "bangin on my bongo" in the jungle and eventualy migrates to "the big town" to become the "King of Bongo". This song is so catchy and cool that you will play it over and over and it will be ringing in your brain hours later. All the songs are superb, the production quality is elegant, complete with added narrative and interesting effects. The songs have little interruption between them and they flow beaufifully. Reggae is the dominant style of various musical generes explored and performed with professionalism. This is a tri-lingual treat that is truly international. This is a CD that will become a part of you and you will get much play out of it. I've yet to tire of it from it's original release. It has an international revolutionary feel to it. "Mentira" is a haunting track that deals with one of mans deceptive tools, lies, lies about everything including the truth. There is a beautiful chorus sung by a woman in this song where she breaks out with "LA Llorana" and continues as though speaking through a megaphone with her message. " Welcome to Tijuana" is a hipnotic song where there is "Tekila, Sexo y Marihuana" but the real message is the political manifesto contained within. This is an album to not be missed as it is one of the finest to be released in recent years. 16 tracks of music that should be in everyones library. Do not miss this CD. Que Viva Zapata! Viva Manu Chao y su musica!

This is one of the greatest CDs I've ever heard! I had been a fan of Mano Negra since the early 90s because their incredible mixture of French and Spanish music. After they split up I was quite curious to see what Mano Chao would do. My first impression was not the best, I thought the album was very strange and in some way repeating itself without having fast rock songs like the Mano had. But then I noticed that I was playing the CD again and again even singing the lyrics at work: this record is like hypnotizing you, the mixture of latin sounds is terrific and also the melancolic texts of Manu are full of meanings. My favorites: Desaparecido, Mentira and La despedida.

Two years from the first time i heard this album, and i am still amazed at manu chao's ability to produce music so simple and yet beautiful and unforgetable, a tribute to all who believe the world is full of wonders to be enjoyed.

a trip from ceuta to tijuana, from the amazon to france. a tribute to marcos and galeano; the journey to find an universal message through music, through the real fussion of sounds and styles, from africa to america, with a clear european touch to it all.

recommended tracks, clandestino, desaparecido, bongo bongo, mentira, por el suelo, welcome to tijuana...

do yourselves a favour, buy this album and buy it to everyone you know: educate the masses!

There's no escaping music, travelling in South America - four months of non-stop salsa, peruvian pan-pipes, merengue, mariachi, mournful latin balladeers and latin pop, and I figured I'd had enough of music full stop - what starts as an irrestistable rhythm the first time you hear your bus driver's favourite tape rapidly becomes unrelenting as the tape is replayed for the fifth or fifteenth consecutive time, and there's nowhere to run.

But suddenly, sitting in a tiny cafe the other day, someone put on Manu Chau. It only took till track 4 to realise the enormity of the moment, the impact it would have on the funkiness of my life from that point on, dashed to the counter to find out what the hell it was, and down the street to find it. There's a small music shop down the avenida del Sol, where they exude a sort of High Fidelity kind of professionalism, and sure enough, the wise man behind the counter nodded in recognition of the name, asked me to wait one moment, and dissappeared for 45 minutes, returning triumphantly with a copy of the CD - although refusing to sell it to me till we (and the gathering crowd) had had a good listen. The crowd smiled, tapped feet, nodded approval at my purchase, and I returned my prize to the safety of my hostal.... Shame I don't have a CD player with me...

I was in Amsterdam over Thanksgiving when I heard this CD being played in a coffehouse. My friends and I immediately were transfixed by the wonderful music and we asked the proprietor for the name of the CD. We now rate this CD as one of the treasured finds that you come across when you travel with an open mind. I am continually buying this CD and turning people on to it through gifts. Do yourself a favor, BUY IT NOW! The music defies catagorization. A little spanish, some basque, maybe a little reggae, whatever the influences there are, Manu Chao and company have put out a rare CD that you should definetly have in your collection.

Manu Chao is, culturally and musically, a renaissance man. He has a strong affinity for comprehending universal states of humanity (heartache and struggle for justice) and translating them into a variety of idioms, both lyrical and musical. You don't need to be trilingual to be entertained and moved by this album. But after hearing its catchy amd down-to-earth rhythms, you'll want to learn more Spanish and French so that you can appreciate Chao's lyrical wit as well. I have heard _Clandestino_ countless times, and I still find elements to appreciate about it. One of the nicest things about it is that there are no silences between songs. A haunting ballad blends expertly into an uptempo beat, which blends into an equally harmonious melody. This disc is a classic of pop -- widely known in Latin America, Europe, Japan. Maybe not so well known in the USA. But still worthy of its success, I'd say.

I'm not sure how to describe this record's pastiche of Latin, Spanish, Carribean, Reggae, African, French and psychedelic music, and I don't mean to make it sound too exotic, because everything here is extremely accessible. Nor is it "rootsy" world music--in fact, it is as (post)modern a production as any Radiohead album, with its judicious use of samples and odd textures over more traditional instrumentation. It's not hard to pick up on the homage to Bob Marley, especially in his vocals and melodies, but I'm sure there are myriad influences I can't detect as well. I can say that there is not a weak track on this record--it is stupendous all the way through, and your favorites will change each day. If I had to pick a highlight it would be the first ten songs(!) And you hear traces of previous songs floating through later ones, revealing a coherency in the vision of the record. It is simultaneously a great party record and a great chill-out record. Manu Chao is a very gifted guy--check him out.

After being the lead singer of the Mano Negra, Manu Chao decides to go solo and to travel around the world. From his trip to Latin America, Manu brought back a beautiful album that mixes flavours from Mexico, Brazil, and the Revolution. With thoughtful and poetic lyrics, sung in no less than 4 languages, and beautiful music, Manu Chao gave us an amazing gift. So far, I have not met anyone yet that did not totally love it. And by the way, this album has already been a hit in France for the last year or so.

This is a great album that I recommend to anyone looking for Latin, punk, or ska. Most of the album consists of catchy and rhythmic music, but there are a few tracks that get a bit repetitive, hence the imperfect rating. I would suggest an album by La Mano Negra, Manu Chao's former band, before you look into his solo career. While his solo work had some amazing music, it was less inspired and less original. If you're strictly looking for Manu Chao, this is definitely the best of his solo work. Enjoy!