Proxima Estación: Esperanza [Import]

Manu Chao | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Virgin France
• ASIN: B00005BF9Z
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,047 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #18 in Music > Imports > International
  • #63 in Music > Imports > Latin Music

Track Listings

1. Merry Blues

2. Bixo

3. El Dorado 1997

4. Promiscuity

5. La Primavera

6. Me Gustas Tu

7. Denia

8. Mi Vida

9. Trapped By Love

10. Le Rendez Vous

11. Mr Bobby

12. Papito

13. La Chinita

14. La Marea

15. Homens

16. La Vacaloca

17. Infinita Tristeza

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eclectic mix of fun World music, June 11, 2001

By 

Manny Hernandez "@askmanny" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Proxima Estación: Esperanza (Audio CD)

If you haven't heard Manu Chao before, get ready for a trip around the world with an artist that incarnates creative freedom, and for the most fun you've had in a long time, listening to music. If you listened to his first solo album, 'Clandestino,' you'll find some of the tracks in this album to bear a resemblance with it, but don't be wrong: this guy is reinvents himself once and again, deconstructing and rebuilding his own past work.

He touches the most serious topics (Mad Cow disease and promiscuity just to name two), but in a very fun way, just like he did when he was lead singer of Mano Negra (a band definitely worth listening). He also continues to borrow from many languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, English), rhythms and styles that you'll find yourself following a reggae, after having listened to a song that closely resembles the tune in a musical box.

My favorite from the album, "Me Gustas Tu".

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King of Bongo, June 13, 2001

By 

"mashete" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Proxima Estación: Esperanza (Audio CD)

With Proxima Estacion Esperanza, Manu Chao delivers another great CD. Happier, at times funkier than the melancholic Clandestino, Proxima Estacion sometimes echoes the Mano Negra years (especially with the ska number "Promiscuity" and the jazzy "Trapped by Love") while maintaining the simple, minimalistic and acoustic feel used in Clandestino. Manu Chao, a collage artist, samples anything, from Cuban radio programs to french documentaries to cell phone and fax sounds, mixing all of this with his songs. Some of the samples are new, some are recycled, but, hey, that's what a collage artist does, he recycles stuff. For example, Mr. Bobby and the Homens' music is the same as King of Bongo. But he makes enough changes to make these sounds sound fresh again. But the winners in Proxima Estacion are "Merry Blues", portuñol songs "Bixo do coco/El dorado" and the Algerian influenced "Denia".Being Manu Chao, everybody expects him to sing about "controversial topics". People who search for that "controversial topic" or whatever is missing the whole point of the album. For all of you who loved Clandestino, you'll love Proxima Estacion.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Journey by train, Manu style, February 6, 2004

By 

pma - See all my reviews

This review is from: Proxima Estación: Esperanza (Audio CD)

I'm a huge fan of Mano Negra and Manu Chao and it's been interesting to see how the sound has evolved over the years. "Clandestino" is an immense solo album, and "Proxima Estacion:Esperanza", while lacking some of the spiritual depth of the first effort, is still a great album exploring different themes. The whole CD sounds like a journey, and is a great CD to add to your road trip collection. Manu definitely takes a lighter approach mood-wise with this album compared to "Clandestino", which is refreshing - otherwise we'd have "Clandestino II". Still, the tracks are standouts in their own Manu way. "Denia" isn't full of Middle Eastern instruments, yet with the minimal vocals, Arabic calling, smooth guitar and steam whistles somehow I feel like I'm on a train in Morrocco anyway. "Papito" is nothing but silliness, and there's nothing wrong with that. Not every song has to be talking about the plight of the world for him to prove he's "matured" as an artist. He does take the musical background of "Bongo Bong" and instill it in a number of tracks here ("Mr.Bobby" & "Homens"), and the music starting with "La Primavera" (a track that I prefer over the hit "Me Gustas Tu") continues throughout the CD as well. There could have been a bit more originality there, but needless to say, there's some great laughs, some high energy, and some mellow moments, which makes this definitely one of the CDs that travels with me whenever I go anywhere. I wish I knew all 5 languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, English) that appeared on this album (I only know 3), but that doesn't take away from enjoying Manu at his zany best. Hope another one comes soon...