Las Ketchup

Las Ketchup

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00006L87G
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #82,675 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars catchy pop, but not as addictive as i expected, September 29, 2002

By	Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Hailed as a new macarena in Europe and elsewhere, Pilar, Lola, and Lucia, the trio's members, all daughters of famed Spanish flamenco guitarist, Tomate, have produced a benign, catchy, Euro pop CD that at times, like a Spanish paella, combines Latin-pop, rumba, reggae-drum beats, and hiphop (even the Sugarhill Rappers' Delight 1979 chorus). There are four versions of the "HEH HAH" song: Spanglish, Espanol, Hippy-style, and Karaoke. The liner notes are excellent. Includes the words as well as some translations. I bought the CD for the title track, but the other tracks are fine standard Europop tunes.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flamenco, Pop, Electric, Blues - These girls do it all!, December 31, 2002

By	Lilia P Nieto "ladiora" (Olympia, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Go back to 1979 and try to remember Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight". It went something like this: "I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop and you don't stop the rock...." Are you singing along with me? Now try the same tune with: "Aserejé ja de jé de jebe tude jebere sebiounouba majabi an de bugui an de buididipí." No, this is not a mere coincidence, the author and producer of "Aserejé (the Ketchup Song)" is Manuel Ruiz, a.k.a. "El Queco", who came up with the idea of writing the Aserejé song while singing the Sugar Hill Gang's song to his kids. El Queco didn't happen out of the blue, he's been around for a while. He recorded his first album at age 17 and produced the 2001 Grammy Award winner flamenco album: "Ciudad de las Ideas-Vicente Amigo."

But anyway, who are these Ketchup girls? The three sisters, Lola, Lucía and Pilar decided to name themselves "Las Ketchup" as homage to their flamenco-guitarist father, Juan Muńoz, whose nickname is "El Tomate." Their catchy single, "Aserejé" climbed up on the charts about two seconds after it was released. The song, in spite of having a refrain that is neither Spanish, English, Esperanto or any other language, is extremely contagious and gets your body moving of its own will. People are saying it's the next "Macarena." I think its rhythm is much more delightful than the song by "Los del Río", which made Bill Clinton sway hips from side to side.

Other songs in the Ketchup album include "Kusha las Playas" which is an intelligent mix of acoustic pop and rumba and is even reminiscent of certain Jamaican rhythms. "Un de vez en Cuando" is an infectious marriage of flamenco and electric guitars. "Lánzame los trastos, Baby" is a complicated fusion of reggae, rap and folk Andalusian song. "Sevillanas Pink" (my favorite song in the album) is a fabulous weave of the classic Sevillana rhythm with blues! (I don't believe anyone had ever done this before.) And the transsexual story it tells goes quite ad'hoc with our times. All in all, it's an awesome song. If you're into flamenco in its multitude of forms, you will definitely enjoy this album.

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Will someone please pass me Las Ketchup? Hey Hah!, November 13, 2002

By	Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Nutrition information and ingredients of Las Ketchup...

Tomatoes--3: Lola, Lucia, Pilar
Latin disco-pop--11 servings
includes Hey Hah spice--4 servings
Flavouring--definitely Latin
Other info--goes good with Shakira salad, Selena pilaf, or Patricia Manterola casserole

Warning: certain stomachs used to Alabina Delight may undergo certain side effects.

OK, here goes. The first song happens to be "The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)" that has swept the European charts, so there's no need to squeeze the bottle or slam one's fist behind the bottle. It's the best song here, no contest, with a tempo and vocals tempered so it doesn't get smeared by the excess cheese of "Living Da Vida Ricky."

And just what the heck does that infectious chorus mean? It goes "Asereje ja de je de jebe tu de jebere sebiunouva majabi an de bugui an de buididipi"? Well, it's clearly nonsenspanol, but the lyrics probably mean "just have fun." The song's not cheesy or silly, but pleasingly upbeat. The Hey Hah is part of the "...je ja" of "Asereje ja..."

The next song, "Kusha Las Payas" is a mid-paced guitar number that goes electric at times and ends with a quick finish. This may be evidence that Las Ketchup is the missing link between mustard and guacamole... I mean Selena and Shakira. Excuse the condiment references--see what this CD has done to me?

The acoustic guitar/clapping rhythm "Un De Vez En Cuando" veers towards the Selena side of the Latin spectrum. The girls all sing in unison as they do on the song. It's goes up a notch with the catchy chorus, which contains the words "bugy bugy" Probably boogey boogey, right?

"Sevillanas Pink" is a slow acoustic cafe jazz number that allows a break from the initial Hey Hah song, but look out, because right after this breather is the Hippy version of Hey Hah. More acoustic than the original and it's totally in Spanish.

No, "Krapuleo" is the name of a song, NOT what this CD is. It plays more on the flamenco side, heavily laced with ketchup pop. And "Me Persigue Un Chulo" has rap verses with a silly music pop playing. The chorus is sung in unison and has electric guitars.

Upon hearing "Tengo Un Novio Tantriko," I thought, hey, with practice, they could be the Andrews Sisters of Latin pop. With the boogying swing and unison vocals, well, it could be.

So, is having four different versions of the Hey Hah song worth it? Well, it is infectiously cool, and yes, it does mask the fact that there are only seven other songs, but with this song, it's worth it. There's a karaoke version for those who want to make a fool of themselves on Karaoke Fridays, and the Spanish version, which is better than the Spanglish version.

So send Paulina Rubio and Ricky Martin packing. Las Ketchup is a better deal and hey hah, it'll make your fries... I mean CD player taste better. I mean, your CD player will love you. To use my last food analogy, if you're going to have flan for dessert, it should be sweet and leave you feeling warm inside, right?