Alegranza - El Guincho

Advantages: Perfect pop
Disadvantages: Nothing new

..."They don't make them like they used to, you should have stuck with me." So sings Chrissie Hynde on Viva El Amor's opening track, Popstar. And she's right - The Pretenders new album is proof positive. Chrissie originates from days when pop singers could sing, write enduring songs and even play a mean six-string. Viva El Amor is an exercise in consumate pop music, feauturing lots of spinky, interesting guitar interplay between Chrissie and Adam Seymour. Both Love Me From The Heart Down and Biker make subtle use of a string quartet, while Samurai, with its hypnotic guitar refrain and impassioned vocal is as enchanting as the seminal Hymn To Her. Hell there's even a suitably bonkers solo from a certain Mr Jeff Beck to conclude the rocker Legalise Me. Although Viva El Amor contains no surprises, it does house 12 examples of superbly... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Superb Spanish ska
Disadvantages: I prefer their album, El Vals Del Obrero

...I first came across Ska-P when I saw them live at the San Fermin Bull-running festival in Pamplona in 1997. Their energetic performance was one of the highlights of the festival and so I went and bought their first 2 albums, Ska-P & El Vals Del Obrero. At that time I didn't speak a word of Spanish and didn't have much idea about Spanish life and culture. However, through listening to their music I started to pick up some Spanish and it also gave me an insight into Spanish culture. QUE CORRA LA VOZ is their 4th album and in my opinion it is their 2nd best behind EL VALS DEL OBRERO. Stand out tracks are CONSUMO GUSTO which is about the perils of this consumer society that we live in, McDOLLAR which is about a certain fast food chain and INSENSIBILIDAD which is about neglected pets bought as presents for christmas. My overall rating... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Great Spanish pop/rock
Disadvantages: None!

...First of all, you might not know who El Canto del Loco are: they're a Spanish rock/pop group comprising of 4 guys. I have to say that this album is REALLY good. If you've heard Besos or Zapatillas, most of the songs sound sort of similar, so no surprises there. Even though they're all quite similar, they're still good songs. There are some nice slower songs too which gives a nice variety to the album. I tried looking for this album on different websites online but found that the cheapest place was iTunes, and it cost only £7.99 which I thought was good value for money. 1. Besos: cute and catchy! 2. Vuelve: good beat and nice chorus 3. Sera: slower, but not depressing 4. Volvera: again- catchy beat 5. Tal Como Eres: a ballad, I guess; I like it. 6. Que Caro es el Tiempo: doesn't overly stick out as anything special; another slow... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful