World > Latin World > EMI

Advantages: Interesting mix of styles and culteral influence
Disadvantages: none!

I first heard a Manu Chao track being played on a friend's mobile phone. I was immediately drawn to the catchy theme. Manu Chao is a very popular musician in Europe but his music has not so far been as popular in Britain. I expect that the profile of his music may be raised now that Robbie Williams has covered two of the tracks on this album (Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus). This is the first solo album that was produced by Manu Chao. One of the ...
...all blend into each other musically. This gives the album great continuity and you feel like you are listening to a story being played out even if you don't follow all the lyrics. Manu Chao has Baque parents and grew up in the outer suburbs of Paris so many of the songs have lyrics written in French and Spanish but there are also songs in English and even in Portugese. I like this use of language as it adds to the diversity of the album as a whole. ... Read review

Advantages: motivating music
Disadvantages: too short

...which are worth listening to. Puta's Fever lasts 52 blissful minutes! They are as follows; 1. Negra 0'57 2. Rock'n'roll Band 2'33 3. King Kong Five 1'56 4. Soledad 2'34 5. Sidi H'bibi 2'36 6. The Rebel Spell 2'01 7. Peligro 2'52 8. Pas assez de toi 2'19 9. Magic Dice 1'23 10. Mad House 2'40 11. Guayaquil City 3'01 12. Voodoo 3'00 13. Patchanka 3'05 14. La rançon du succès 1'57 15. The Devil's Call 1'42 16. Roger Cageot 2'27 17. El Sur 1'00 18. ...
...♪♪ ♪♪♫ ♪♪ ♫ ♪♪♪♪ ♫ ♫ ♪♪♫ ♪♪♪♪ ♫ ♪♪♫ ♪♪♪♫ ♪♪ I'll just pop my headphones on, to give you my impressions of each song. Take into consideration that I've been listening to this since it came out in 1989, so I tend to find the whole album brilliant! ;-) 1. <<Are you ... Read review

Advantages: Great musical album
Disadvantages: don't understand all the words... but who cares!

This guy is french, but the songs are written in all sorts of languages... french, spanish, english, portugeuse... possible many more. a marvelous melange of language, culture and rhythms. he is huge in france, spain, south america... any country where the above mentioned romantic languages are spoken. So.. why would an anglophone like this album? Well it is superb music. The mix and lyrics mix is great. La Primavera is an infectious pop song that ...
...this album blend into each other perfectly, leaving almost no silence between them. It's a great holiday album and a great album to have on when you're getting ready to go out... I even listen to it when I'm reading a book. Manu chao has several other albums, but this 2001 release is my personal favourite by far. He does concerts every now and then and is completely electric. He's known as the latino bob marley in south america! this is the track ... Read review

Advantages: composition, vocals
Disadvantages: none

Anybody can recognize "The Girl From Ipanema", it's a classic. But where did it come from? Where did Bossa Nova spread its roots? Pianist Tom Jobim is credited for the composition of most of the classic Bossa Nova standards, but is was João Gilberto who took these standards, and interpreted on the guitar what we now identify as Bossa Nova. By harmonizing the chords on the guitar with the traditional Brazilian Samba rhythm, Gilberto evolved Jobims' ...
...virtuous, but what really captures me is his voice. He sings with a "blown" quality as if he is blowing air from his gut, which produces an intimate close-to-the-microphone sound. It's possible to hear his lips smacking dryly during the pronounciation of certain words, and he has an excellent vocal amplitude, using mostly low-pitched but well chosen notes. This album is fun to compare to his other work, as over the years his performances have become ... Read review