Clandestino, Manu Chao's first solo effort, owed its greatness to its character. It was a minimalistic, yet filled with experimentation, album. But, what's most distinctive, it was honest, direct, intimate: the personal diary of someone who had traveled a lot, not only around Latin America but through life. Unfortunately, Chao seems to lose his way a little bit in Esperanza. Apparently intended to be a continuation of what started in Clandestino, it ends being just a clone of it. The reiteration of ideas and formulas takes away from Esperanza everything that made of Clandestino a memorable piece of work. The problem with Esperanza is that Chao, instead of deepening what he proposed in his first album, seems to overfly the surface of his ideas. The consequence of this is that he transforms charm into cliché, leaving the listener with a very light flavor. Anyway, Esperanza still has a bunch of great songs ("Mr Bobby," "Mi Vida," "Trapped By Love," "Me Gustas Tú," "Bixo") and good lyrics ("Mi Vida") which amply justify its listening. Dedicated fans will find that Esperanza is not what they were expecting, yet it's really easy-going and accessible so it will end working for them as well as for casual listeners.
Went and saw Manu Chao the other night, and it was a great show. He's a great artist, and although I couldn't understand lots of the words because I'm a stupid gringo, it was real high energy and tons of fun. I'd recommend it if he ever comes anywhere close to you.
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1. Nickelback, "How You Remind Me." One sign of getting old: I'm never quite certain why I'm supposed to hate certain songs. I mean, I know enough to hate Journey, but songs like this, that sound good on shuffle play? When they inspire wrath, I'm too tired to care.2. Alicia Keys, "Fallin'." I don't know what was in women's oats in 2001, but there are gonna be a lot of belters on this week's lis...
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http://terriblelovesongs.blogspot.com I've been feeling a little of the 'it's summer so where's the sunshine?' blues over the last couple of days (I live in the UK). Today I want to shake this feeling so I decided to try out a little experiment (you know I like experiments). I'm going to find some songs on YouTube, watch and listen and then let you know how they made me feel. You can join in as...
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Went and saw Manu Chao the other night, and it was a great show. He's a great artist, and although I couldn't understand lots of the words because I'm a stupid gringo, it was real high energy and tons of fun. I'd recommend it if he ever comes anywhere close to you.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Merry Blues |
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| 2 Bixo |
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| 3 Eldorado 1997 |
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| 4 Promiscuity |
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| 5 La Primavera |
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| 6 Me Gustas Tu |
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| 7 Denia |
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| 8 Mi Vida |
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| 9 Trapped by Love |
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| 10 Le Rendez Vous |
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| 11 Mr. Bobby |
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| 12 Papito |
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| 13 La Chinita |
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| 14 La Marea |
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| 15 Homens |
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| 16 La Vacaloca |
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| 17 Infinita Tristeza |
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 "Proxima Estacion: Esperanza")
