Clandestino

I really enjoyed this! Satisfyingly lo-fi, catchy, distinctive. Even though I don’t speak the language, I found myself enjoying the lyricism, if that makes sense.

This mosaic music is charming, has a chewiness as if the tape was rubbed with a coin, but seems to lack a centre, trading in comfortably familiar styles far past the tumultuous, sometimes riotous environments that they emerged from. Reference to revolutionaries are set-dressing, homemade margaritas drunk in bedrooms decorated with that old Ché Guevara poster. You know the one.

"..the 67th greatest French rock album.."?! Say no more, fam

I expected a pity party and got a bar fight with feelings. Big glam energy, big emotions, zero Morrissey chill. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions - You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side - Glamorous Glue - We'll Let You Know - We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

No more bongos

Very surprised this album made the list and also very surprised at the number of songs I recognized. It was definitely a happy listen that made me feel funky vacation vibes, but ultimately I was not super impressed. The songs felt samey and some of the talk-singing was a bit silly.

I didn't dislike this but it didn't capture me enough to pay too much attention to it. It just filtered away in the background.

Better than Coldplay

Even if I take out the fact that I despise the guy for being a useful idiot y un mamaguevo chavista, It’s sad that, with so much great music from LatAm/Spain, this album makes the list. I doubt this one would even make it to my 1001 list of hispanic music

5/10

Fun and chill. A firm 3. Favorite track: Luna y sol

Loved it!

I really enjoyed this style of Latin music, way more than reggaeton. Great vibe in all the songs and the artist's voice and enunciations really go out with the music

Not really for me. I can almost see what he was going for, but it never really takes off.

Honestly way better than I thought it was going to be. I have no idea what he's saying, but I could feel it

Meh

Really liking this one. Good vibes and good beats. Wasn't expecting the english then the french but what do i know.

started to really blend together with the same beat

genuinely good and fun thank god!

2/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/manu-chao/clandestino/ I fucking hate that bongo song. So many of my colleagues at my student job used to play that song to death and I always hated it. So no, I was not exactly excited to listen to this. But, I gotta be fair, it was not as terrible as I thought. I still hate the bongo song, and I didn't at all care for any of the other songs whatsoever, but it was at least not as grating as the motherfucking bongo song. Except for his Portuguese pronunciation of menina. There's no ñ in the word man.

Bad enough listening to rap in English ...

This is what I imagine Hermanos Gutiérrez would sound like if they sang lyrics, so I was shocked to find out that this man grew up in Paris. This was a fun listen. Throughout the album, I went from grazing in the Spanish countryside, ripping through tiny, busy streets on a Vespa, all the way to fiesta mode. 4/5, will be listening again when I touch down for Euro summer.

que asco, hasta ahora lo peor que escuché

niezle no niezle fajne

This held my attention from note one all the way to the end. Great mix of styles, cool samples from TV and everyday life, and a great composition overall. I'll add this to my personal collection ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mostly Spanish pop/hip hop, pretty fun

Jag är en regelbunden Manu Chau-lyssnare men jag hade inte lyssnat på detta från början till slut. Ett album som passar för de flesta tillfällen!

Jeugdsentiment

Zou ik normaliter niet zelf opzetten, maar wel goede vibes :)

Spanish reggae is a combo I never knew about til now, but it's some good stuff. 4.5 bumped down to 4.

I’m at a 4.5, and I’d love to leave it there, but I think I’m gonna bump it down to a 4. I mean, you can’t say it’s not entertaining. I love the flow of this album, as it demands your attention for the full 46 minutes. It’s nearly seamless from track to track, and it keeps up a pretty good pace. It’s a surprisingly cohesive album for as many topics as it touches on, as many languages as it’s sung in, and for as wildly differing the production is from track to track. It’s hard to believe this is from 1998, since it usually feels like a ‘70s album. By all accounts, it shouldn’t really work, and yet it just kinda does. However, I’m bumping this down to a 4 because I think it loses some of that glue near the tail end of the album. I loosely understand the idea of this being the tale of a roaming, wandering traveling musician who’s going around & just soaking up everything the world has to offer. It’s sort of a biographical album, and I admire the ability to capture that so well. I just think it starts to peel apart around “Día Luna...Día pena”; either that, or I simply lost track of where we were with this guy. There’s definitely a narrative of searching for love & community throughout the album, but I think it shrinks a little too much to just his perspective. It feels like the album strips too much agency from the larger world he’s crafted & built, focusing on his people, his loves, his wants & his desires, along with an inability to grab them. Granted, I’m going off of Google Translated lyrics here, so maybe I’m just entirely wrong about that. For the record, I think it’s a great album. I just think the experience & the immersion of it takes a hit when it seemingly shrinks to his world view taking center stage. It also might just be the repetition in some of the shorter tracks finally piling up to a point of mild frustration by “Minha galera”, which is probably the most ‘eh’ track here. When he’s looking at things more broadly, with a greater showcase of the world he’s traveling throughout this album, there really is something kinda special here, and embracing that through multiple languages & musical styles is something I haven’t heard before. I just wish it stuck the landing all the way through. Hence, a 4.5 that I’ll begrudgingly bump down to a 4, no matter how much I admire this. It is absolutely something people should hear before they die though, and it’s very deserving to be on the list. Maybe with a bit more time, this could go back up to a 5.

Alltså det är charmigt, svängigt, spännande, men ändå hugger det inte idag i mig. Inte nu och inte då, när det begav sig. En trea

Story behind some of his shows are so interesting and cool, I would have loved to have gone to something unique and ephemeral like that. Music is fun and up tempo, with drips of Reggae thrown in but also it's own identity apart from that. Its the kind of music you can bob your head and shoulders along to easily. Island getaway type music while cruising around on a rickety sail boat with close friends. Great music, great story.

nothing to say. Perfect

Had a good time but nothing really stuck to the wall for me. Should definitely be on the list, just not something I’m going to return to.

I liked this.

its nice and the songs transition very well

I always find it quite difficult to rate albums that are not sung in my language as it’s hard to connect with the intent and vibe etc. For the most part I was enjoying his voice and music except in the 2nd song there was a sound effect playing through out that sounded like it came from a video game. I spent the whole song trying to work out which game it was. Galaxian maybe? Anyway I digress. I am not sure where he sits in the Royal Family hierarchy but once he proclaimed himself The King Of Bongo Bong I was invested!

Fue un bombazo en su época. Merecido impacto pues sigue siendo la obra maestra de Manu Chao.

Manu Chauuuuu Ohhhhhhhh!!!! OMG they were masssssive back in the 90s when they came out, they were huge here - Alberto, the guy who ran the weight room at the gym in Perugia played it eeeeevery day for at least a year, I know every note damn him LOL they are so much fun, such an innovative album and sorry but I LOVE that at times they're singing in 4 languages, right up my alley

This is the giddy feeling when you are holding someone's hand for the first time. It's a mix of excitement. A quickened heartbeat. While also being being comfortable. Belonging. Two emotions moving together in rhythm.

The unbridled musical multiculturalism that MC honed with his 80s outfit fully blossoms on his solo outing. This is the sound of travel. No matter where you in the world it feels like something you could here in a local cafe, coming from an open window or a passing car. This is music on the move informed by a man defined by motion. Who - upon turning home to France after many years had some stories to tell. And what stories and sounds they are. Language aside - this album communicates as it communes.

Was solid, had moments that I thought it was going to break out into a grander or weirder style.

In the first half I thought this would be a 4 star, but it turns out I got about a 30 minute attention span in this genre. By the time it was done I thought it had outstayed its welcome.

For the most part I really liked this. I have no idea what the music was about but it was a vibe.

I really enjoy the genre of Latin Alternative. Admittedly, my first run-in with it was the Ween song “Voodoo Lady,” but this album here matches up nicely. Combines a lot of great Latin aesthetics with a lot of great elements from other genres that makes it a very easy to listen to album. Also, like many others, my main exposure to Chao’s work is his song “Me Gustas Tu,” which I obviously love. Title track “Clandestino” is great, somber and slick, and songs like “Mama Call” are super pretty. Generally the biggest problem is just that all the songs sound the same after a while, and there’s too many songs without enough variation. It’s not bad at all, but I kinda wish it was 10 minutes shorter. 7.6/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: SURE REASON: IMPACT AND QUALITY-ish

Screams 90's in lots of not great ways, hit still manages to be a decent record. I guess probably expanded a few kings when it game out but suspect it's had zero lasting influence. I don't love it but struggle to find a reason to knock stars off

This was refreshing. I was a little confused by the language switches as I hadn't heard of the artist before, but the switches actually kept me more engaged.

La verdad es que es bueno, pero es inevitable asociar este álbum a puros mochileros, personas que se creen hippies con escucharlo en bares de mochileros y asociarlo con esa vibra. Entonces lo respeto, pero creo que está demasiado quemado y sobrevalora val

Naw not really

FUN TIMES

Actually quite good reggae!

latin pop, 1998 -> 3

Where do i go to dance salsa? It was kinda vibey, but nothing I'd listen to daily. (2/5)

2/5

Went in with lower expectations but was pleasantly surprised. This was a good Sunday morning listen while working on some computer work. Even left it on repeat for a few listens.

Fun, catchy, summery, breezy, and trilingual! Did not disappoint.

Catchy, me gusta. I'm raised on 40 oz to Freedom so kind of a sucker for this kind of low Spanish singing. Makes me want to rekindle my torrid affair with Duolingo.

Multiple languages with high-pitched, rhythmic noises and some annoying fellow talking about being "King of the Bongos" but homeboy doesn't play the drums. In fact, I don't see him play any instruments on the album. He has an nasally voice and no other musical skill - so hard to listen to.

See previous album comments.

There's no reason this list can't be called "1001 Albums"

Good fun and Bongo Bong is a big highlight, but not enough to enter favourite territory 3.5

Not bad in all honesty but felt like it was missing something to make it great

If more people listened to this music, there would be less problems in the world The album is sensasional, the first half of the album is perfect, specially the Bongo Bong/Je ne t'aime plus combo, one of the joyest moments of listening to music ever IMO. I wish Proxima Estacion Esperanza and Viva Tu where on this list too.

Is "trip-reggae" a thing? Or is that just reggae? I ask because the unrelenting density of this sound creates such a powerful sense of interiority. It has the effect of making Chao's vocals - alternating between admiring Marleyism, French chanson-style nonchalance, and more traditional Latin jazz - feel like the sound of a man searching within himself, trying to figure out how to manage the various parts of his identity and determine who he really is. And as Chao ventures out of the haze on the back half of the album he finds energy, even anger, but I'm not certain that he ever figures himself out. But if his output is this strong than I'm not sure it matters ("Malegria," "La vie a 2").

Well I'm sorry but this sucks

Ok

This album made me realise I need to get out of my comfort zone and listen to albums in foreign languages. My spanish knowledge is very limited, but I know some french and portuguese so I gathered what I could from the lyrics. The melodies are an absolute vibe and I found myself at ease yet wanting to get up and dance at the same time.

Favourite Songs: Desaparecido

A really fun listen with a couple of great tracks on it. Enjoyed every track on it but it needed a couple more standouts to be anywhere near a 5. Top Track - Malegría

Went in blind. This was an interesting mix of genres- classic guitar meets reggae meets Latin beats. Honestly not my favorite- I found it to be repetitive after a while. Overall- average. 2.5/5, not quite a 3

This is crazy annoying - especially his voice. Music for shoeless bobos. Couldn't finish.

cool (je connaissais évidemment déjà) même si c'est pas vraiment le mood dans lequel j'étais aujourd'hui

Difficile de mettre autre chose que 5 quand il y a tant de subjectivité dans l'écoute d'un album

Indian summer op z'n best

senorita

This was great, really cool flow, fun, super enjoyable. Defo will give another listen at some point.

Bien.

Triple blind; not really my jam but the fusion of reggae and Latin music resulted in some honest to god bops. Good experience overall

Some nice island tunes with this one. built on some of the same things that have inspired some of my fave bands, like reggae influence, but a slightly different path

Interesting and irresistible for about 2-3 tracks. Then, somehow, it becomes repetitive and saccharine. Couldn’t listen to the whole thing. Maybe it was just the day i was having. But i really can’t imagine listening to the whole album in one sitting. I think this music needs to be in a setting— like as the soundtrack to a road trip or a party? A 2.

Not sure why I liked this as I didn’t understand much, but I did. Took me back to dodgy backpackers like a lot of people it seems. Impressive it’s done on a laptop around the world too.

ahh que tiempos aquellos!

Kannte nur Bongo Bong, aber war an sich schon n gutes Album. Schöner spanischer/lateinamerikanischer Sound

Schönes Album, gute Melodien, und auch nette Hintergrundgeschichte.

King of the Bongo Bong. Mal was anderes als Britpo, allein dafür +1 Stern

vibes

Surprisingly good and got downloaded

Nice vibes and sounds

Sounded like backpacking through a foreign country

This album had a wonderful mix of sounds, even quite a few different languages are spoke, not just one! Lot of it is like Latin music, some of it sounds quite reggae and other parts of it sound a bit folk-y. Music giving imagery of Mexico (to my non-north American mind.) I wish I could understand the lyrics, but from my understanding they're quite leftist-focused political statements. I also quite like the seguing that's done a lot on the album, sometimes it's done so well that I don't even notice the song has changed; there's no real pauses in between songs. I see myself returning to this one for sure. I also believe that it deserves a place on the 1001 list. Highlight Song/s: "Clandestino", "Luna y sol" and "Welcome to Tijuana"

Um disco meio sem sentido de música sem atratividade ou interesse.

Woah! Que urbano!

Graaaand, not a big fan.

I don’t much of a musical reference point for any of this and I don’t speak Spanish, but were like most of these songs about weed? I could swear they were. Not a bad listen, either way

IT was fun

Чет прям такое.

Manu Chao my beloved ❤️ Топ-1 - Bongo Bong Топ-2 - Desparecido

It's not bad, I like the style but it's not something I'll ever come back to

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