Mano Negra

Look, I give this five stars. But I advise against purchasing this album. Why? Because once you listen to this, you will want to explore their music more, and will start buying their albums.

That's what I did, and I now own all of their albums. So I gave this 'Best Of' to a friend... and guess what? He started buying the individual albums, too!

Start with Casa Babylon, or Puta's Fever, and be happy you discovered this awesome band. The live album is exceptional, too.

THIS COMPILATION IS GREAT BUT MISSES LOTS AND LOTS OF REALLY REALLY GREAT SONGS. THIS SHOULDN'T BE CALLED "BEST OF" ITS MORE LIKE "SOME GREAT SONGS FROM MANO NEGRA" OR SOMETHING YOU KNOW.

YOU SHOULD BUY "PUTA'S FEVER" (ONE OF THEIR TWO MASTERPIECES), AN AWESOME AWESOME ALBUM FULL OF ENERGY AND BLOOD, AND FULL OF CLASSICS FROM "THE REBEL SPELL", "SOLEDAD", "VOODOO","ROCK N ROLL BAND" "SIDI H'BIBI", "MAD HOUSE" OR "KING KONG FIVE". OR THE OTHER MASTERPIECE "CASA BABYLON" (REALLY DIFERENT FROM PUTA'S FEVER). PURCHASE THIS CD (CASA BABYLON) AND ENJOY IT. ITS A REALLY FURIOUS FIESTA (FURIOUS PARTY) FULL OF HEART, FIRE, LATIN FIRE, WORLD FIRE,EVERY SONG IS GREAT: VIVA ZAPATA (ELECTRONICA), THE MONKEY (HIP HOP/HARD ROCK), THIS IS MY WORLD (PSYCODELIA ALA MANO NEGRA), BALA PERDIDA (HARDCORE PUNK), HAMBURGER FILEDS (POP PUNK), LA VIDA (RAGGAMUFFIN'), SEÑOR MATANZA (HIHP HOP/SALSA), MACHINE GUN (REGGAE), SUEÑO DE SOLENTINAME (DUB), CASA BABYLON (SALSA), SUPER CHANGO (LATIN), MAMA PERFECTA (CUBAN TRADITIONAL).

KING OF BONGO IS ALSO INCREDIBLE GREAT. AND PATCHANKA, WELL, IT IS LIKE THE LITTLE BROTHER. VERY VERY GOOD BUT NOT AS GREAT AS PUTA'S FEVR, CASA BABYLON OR KING OF BONGO, INCREDIBLE MASTERPIECES OF UNDERGROUND ROCK, ALONG WITH DAYDREAM NATION (SONIC YOUTH), REAMIN IN LIGHT (TALING HEADS) OR GOOD GUYS DESERVES FUDGE (MUDHONEY).

MANO NEGRA IS A MIND BLOWING BAND.

I keep coming back to it, not that I have ever fought it's lure. All Mano Negra songs are in my view the best, so I guess the folks putting this cd together had a hard time. I, for one, prefer live recordings, they reflect such beautiful energy that, I, sadly, will never see live. But, if you're multi lingual, like me, that's another reason to love this album, and all others by Mano and Manu, and the other guys formerly in Mano. English, spanish, French, Arabian, Portuguese, all languages are joyfully mixed with great beats, intrumentation, and experimentation. Fan of many rock en espanol bands, and basically every genre(with the exception of a few), I just have to say Mano Negra is the band I will always love, it fills me up, inspires me, is one with me(NOT in a tacky way). I recommend it to EVERYONE. PS Everyone that listens to it while with me loves it, I'm glad I found this band a year ago, i was missing out of so much!

Mano Negra was a French group built around the Chao family, Manu, Antoine and their cousin Santi. Born in Paris in June 1961 Manu Chao was from a family forced into exile from Spain because of their opposition to Franco's fascist regime. In the slums of Paris the Chaos were brought into contact with kids from a wide range of origins- Spaniards, Portuguese, Africans and Arabs. This cosmopolitan influence is present in the music and in the multi-lingual lyrics. It was the Stiff Little Fingers' album 'Inflammable Material' which persuaded Manu to get into a music career. After hearing this superb Northern Irish punk album Manu discovered other punk acts and in particular the Clash (his bedroom was at that stage papered with tickets from Clash concerts). Mano Negra became France's most influential rock group. Half-way between the Pogues and the Clash, they mixed Punk, Reggae, Ska, Ragga, Falmenco, Latino, Rai, chanson francaise and other styles too numerous to mention. Beyond the punk artists already mentioned Manu was also influenced by Iggy Pop, Chuck Berry, the Stranglers, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Lou Reed. The album 'Puta's Fever' was their most commercially successful but many consider their best album to have been 'Casa Babylon'. The Latin influence is the most obvious on this Casa Babylon album because following the commercial success of their earlier efforts the band took off to South America for 2 years of giving free concerts and travelling round supporting various political causes. As with most 'Best of' albums this particular offering can be criticised- why include 'Santa Maradonna', 'Mad man's dead', 'Indios de Barcelona'? How dare they stop the live version of 'Mano Negra' before it goes into a frenetic version of 'Magic Dice'? Why did they not include their very best songs here- 'Rebel Spell', 'Love and hate', 'Drives me crazy' and 'La Vida'? Nevertheless this is an excellent collection of very diverse songs which influenced Maldita Vecindad, Cafe Tacuba, El Gran Silencio, Negu Gorriak, etc. I would like to hear a 'best of' compilation of Manu Chao's pre-Mano Negra material (prior to Mano Negra he was the leader of two other bands -Les Hot Pants and Los Carayos).

Every now and then a disc has to be bought more than once for whatever reason. Whether to turn someone on to something they're "missing", to replace a well used disc, or in the case of my situation, to replace a stolen one. Sometimes special discs are more deserving than one buy. That said, this is a fantastic disc that gets (got) much air play. If you're new to Manu Chao, this is where it began, under the guise of Mano Negra. The roots of his musical sesibilities shine throughout this compilation, that is a retrospective of the now defunt group Mano Negra. Mano Negra set the table for further explorations into different genre, with Latin style and punk attitude. Rock en Espanol has borrowed from these trend setters and have continued the tradition established by these early rockeros. Even veteran groups like Fabulosos Cadillacs, Negu Gorriak, Aterciopelados, Maldita Vencidad, Tijuana No, Todos Tus Muertos and more recently groups like King Chango, Ozomatli and El Gran Silencio owe much to the hybrid crossover sound of Mano Negra. Think The Clash in it's heyday but ala estilo Latino, with latin style. Manu Chao sounds very much the Clandestino captured here in his early years, with his transglobal vision, creating a panoramic view through third world eyes, like a communique from the streets. Case in point, the song "Peligro" resonates with an urban sense of urgency that sounds as fresh today as then with it's reggae back beat and funky horns. The political overtones of "Sueno de Solentiname" are nightmarish visions of right wing death squads in Latin America, complimented by Manu's echoes of hope amidst the chaos. "Senor Matanza" is one of those songs that stays with you and if you just happen to be a first time listener, grabs you and shakes you. The catchy tune demands the listener to absorb the lyrics, to go beyond the beat, to think of "El Senor Matanza." Another highlight of this superb historical disc is that several of the tracks are captured live. The live tracks display the emotion and raucous good times had at a performance by Manu and Mano Negra. There is even a song glorifying futbol, that would be World Cup type futbol, entitled "Santa Maradonna" complete with ole, ole, oles and cries of gooooooooaaaal in French. This is just one of those discs that demands to be replayed, again and again, in spite of thieves. Highly recommended for old and new fans of the King of Bongo.

The final and most mature effort from Mano Negra, basically driven by Manu Chao before he went solo and ironic for that fact since it is so much more rock and electronic than his subsequent solo work. Mano Negra were a great, interesting, rocking band that were entertaining as well as thought-provoking. Some people have called them 'the latin Clash' and there are definitely similarities although the Mano Negra were obviously on the scene a little later. A great album for fans, but as others have noted, maybe Puta's Fever would be a better initiation to the band.

This is a mix of rithms and thoughs between Eurpoe and Latinamerica. This work reflects the reaility of LatinAmerica through songs like Senor Matanza. Excellent Job!

Good to see everyone speaks so highly of this CD.

What can you say about Mano Negra that has not been said? This CD is one of the best top 10 Castellano rock albums of all times. How do I know this? Well besides being from Buenos Aires I have traveled Latin America and España all my life and this CD is always in any hip rock bar's jukebox from Argentina to Mexico. It's true + what Manu did with Clandestino, etc... set this cd into eternal immortality. Rock, rap, reggae, Caribbean sounds, punk, English, Castellano, French (+ you start to notice Manu playing around with the sounds bites from TV and radio on this album) Buy it and you will not be disappointed. Amazon has all from Manu and Mano Negra on here which you should check out. Look for the Bolivian mountain sessions on MP3 Download sites, also has a rare Mano Negra appearance at a French prison early 90's. " 2 de la tarde 28 minutos con radio recuerdos...tu suerte merece un chance...._" Arturo

I MEAN IT. I WASN'T SURE TO BUY THIS ALBUM BECAUSE I WASN`T SURE IT WAS MY STYLE YOU KNOW, I WAS (AND AM) INTO SONIC YOUTH, DEAD KENNEDYS, KYUSS, HENDRIX, FUNKADELIC AND THE MARS VOLTA, BUT I BOUGHT IT A FEW MONTHS AGO AND IT IS MIND BLOWING. YOU CAN`T DOWNLOAD JUST "SOME SONGS" BECAUSE THIS ALBUM IS ALMOST A CONCEPT ALBUM, YOU GOTTA HEAR IT THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH. I DON`T GIVE A XX@@€ ABOUT THE VARIETY OF STYLES, I REALLY DIG IT BEACAUSE OF THE VERY CORE OF MUSIC ITSELF. ENERGY, PASSION, FIRE. YOU`LL NEVER GONNA GET TIRED OF THIS CD. NOW, I MEAN IT.

La primera vez que oi la voz de Manu (el cantador) fue en mi clase de espanol hace dos anos. Inmediatamente compre su disco solo "Clandestino" y lo amaba mucho. Por eso compre Casa Babylon, y ahora es uno de mis discos favoritos. Los ritmos son perfectos para las personas que les gusta bailar (como yo) y las letras tambien son muy buenas. Dos canciones son lentas e increibles, muy poderosas: "mama perfecta" y "sueno de solentiname," y las otras canciones son mas rapidas y igualmente fantasticas. A mi parece muy sofisticada, y hay muchisimos sonidos diferentes aunque el disco es muy unido. Otros grupos/artistas que me encantan: The Beatles, The Greatful Dead, Led Zeppelin, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, The Allman Brothers, y otros grupos americanos de los 60s y 70s (musica "hippie"). (lo siento por mi espanol ojala que no sea terrible)

The first time I heard Manu's voice was in my spanish class two years ago. I immediately bought his solo cd, Clandestino, and i loved it, so I bought "Casa Babylon" and now it's one of my favorite CDs. The rhythms are perfect for people who like to dance (like me) and the words are also really good. Two songs are slow and incredible, very powerful: "mama perfecta" and "sueno de solentiname" and the other songs are faster and just as fantastic. It seems very sophisticated and there are a lot of different sounds although the disc is very united. Other bands/artists I like: The Beatles, The Greatful Dead, Led Zeppelin, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, The Allman Brothers, and other American groups from the 60s and 70s ('hippie' music).

Another great album from La mano Negra, the most "classical" one, great rock music and intelligence mix of another styles to make one of the best rock CD's in the nineties, very, very critical too occidental way of live (just check Welcome in Occident, Letter to the Censors and Out of Time Man
No really weak songs, (maybe "It's my heart")and great moments, as King of Bongo, Don't want you no more. This is the last of the band at complete and maybe their best too.

Well, I'm a fanatic of Mano Negra and now of Manu Chao. I've been hearing Mano Negra's music for more than two years. King of the Bongo tells Mano Negra's life in U.S.A. Their CD is a rebellion against the occidental culture using alternative music mixing with multicultural influences.

Recopilacion imperdible, sobre todo para coleccionistas. La etapa mas latina de la Mano, un recorrido por todos los barrios bajos de nuestra sudamerica. Lo tipos le ense;aron el rock latino a los musicos de latinoamerica. La historia cambio a partir de AMERICA perdida

This band was to the spanish-speaking world what The Clash was for the anglo rock scene, and this is their "London Calling". It may sound dated in 2003, but back then it was strange and awesome.

The first time I heard anything from this album was when (by chance) I picked up a music video compilation which included "King Kong Five". At the time I hated it -- now I'm mad at myself for losing the video. Last year I heard something from "Casa Babylon" on the radio and I went online and bought it the same day. Now I've come back round to listening to this album again and I'm completely enchanted.

I wonder if the reviewers below who don't understand how the man who made Clandestino could have made this album have listened to the later Mano Negra stuff. There's certainly a logical progression from early M.N. to the later material, and a fairly seamless move from their last album to Manu Chao's solo album Clandestino (with the understanding that Clandestino is a more populist or folk approach).

What can i say about this album of Mano Negra?A great album from the greatest band ever!With two words:MANO NEGRA!

The first time I heard a Mano Negra album I thought these guys were outrageous!That album was Puta's Fever and I've been hooked on them ever since. Their sound is a crazy mix of all kinds of music and beats- from rock, to salsa and middle eastern. Heck-I can't even identify all the musical references since they often blend styles (but I would guess there is something very cajun at the beginning of "Voodoo"...). The lyrics range from complete silliness (Magic Dice) to social criticism (Indios de Barcelona)-after all, these are the same guys who went around South America offering free concerts in poor metropolitan areas and backlands! "Pas Assez de Toi" is one of my favorites- it's a more rock n' roll kind of song about being bitter after a break-up...it's got plenty of dark humor in it...These guys sing in English, Spanish, French and Arabic (sometimes a few of these all at once). They're a lot of fun, they're smart and I think there is something for every listener.

this is such a good album, way much better than manu's solo. the best from mano negra a band who has influenced a lot of the spanish bands of today

I really liked this soundtrack. It is more than a sountrack rather a great sampling of latin talent. The music has soul which ties into the theme of the movie. I am able to relive the movie through the music. Also it helps me to workout during my kickboxing. So this tape may not be around along and i suggest if you like music that will move yah to get this tape.

While many soundtrack recordings have to be appreciated within the context of their film, this CD stands on its own. There are so many great songs, covering such a wide variety of styles, as to defy categorization. The Ozomatli, Los Lobos, King Chango, and El Gran Silencio tracks are the best of a great collection.

It's the best CD I've heard in years.

While watching "Price of Glory", you get a hint of the quality and variety of the soundtrack music, but the film doesn't really prepare you for just how good each song is. A few tracks can be loosely categorized, (either "rock en espanol", or Latinoid rap), but most are just so fresh and original as to defy any common label. Every number on this CD will have you either smiling, dancing, or singing along.

The bottom line is unequivocal: It's the best CD I've heard in years.

I bought this CD as a replacement to my oooooold tape I had bought when this album was first released. It's absolutely excellent.

This was their first album and a great one. It contains great songs like "Mala Vida" (a classic), "Ronde de Nuit", and "Indios de Barcelona".

It is definitely a must have for anyone who enjoyed La Mano's other albums. However, if you're looking forward to buying your first Mano Negra album, my recommendation is "Puta's Fever".

This was their first album and a great one. It contains great songs like "Mala Vida" (a classic), "Ronde de Nuit", and "Indios de Barcelona".

It is definitely a must have for anyone who enjoyed La Mano's other albums. However, if you're looking forward to buying your first Mano Negra album, my recommendation is "Puta's Fever".

This CD is in the best tradition of Puta's Fever.

An energetic, eclectic and sometimes chaotic mix of styles, moods, language and rhythm. From the french chanson-style charm of Ronde de Nuit, through the emotional Mala Vida, to the rambunctious silliness of Lonesome Bop, there is something for (almost) every taste.

World Music, Punk, Rock, R&B, Ska, Salsa...you will find a bit of everything in this CD, but its main ingredient is certainly fun. Frank Zappa once asked the fundamental question: does humor belong in music? Judging by Mano Negra and Patchanka the answer is YES!!

This band was to the spanish-speaking world what The Clash was for the anglo rock scene, and this is their "London Calling". It may sound dated in 2003, but back then it was strange and awesome.

The first time I heard anything from this album was when (by chance) I picked up a music video compilation which included "King Kong Five". At the time I hated it -- now I'm mad at myself for losing the video. Last year I heard something from "Casa Babylon" on the radio and I went online and bought it the same day. Now I've come back round to listening to this album again and I'm completely enchanted.

I wonder if the reviewers below who don't understand how the man who made Clandestino could have made this album have listened to the later Mano Negra stuff. There's certainly a logical progression from early M.N. to the later material, and a fairly seamless move from their last album to Manu Chao's solo album Clandestino (with the understanding that Clandestino is a more populist or folk approach).

What can i say about this album of Mano Negra?A great album from the greatest band ever!With two words:MANO NEGRA!

The first time I heard a Mano Negra album I thought these guys were outrageous!That album was Puta's Fever and I've been hooked on them ever since. Their sound is a crazy mix of all kinds of music and beats- from rock, to salsa and middle eastern. Heck-I can't even identify all the musical references since they often blend styles (but I would guess there is something very cajun at the beginning of "Voodoo"...). The lyrics range from complete silliness (Magic Dice) to social criticism (Indios de Barcelona)-after all, these are the same guys who went around South America offering free concerts in poor metropolitan areas and backlands! "Pas Assez de Toi" is one of my favorites- it's a more rock n' roll kind of song about being bitter after a break-up...it's got plenty of dark humor in it...These guys sing in English, Spanish, French and Arabic (sometimes a few of these all at once). They're a lot of fun, they're smart and I think there is something for every listener.

this is such a good album, way much better than manu's solo. the best from mano negra a band who has influenced a lot of the spanish bands of today