Entre Casa y Babylon

Born in Spain, grown up in Paris, France, Manu Chao absorbed influences of all kinds - punk, hardcore, rockabilly, ska, dancehall reggae, flamenco, African music, RnB, etc.

Now a solo artist, this was the last album by his band Mano Negra. I first heard this when a penpal sent a TDK cassette of it to me when I was in college. This was one of my favorite albums for years.

While maybe not as palatable to english-speaking ears as to spanish/francophone ones, I think this CD from 1994 still holds up in a BIG way. Later, when I was in New Orleans and discovered all the great, unknown New Orleans 50's RnB, I found that the song "The Monkey Speaks His Mind" was not a Manu original, but a NOLA hit penned by Dave Bartholomew (which you will soon see here). Then, back here in Medellín, I discovered one of my favorite Cuban artists, Bola de Nieve (also to make a future appearance on HSR), and I recognized Bola's song "Drume Negrita" as being the original of "Mamá Perfecta"!! Talk about mindblowing!

This album was written between Paris, New York, Buenos Aires and Bogotá, after a crazy tour on a train that was transformed into a traveling circus that went from the Colombian Atlantic coast to Bogotá (and which some credit for the demise of the band).

The song "El Señor Matanza" ("Lord Massacre", kind of) was about the political/social climate at that time and still to a great extent, at this time (no matter what Prez Uribe would like you to believe). Including guest cameos from people like Fidel Nadal of (Argentina's answer to the Bad Brains) Todos Tus Muertos, and backing vocals from one Jello Biafra, you are respectfully invited for a stay at:

CASA BABYLON:

"Viva Zapata" – 2:04
"Casa Babylon" - 2:34
"The Monkey" - 2:47
"Señor Matanza" - 4:06
"Santa Maradona" - 3:27
"Super Chango" - 2:53
"Bala Perdida" - 2:13
"Machine Gun" - 4:25
"El Alakran" - 3:50
"Mama Perfecta" - 1:54
"Love And Hate" - 2:28
"Drives Me Crazy" - 3:38
"Hamburger Fields" - 3:14
"La Vida" - 2:41
"Sueño De Solentiname" - 3:51
"This Is My World" - 4:57

The video for SEÑOR MATANZA, filmed in Bogotá: