Manu Chao’s Clandestino was one of those totally unique, knock-you-out-of-your-seat albums that just blew me away – I’d never heard anything like it before, nor have I since – so I was very curious to see what he’d do for the followup: where would he develop the one-of-a-kind sound he established on his first solo album? Well, I have to admit to some disappointment with …Proxima Estacion…Esperanza as a followup – the sound actually hasn’t developed much at all, because in a few cases it’s exactly the same music! That’s right, a few tracks from Clandestino have had new lyrics and vocals slapped on them, and the result is, well, still pretty good, honestly, but it’s still a letdown to me. Essentially rather than a totally new album I see this as Clandestino Vol. 2, which is still cool with me but not what I was hoping for at all.
–guest (Virgin)