If you haven't heard Manu Chao before, get ready for a trip around the world with an artist that incarnates creative freedom, and for the most fun you've had in a long time, listening to music. If you listened to his first solo album, 'Clandestino,' you'll find some of the tracks in this album to bear a resemblance with it, but don't be wrong: this guy is reinvents himself once and again, deconstructing and rebuilding his own past work.

He touches the most serious topics (Mad Cow disease and promiscuity just to name two), but in a very fun way, just like he did when he was lead singer of Mano Negra (a band definitely worth listening). He also continues to borrow from many languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, English), rhythms and styles that you'll find yourself following a reggae, after having listened to a song that closely resembles the tune in a musical box.

My favorite from the album, "Me Gustas Tu".

With Proxima Estacion Esperanza, Manu Chao delivers another great CD. Happier, at times funkier than the melancholic Clandestino, Proxima Estacion sometimes echoes the Mano Negra years (especially with the ska number "Promiscuity" and the jazzy "Trapped by Love") while maintaining the simple, minimalistic and acoustic feel used in Clandestino. Manu Chao, a collage artist, samples anything, from Cuban radio programs to french documentaries to cell phone and fax sounds, mixing all of this with his songs. Some of the samples are new, some are recycled, but, hey, that's what a collage artist does, he recycles stuff. For example, Mr. Bobby and the Homens' music is the same as King of Bongo. But he makes enough changes to make these sounds sound fresh again. But the winners in Proxima Estacion are "Merry Blues", portuñol songs "Bixo do coco/El dorado" and the Algerian influenced "Denia".Being Manu Chao, everybody expects him to sing about "controversial topics". People who search for that "controversial topic" or whatever is missing the whole point of the album. For all of you who loved Clandestino, you'll love Proxima Estacion.

I'm a huge fan of Mano Negra and Manu Chao and it's been interesting to see how the sound has evolved over the years. "Clandestino" is an immense solo album, and "Proxima Estacion:Esperanza", while lacking some of the spiritual depth of the first effort, is still a great album exploring different themes. The whole CD sounds like a journey, and is a great CD to add to your road trip collection. Manu definitely takes a lighter approach mood-wise with this album compared to "Clandestino", which is refreshing - otherwise we'd have "Clandestino II". Still, the tracks are standouts in their own Manu way. "Denia" isn't full of Middle Eastern instruments, yet with the minimal vocals, Arabic calling, smooth guitar and steam whistles somehow I feel like I'm on a train in Morrocco anyway. "Papito" is nothing but silliness, and there's nothing wrong with that. Not every song has to be talking about the plight of the world for him to prove he's "matured" as an artist. He does take the musical background of "Bongo Bong" and instill it in a number of tracks here ("Mr.Bobby" & "Homens"), and the music starting with "La Primavera" (a track that I prefer over the hit "Me Gustas Tu") continues throughout the CD as well. There could have been a bit more originality there, but needless to say, there's some great laughs, some high energy, and some mellow moments, which makes this definitely one of the CDs that travels with me whenever I go anywhere. I wish I knew all 5 languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, English) that appeared on this album (I only know 3), but that doesn't take away from enjoying Manu at his zany best. Hope another one comes soon...

I love music, but I'm not a music expert, and I rarely even spend money on CDs. But after I listened to 30 seconds of this CD in a record store when it first came out, and I couldnt get it out of my mind. I bought it a couple of months later, and it has been my favorite album ever since.
The whole album is like a journey. The songs flow together seemlessly, recalling rhythms and lyrics from one song to the next. Some complain about his repeating the same melodies (also used on Clandestino), but I think its fantastic. Its like meeting a friend you havent seen in years- the same in some ways, not in others. Even within the same songs, the lyrics are simple and the songs seem almost repetetive. At first, I didnt know what to think of this style, but after listening a few times, it becomes hypnotic.
For those who complained about a lack of 'meaningful' songs on this album, I can only assume that they didn't bother to find out what 'Denia' was about. Sung in Arabic, this song is about the troubles in Algeria. You don't have to understand Arabic to feel the passion and the hope for the future of "poor Algeria" in this song.
At any rate, who says you have to be in-your-face with political statements to be meaningful? This album, by its design and content IS a political statement.
On a personal level, I feel like this song was written just for me. English, Spanish, French, and Arabic are all spoken in my household - if one of us learns Portuguese we will actually understand all the lyrics! (I think- there may have been other languages in there that I missed..)In reality though, I think many many people these days live 'between cultures' - and this is one of the few albums around that truly breaks down false barriers of language and nationality. How refreshing to listen to music that is truly inclusive instead of exclusive!

Long story short: buy this album. You won't regret it.

IF U HAVE NOT LISTENED TO CLANDESTINO: do yourself a favor and head straight for clandestino. i bought esperanza and clandestino at the same time, and listened to clandestino for 3 weeks straight before I even popped esperanza into my CD player. after just a couple of listenings, i went back to clandestino (still playing). don't get me wrong, esperanza lets you know manu chao is one of the freshest, most authentic musicians of out time, but it lacks the depth, intelligence, innovation, risk-taking and heart (i hate saying things have 'heart', but really does apply here) of clandestino. the sound is recycled, so you might as well go for the original. IF U HAVE CLANDESTINO: esperanza is a disappointment after the absolute sheer perfection that is clandestino. get this if your a die hard chao fan and can't live with the idea of not having listened to everything this man has produced. the record is missing the things that made clandestino great (even thought it tries by borrowing clandestino tracks here). go get something from maldita or el gran silencio first.