Maná Album: “MTV Unplugged”

MANA MTV Unplugged sin duda sobrepaso muchas espectativas. Me parece que es un CD muy bien estructurado musicalmente. Las nuevas versiones de canciones ya conocidas como "Se me olvido otra vez" tienen un toque de naturalidad y juventud. Sin duda, la mejor cancion en este CD es ANA, en la cual Sergio Vallin demuestra su excelente abilidad con la guitarra. Con todo, MANA sigue consagrandose como el mejor grupo de rock en espa~nol. Sin embargo, habra que ver su proximo CD, el cual debe ser el mejor hasta la fecha. Espero que MANA siga progresando...y que no se quede estancado como otros grupos que no desean salir de la monotonia.... Como fan de MANA , este CD me gusta mucho. Pero tambien como fan, se que MANA necesita experimentar y hacer que su musica madure y crezca.

I'm listening to this disc as I write. I remember the first time I heard/saw it: wandering through a Sanborn's store in Mexico City -- I stopped cold and viewed the DVD on an instore TV for ten or fifteen minutes, absolutely captivated. Shortly thereafter, it was mine, as was the DVD (which adds a whole other dimension). I would put "Mana Unplugged" in my top twenty discs of all time. The group is the Mexican Beatles: writers of exquisite pop songs with heart, beautifully crafted, played with vigour and a little rock-n-roll swagger, and also a progressive political bent that comes through on songs like "Ana" and their terrific cover of Ruben Blades' "Desapariciones." The love songs, from "Vivir Sin Aire" to "El Muelle de San Blas" to "Rayando El Sol," are among the few that consistently bring tears to my eyes. And the playing has the attention to technique and subtlety that characterizes Latin music more than its North American or Western European equivalent. As an advantage for the non-Spanish speaker, the CD comes with translations of the lyrics of most of the songs. These lose some of the poetry, but at least let you know what's going on thematically. A magnificent, unmissable record.

"Supernatural"'s Corazon Espinado was the first time I heard of Mana. I loved that song, especially the vocals of Fher Olvera. I purchased "Unplugged" based on that song. I can't stop listening to it. It lifts my spirits, even though some of the themes are quite serious. By the way, you don't have to understand Spanish to enjoy this CD.

This CD is great. Alot of old songs but they sound even better on this CD. If you are going to purchase a Mana CD this is the one to buy!

What can I say? This is just a great live album from a great band. The band sounds great live too. Everything, from voices, to choruses, to arrangements sounds great. There are live versions of many of the band's hits as well as some new songs like Jose Alfredo Jimenez's "Te Solte La Rienda" and Juan Gabriel's "Se Me Olvido Otra Vez". These two songs became big hits too. We also get live versions of past hits like "En El Muelle De San Blas", "Vivir Sin Aire", and "Oye Mi Amor". All I have to say about this album is that it's simply great as everything this band does. I totally recommend it.