Hot Pants "Loco Mosquito" 1986 (2000 reissue)****

Previous month's UNCUT magazine had a whole page's review and whole back cover ad to promote the reissue of Manu Chao's Clandestino. Which wouldn't be that strange if they weren't presenting it as if it was an unknown new album or a "buried treasure" case. Yes, seriously! Clandestino, the world-wide hit that 20 years ago was inescapable (at least in Europe): you couldn't spend a whole day without hearing it, unless you lived in a cabin without radio up in the mountains. Moby's Play was a distant second. What were the Brits listening to at that time? Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls, and Oasis, what else? So while the world is wondering "where the hell is Manu Chao?" (the man hasn't made a record for more than a decade) the Brits are wondering "who the hell is Mano Chao?" And that's now! Imagine how cut off they will be after Brexit!

Not that there aren't discoveries to be made in Europe about Chao's musical past. Familiar as everybody is with his solo hits, and past as the bona fide leader of Mano Negra, how many of us have heard his albums with Los Carayos or Hot Pants? Well I have, and will present them in this blog. Apparently The Hot Pants were Chao's first group circa 1980-81, and settled in this name and composition (Manu guitar/vocals, his cousin Santi drums, Pascal guitar & Jean-Marc bass) in '84. A first single named "So many nites" was released in '85, followed by this LP in '86. The music is a mixture of rockabilly, punk, ska and latin. They have their own distinct style, but one can recognize them as Mano Negra's progenitors, especially in the 3 Latin songs: The Gypsy-Kings-Go-Punk Chunguitos cover "Ay Que Dolor", original garage-salsa "Ya Llego" and "Rosamaria" - the latter is a cover, but sounds nothing like the original and exactly like Mano Negra would sound later. Then you have a few classic rock tunes reminiscent of the early raw Rolling Stones ("Come On", Chuck Berry cover "Ma Dear"), garage funk "Junky Beat", psychobilly "Gipsy", "Ball And Chain", and "Chicken Chat". Opener "African Witch" somewhat reminds me Elvis Costello in his rocking-est, while there are also some unexpected echoes of swing ("Crawdaddy") and Dixieland ("Lazy Pal"). 

It would have been nice if this 2000 reissue (just in time to profit from Clandestino's almost-worldwide success) included the aforementioned single or the original version of "Mala Vida" which was later re-recorded by Mano Negra and remained a live staple throughout Chao's career. As it is, one has to search for the original 7' single and Romances 85 compilation to get these. But we do get a nice, previously unreleased, rocker called "Can't Let It Down". Soon after the album's release, Manu and Santi would leave Hot Pants to form Mano Negra with Manu's brother, Tonio, a band in which they expanded on the Latin-tinged songs of the album by mixing their beloved Clash with their Spanish heritage - although born and bred in France, they all descended from Spanish activists on the run from Franco's dictatorship. At the same time, Manu and Tonio also joined other French alternative music heroes in the supergroup Los Carayos. More about them later.

**** for Ay Que Dolor, Ball And Chain, Rosa Maria , Gipsy, Come On, Ya Llego, Junky Beat, Can't Let It Down

*** for African Witch, Chicken Chat, Craw-Daddy, Lazy Pal, Ma Dear