

Mano Negra were a French band with anarchist leanings, punk spirit, and a multicultural sound whose sophomore album threw musical rules out the window. Opening with revved-up spaghetti Western music, the LP takes in every style around. There's frantic rockabilly on "Rock ’n’ Roll Band," metal riffage on "The Rebel Spell," reggae on "King Kong Five," horn-driven ska on "Soledad," and a fist-waving, double-time gang vocal on "Patchuko Hop." All of it is played with wild abandon and sung in French, Spanish, and English—sometimes all at once.