Un Viaje

Album Review

Recorded in live in Mexico in October of 2004, Café Tacuba's Un Viaje (A Trip) serves as a delightful and woolly retrospective on where the band has been since it began recording in 1992, ushering in the rock en Español movement. Offered in various editions, the double-CD version contains 29 tracks that literally span Café Tacuba's jaunty, groundbreaking career. Jumping forward and back across their catalog, Un Viaje includes no less that half of their self-titled debut, along with three or four tracks each from every subsequent release. Also delightful are the inclusions of live readings of covers from Avalancha de Éxitos (Café Tacuba's tribute recording to those who influenced them): "Chilanga Banda," "Como de Extranda," "Ojalá Que Llueva Café," and "No Controles." It's true that a live Café Tacuba offering will only likely appeal to die-hard fans of the band in the United States, Mexico, and Latin America. However, Café Tacuba have been trying like the devil to win English-speaking American audiences for years with their innovative brand of uncompromising, utterly ingenious rock & roll, to little success. So why not give one to the fans? If you dig these guys, this one will not disappoint — crowd noise notwithstanding. If you don't, or haven't heard of them, you have no idea what you're missing.