Description

Personnel: Augusto Enriquez (vocals); Phil Manzanera (guitar, percussion, background vocals); Chucho Merchn (percussion, background vocals); Yamile (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Jamie Johnson.
Photographer: Claire Singers.
For 801 LATINO (not to be confused with other Phil Manzanera projects with similar names), Manzanera is joined by an entirely Spanish lineup, his guitar mixed in with Augusto Enriquez and Yamile’s vocals, Aldo Lopez Gavilan’s electric piano, Chucho Merchan’s bass, and Carlos Valdez’s drums. The justification for using the 801 name seems to be simply that, once again, Manzanera organized a one-off band to do some concerts and no more. They play a set of entertaining Latin rock and pop (including Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Corcovado,” aka “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars”) with Manzanera simply fitting into the band. It’s an entirely appropriate effort for a musician who is the son of a Colombian mother and grew up largely in South and Central America before relocating to England, the land of his father. Listeners will enjoy it, as long as they know what they’re getting. The music here is much closer to the Buena Vista Social Club than to Roxy Music.