Ozomatli is a band with too much in its shopping cart. It’s got the latin going for it, from the horns the guitar and percussion. It’s got the rock, from the rock, song structure, and choruses. There’s the funk from the drums. There’s the keyboard that…admittedly has little to do with the rest of the band. And then there’s the rap, emerging from all three other genres, like Artemis out of Zeus’ head, or that one from the sea.
Don’t Mess With the Dragon is a fun record. Justin, the hip hop element, raps like he’s having a good time. Maybe that comes from the simple, upbeat drums to which he raps in “City of Angels.” The choruses are made for dancing, sung with, they are made for concerts. With at least three back-up singers at one time (in a seven man band), it’s easy to make anything sound like a party. When you have seven guys singing “Let the good times roll/The bad times go” (“Magnolia Soul”) I’m inclined to obey. The horns lead from Justin’s rap back to that infectious chorus. The drums, the explosive horns, and the chanting come through in most songs. Thank God.
Unfortunately, this works against the band with the title track. “Don’t Mess With the Dragon” has all of the members singing the chorus with a horrible sounding guitar ditty. All members chant the title, over and over.
Luckily, “Don’t Mess With the Dragon” is the only serious misstep on the CD. Ozomatli has a small problem with repetitiveness, relying on the chorus too much toward the ends of songs. For the most part this isn't a problem, between the choruses and the bridges, I don't really pay much attention to the verses.
But when Ozomatli brings the verse up to the chorus's level, we get some classic tracks. “Magnolia Soul” has a good rap in between choruses helped along with the percussion section. “Can’t Stop” is three minutes of amazing fusion of latin, funk, rock and hip hop, the epitome of my introduction. There’s the powerful guitar chords while Asdru sings the verse, then there’s the amazing chorus with an awesome underlying latin guitar lick. Then there’s the bridge, with the band shouting “shake it, shake it” and Justin comes in “come on front, back, middle and top we keep it moving/no more sad songs singing the blues, we keep it moving.” The band cuts out while he says it again. I get the chills every time. Asdru shows off his voice on this song, unfortunately it’s the only time he taps into his vocal talents, the rest of the CD he’s just there.
With a three man horn section, every member at one point a back-up singer, acoustic/electric guitar, a rapper, a bass guitar, a percussion section, and drums, Ozomatli's got a lot going on. This allows for a lot of diversity within a song, and throughout the CD. The band lineup alone reflects Ozomatli's versatility. Sometimes, the mass of the band becomes too much, which I personally enjoy. "La Temperatura" has the chanting, a keyboard going, the horns, a small...Latin American flute thing, guitar, going at a light, fast pace. It's too much to take at once, and I love it.
It's hard to describe the reasons for why Ozomatli's so much to fun to listen to. Certainly the large line up makes it seem like there's a part going on in the recording studoi/on the stage/whatever. There's the mix between the rhythmic acoustic guitars with a fine latin horn section, with a electric guitar punching out some choice chords over them. Of course Justin makes a fine cheerleader, telling us to shake and move when he's not rapping.
And yet Ozomatli does come out with two, possibly three tracks on this CD that change up the tempo. "Violeta" is a ballad, something I did not see coming after the first eight tracks. It starts with a lone, melancholy guitar, then the understated drums with a voice (with Ozomatli it can be a little hard to tell who's singing, they have I think five members who take lead on at least one song). The bridge goes back to the chanting vocals, but with that same melancholy guitar line and the drums, it works with the ballad. While "Creo" keeps the funky beats, with a clarinet, Justin sings about a whole slew of serious topics: shooting, President Bush, prison. The atmosphere is great, the clarinet fits in perfectly.
Going to Ozomatli's show changed how I viewed this album. The chants became much more obvious, the sheer number of them became more important. At times it was hard to tell what Ozomatli was doing, you couldn't hear Justin rap. And for some reason we were still having fun. That's because there was the groove, the synchronized dancing, and the energy. This CD somehow was able to capture Ozomatli's live energy. You can point to whatever you like, the fast, latin horn section, the chanting choruses, whatever. But I think it's just that Ozomatli enjoyed themselves making this music. As I stood in the crowds, I kept thinking, "I would love to be in this band." Uh...ending...don't mess with the dragon. Yeah.
Recommended Tracks: Can't Stop, City of Angels, Magnolia Soul, Violeta
