Back in 1999 I saw Ozo in SoCal at a small venue more known for relatively tame, so-called mainstream acts. They were the first band I saw in normally laid-back (catatonic???) Orange County in a long while to keep the ENTIRE crowd on their feet for two hours. A while later I saw them at the Santana "Supernatural" mega-tour, and they nearly stole the show. Of course, they were touring behind their selftitled 1998 release, which I think is still their best overall work.

Street Signs is a tremendous CD all the same. Revolution or no, (and politics or no) this music will not let you be still. Hey, the streets of East LA are a long way from Racine... but the Ozo sound (sounds!!!) reach out everywhere. All in all this is a great dance mix, with enough unusual stuff to keep it interesting and far from monotonous. Musically it might not break much new ground, but it is a masterful assembly of electronica, hip-hop, Latin and enough different beats and feels to power a block party all by itself.

I had never heard of this band until I saw them on the brotherhood tour with Los Lonely Boys. While LLB BORED the crowd with over two hours of loooooooooooooong ass guitar solos....ozomatli had the crowd jumping around and clapping and truely held everyone's attention to the end of their set. this band is truely entertaining to watch...all ten members are always doing something different. The singers are talented, musicians are talented, awesome band...........you won't be disappointed as they rock out to different songs...something for everyone. sorry for the broken thoughts...mind is working faster than my fingers.

I discovered Ozomatli through an interview I read with actor John Cusack, who is a big fan of the band. He was laying some heavy praise on them, and described their music as a "cultural block party". I can't think of a better description myself.

Ozomatli's sound is like the musical manifestion of racial and cultural unity. They combine so many different musical styles, and do so with amazingly effortless style. Despite the extreme diversity, the music is never cluttered or offputting. Everything fits together perfectly, and the music is always fun, upbeat, and exciting. It's like a perfect symbol of different races and creeds living together in harmony. And, their positive lyrical messages on that very subject help to perpetuate that image.

Musically, there is more going on here than I could possibly put into words. The band uses an extensive arsenal of instruments, including strings, horns, tribal percussion, and jazzy piano. A song can go from salsa, to hip hop, to tribal, to jazz, all in the blink of an eye. "Believe", the opening track, gets everything started in this fashion immediately. Starting with a fiery Latin melody, adorned with strings, it soon moves into a smooth rap part to humble any modern rapper that's popular today. "Love & Hope" and "Who Discovered America?" are a bit more straight-forward pop, with a bit of a Los Lonely Boys feel. The title track and "Saturday Night" are more rap-oriented, with jazzy undertones. "Who's to Blame?" is an intense tribal beat driven track, with amazing vitriolic rap vocals (he barely takes a breath throughout the whole song).

As the album goes, the Spanish influence begins to shine through more. The album features lyrics both in English and Spanish, mostly in Spanish in the latter half. "Dejame en Paz" is a foot-stomping Salsa track, with fast, jovial rhythms, cool vocal improv, and an instrumental section with a wicked odd time groove. "Santiago" slows things down a bit, with some nice flamenco guitar. "Dona Isabelle" is a short classical piano instrumental, and "Nadie Te Tirra" brings back the rap, with a sweet jazzy piano solo. The album ends with the uplifting ballad, "Cuando Canto", with a downright beautiful vocal performance.

These guys are without a doubt one of the most talented bands out there right now. To make such artistic and eclectic music, and still be fun and accessible is not an easy thing to accomplish, but they have done it like few others can. Get everything that has anything to do with this band.

When i first Heard Ozomatli, i was confused as to wheter to put them in the spanish group, rap group, hip hop, flamenco, salsa or middle eastern. What i realized is they are an energetic fusion of it all. Ozomatil is a revolutionary band group with no limits to what they will do with thier music. this is one of thier best discs and my favorite.

energetic, tittilating, foot tappingly amazing. a must have for any music collection.

I'm a world music (and rock and jazz and modernist classical) fan who has never really been much into Latin music. I happened to overhear a few brief snatches of Ozomatli on, of all places, NPR. I was intrigued by the way they flavored some of their Latin tunes with Arab influences, intrigued enough to buy Street Signs. It is one of those very few albums which is clearly worth the price, well worth it.

The album is incredible! Every song is in a different style (from hip-hop to quaint old fashioned Latina ballads to funk to salsa to rap to ranchero and even some very good jazz piano), yet each is exactly what it should be -- and everything seems to be played with great intensity and pleasure. It's an album that gets under your skin; the tunes keep playing in my head (but not in that annoying way that overly sweet pop tunes can). And these guys are musically ambitious, never afraid to push the envelope and bring together very different musical traditions in a way that really works, and is really exciting.

Ozomatli has opened up a whole new world of music for me. I guess I'll have to try out their earlier albums now.