Revés/Yo Soy (English: Backwards/I Am) is the fourth album by the Mexican rock band Café Tacuba, released in 1999.[6][7] In fact, it is two albums—Revés is an instrumental album, Yo Soy a collection of songs the band had been saving up since their second album, Re.

Revés/Yo Soy
Studio album by
Released20 July 1999 (1999-07-20)
Genre
Length98:15
LabelWarner Music Mexico
Producer
Café Tacuba chronology
Avalancha de Éxitos
(1996)
Revés/Yo Soy
(1999)
Tiempo Transcurrido
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Alternative Press4/5[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
(The New) The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
Spin9/10[5]

It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance" category.[8] It won the Latin Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album".[9]

Critical reception

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The New York Times wrote: "Many of the Spanish lyrics are about isolation and disorientation: as most great bands do three or four albums into a career, Cafe Tacuba has made a record about entering one's 30s and wondering what the next step is."[9]

In a retrospective article, the Chicago Tribune called the album a "masterpiece," writing that it "matched offbeat Eno-meets-Esquivel instrumentals with slightly more conventional rock songs."[10]

Track listing

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Disc 1: Revés
No.TitleLength
1."11"4:15
2."2"5:32
3."9"5:02
4."5"3:49
5."3"4:43
6."8"4:11
7."10" (This is the recording of the "Compañía Nacional de Danza Fólclorica del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes", Emmanuel del Real distortioned and programmed the song)3:47
8."5.1" (Performed by "Cuarteto de Clarinetes Arghül")2:32
9."13" (The only track with lyrics; this song became a single later, known as "Revés" due to the use of the word in the chorus)5:40
10."M.C." (Performed by Kronos Quartet. This song is a cover of "La Muerte Chiquita)4:05
11."6"3:59
12."7"2:48
13."..." (There is a track 13 on the first disc, but it features no music)0:13
Disc 2: Yo Soy
No.TitleLength
1."El Padre (The Father)"3:27
2."La Locomotora (The Locomotive)"3:53
3."El Río (The River)"2:57
4."El Polen (The Pollen)" (The second part of "El Río" appears when played)3:28
5."Dos Niños (Two Kids)"3:30
6."La Muerte Chiquita (The Little Death)"2:52
7."El Espacio (The Space)" (The name of the album is mentioned in this song)4:23
8."Guerra (War)" (This song has no numbers or letters as a name, instead, there's a drawing)4:08
9."Sin Título (Untitled)" (This song has no title in the liner notes. Its exact name is: " ")2:11
10."El Hombre Impasible (The Unfeeling Man)"2:11
11."El Ave (The Bird)" (Like "Guerra", this track has a picture for its title)3:20
12."Esperando (Waiting)" (The lyrics of the song are the route to Enrique Rangel's apartment)0:40
13."Arboles Frutales (Fruit Trees)" (On the CD, this song is composed of 13 tracks (Tracks 13-25); 12 seventeen-second track and one twenty-four second track)3:53
14."Bicicleta (Bicycle)" (As with "Árboles Frutales" this song is composed of 26 six-second tracks (Tracks 26-51))2:51
15."Lento (Slow)"4:03

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Phares, Heather. "Revés/Yo Soy – Café Tacuba". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Café Tacuba: Revés/Yo Soy". Alternative Press. No. 135. October 1999. p. 83.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". Omnibus Press – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Kemp, Mark (2004). "Café Tacuba". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 129–30. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. ^ Kun, Josh (October 1999). "Café Tacuba: Revés/Yo Soy". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 10. pp. 164–65. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Café Tacuba Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Lavin, Enrique. "Backward Rhythms". Cleveland Scene.
  8. ^ "Cafe Tacuba". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "MUSIC; Bits of Latin. Pieces of Anglo. All Iconoclastic". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Cafe Tacuba is simply beyond compare". chicagotribune.com.