Unpredictable Chao Revisits Intense Era of Mano Negra

Manu Chao is a man of mystery. A wandering songwriter who travelsall over the world recording kaleidoscopic pop songs in his portable studio. An idiosyncratic performer who avoids interviews and envisions adventurous concert tours in remote continents.

At the Palace on Thursday the Spanish-born performer quickly proved that he is also one of the most mercurial and unpredictable figures in rock en espan~ol.

Before releasing his superb solo debut “Clandestino” in 1998, Chao was the leader of Mano Negra, a fun-loving band of political anarchists who fused punk with salsa, reggae and other world idioms.

Chao spent most of Thursday’s show revisiting his former group’s songbook, which frequently recalls the work of seminal British band the Clash. The result was gripping and intense, but it lacked the sophisticated textures and emotional complexity of “Clandestino.”

When Chao and his eight-piece band tackled the new songs, they sped up the beats and simplified the arrangements, bringing them close to the furious Mano Negra aesthetic. The delicate nuances of the seductive “Bongo Bong,” for instance, were sacrificed on the altar of the mosh pit.

There’s something a little naive about the way his lyrics idealize every liberal cause you can think of, from marijuana and the Zapatistas to the downtrodden of the world. As passionate as his political discourse can be, it often doesn’t go beyond good-sounding slogans.

Musically, however, Chao continues to intrigue. The promise of a new studio album is good news for all adventurous fans of rock en espan~ol.