Manu Chao - La Radiolina

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 8 / 10 / 2007

---

Review

There are many artists making music of the same mix of genres as Chao but very few who are having the incredible success he is having. With this album Chao seems to be attracting a lot of press attention in Britain but the rest of Europe have known for some time that here is a musician like no other. The reason, of course, that he hasn’t matched his success in Britain with that in the rest of Europe is that for the most part Chao doesn’t sing in English. While our European neighbours seem to appreciate music sung in any tongue those of us who are English always have a problem really appreciating music sung in anything other that our language. Born to a Spanish mother and Galician father the family moved to Paris and Chao spent a large chunk of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sevres. The music he was surrounded by in his formative years influenced his music in his later life and once he heard the Clash he mixed punk into his already exotic sound and formed the Spanish / English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the ‘80s. From there along with his brother Antoine he formed Los Carayos who released four albums together. The brothers then formed Mano Negra and found instant success in France. It wasn’t until 1998 that an album appeared for the first time under Manu Chao’s own name. By this time the heady brew of punk, reggae and salsa had become his trademark. But still he failed to break through in Britain despite incredible success in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Latin America which is no doubt due to Chao singing in French, Spanish and Portuguese more than he sings in English. Our reluctance to open our ears and embrace foreign language songs like our European friends means we are missing out on some first class music. Maybe a little airplay for songs on this album which are sung in English like ‘The Bleeding Clown’ would help introduce this talented artist to the record buying public in England. If nothing else then the rhythms on this collection make you want to dance even if you can’t understand what Chao is singing about but that can also be part of the appeal of this music. While Chao is sincere in his writing and touches on some thoughtful issues for those of us who don’t understand the lyrics it is, of course, the music that we concentrate for the most part. And the fact that Chao infuses his music with so many exotic sounds and flits from reggae to salsa to rock, for the most part within the same song, makes the music more than just interesting. Call it Caribbean influenced gypsy-punk, call it what you will, Chao is currently impressing most of Europe and beyond with his unique blend of different genres and although it is unlikely that he will shift the millions of albums in Britain as he has done in the rest of Europe he is already making small waves in the U.K. with this album. Not to everyone’s taste, that can’t be denied, but there are few who can mix such a variety of styles without it ending in chaos, Chao never loses the structure in his songs and while his melodies chop and change within the space of a song they are never less than interesting. This is Chao’s best album to date and one that will see him at the top of the bestsellers in Europe again, maybe it’s time we opened up a little in England and realised that even if we can’t understand the lyrics then the music can still shine.

Track Listing:-

1 13 Días
2 Tristeza Maleza
3 Politik Kills
4 Rainin In Paradize
5 Besoin de la Lune
6 El Kitapena
7 Me Llaman Calle
8 A Cosa
9 The Bleedin Clown
10 MundoréVès
11 El Hoyo
12 La Vida Tombola
13 Mala Fama
14 Panik Panik
15 Otro Mundo
16 Piccola Radiolina
17 Y Ahora Qué ?
18 Mama Cuchara
19 Siberia
20 Soñe Otro Mundo
21 Amalucada Vida