Manu Chao, "La Radiolina"pick

By Tim Brodhagen, Special to Metromix

September 3, 2007

 
Critic's Rating:
5

Manu Chao, "La Radiolina"
La Radiolina
Release date:
September 4, 2007
Artist/Band name:
Manu Chao
Record label:
Nacional
Official Web Site:
http://www.manuchao.net/
Backstory: The reigning king of world music, Manu Chao is often likened to a modern day, multi-lingual Bob Marley. His folksy, low-fi sound, juxtaposed against his ambitiously politicized lyrics, has led to a giant following amongst fellow musicians, hipsters, neo-hippies and anti-WTO protestors. Six years in the making, “La Radiolina” is Chao’s third solo album and his first since terminating his relationship with Virgin Records and moving to the indie label Nacional.

Why you should care: Manu Chao is the real deal. Singing on “La Radiolina” in five languages (Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese), Chao creates a portrait of a world rife with injustice and teetering on chaos before poking through this portrait with optimistic calls for mobilization towards the greater good.

Verdict: There’s hardly a weak spot on “La Radiolina.” Chao deftly incorporates everything from British punk to Brazilian choro into this epic release. Despite the diversity of sound, Chao makes all the transitions believable. Case in point: the downshift necessary to go from the frenetic Spanish rockabilly of “Tristeza Maleza” to the drowsy Jamaican dub—sung in English—of “Politik Kills.” Even with such sonic and linguistic discrepancies, the theme and energy remain consistent—a rare feat in modern music.

X-Factor: In the original photo for the cover of "La Radiolina," Chao is wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words "El Golfo de Mexico" (the Gulf of Mexico). For unknown reasons, it was changed for the final commercial version to read only "El Golfo" (The Gulf). What did Mexico ever do to you, Manu?

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