Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cheers To Chao ! , 20 Sep 2007
Having also followed Manu Chao since the release of clandestino, his first solo outing, and then back tracked through the Mano Negra days, his previous outings with his brother. I was as you can imagine very keen to hear the new album - Radiolina. Having read a rather dissapointing review in the Times last weekend i was even more concerned that this would not live up to the other albums, in paticular Esperanza.
However I am happy to report that this is not the case, on a typically dull and grey Summers day i popped the CD in the player and listened to the whole 22 tracks.
Radiolina is a slight departure from the more mellow and sample infused Clandestino and Esperanza, However it is replaced by a much more upbeat and heavy sound reminiscant of the early days of Manu Negra. Still chock full of Political commentry, The stand out tracks for me include the highly infectious Politik, and Raining in Paradise, although it is hard to single out specifics as the whole album is a gem.
Despite the uneducated and down right crooked views of the Times reviewer, This album is a must buy for the Manu Chao fan. People who do not know Manu Chao give it a go you will be hooked.
Manu Chao up until this point has enjoyed a somewhat cult following in the UK, Our cousins in Europe and South America have embraced him as his talent deserves, Joe Strummer of the Clash rated him and I think you will be hearing a lot more from this Manu - Look out for his UK tour !
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A different style, but clearly not a different quality..., 7 Oct 2007
Once more, Manu Chao has outdone himself. His style is slightly different than before - leaning more towards anti-politics and rock than reggae and drugs. I adore his multilingual approach, and the content of his tracks give the audience, multilingual or not, something to think about. The quality of music is awesome. A must have not only for language students all over, but for people who adore good quality music and lyrics of a man who obviously puts heart and his soul into what he does.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to paradise!, 11 Sep 2007
Manu Chao is a not what you think of "world music" as being. For many people, that equals weird, inaccessable music played on instruments you can't identify.
In the case of Manu Chao, it means something far warmer and more enjoyable, full of driving catchy Eurorock rhythms, funky edges, a crazy Spanish flavour, and vaguely political sensibilities. It's been six years since his last internationally-released album, but "La Radiolina" (translation: the little radio) was an event worth waiting for.
It kicks off with the "13 D¡as," a racing blur of folky-rocky-guitar and lots of mumbling. But that's only the warm-up into the melodious, brass-band-edged rocker "Tristeza Maleza," which sounds like Spoon got invaded by Andalusian musicians, and the hypnotic guitar-rap of "Politik Kills ("Politik needs your mind/politik needs human beings/politik needs lies...")
And with the driving, blurring, siren-laden "Rainin In Paradize," the album really blossoms into all it can be -- colourful bouncy folkpop, sensual ballads, meditative little tunes, driving little rockers flavoured with odd sounds and fiery tight guitars, and a long stretch of swirling Spanish-inspired music.
It finishes up with a wicked trio of songs -- a kinetic, high-speed electrorocker with a sly smile woven into all the buzzing, a meditative little instrumental on acoustic guitar, and finally the driving "Y Ahora Qu_" with its blazing bass and ringing riffs.
It's a suitably energetic finale to an album that is uptempo and intense, but without being oppressive about it. Instead, Mano Chao gives his music a relaxed feel -- it's like being at a colourful nighttime party with plenty of food, drink and dancing, but in a city full of turmoil during the day.
The main instrument here is guitar, and it's played here with extreme versatility -- depending on who's playing it, it can form driving, hard riffs, peppy pop rhythms, or a sensual cascade of gentle flamenco strings. Wound around it is a colourful array of other instruments -- blaring rows of trumpets, rattling drums, strong basslines, and waves of looping, buzzing and/or shimmering keyboard. It's pretty intense,
I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know more than a spattering of Spanish or French, and only a little more Spanglish. But the meaning behind many of these songs is pretty clear, with Chao taking aim with his smooth voice -- the violent face of politics, the "wind of Washington," and the "paradises" of the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe with its fatalities, atrocities, and rain.
Manu Chao's colourful, world-music style is one that it's hard not to warm to, and "La Radiolina" is a primo example of what he can conjure. Beautiful, creative and full of life.
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