La Radiolina

La Radiolina is the fourth studio album by Manu Chao. It was released on 4 September 2007. Italy saw an advance release of the album on 30 August.

La Radiolina
Studio album by
Manu Chao
ReleasedAugust 30, 2007
GenreWorldbeat, Latin alternative, reggae, Rock en Español
LabelBecause Music
ProducerManu Chao
Manu Chao chronology
Sibérie m'était contéee
(2004)		 La Radiolina
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link
Entertainment WeeklyA- link
The Guardian link
LA Times link
The Observer link
The OnionA- link
Pitchfork Media7.5/10 6Sep2007
Q link
Rolling Stone link
Uncut link

"Rainin in Paradize", the first single from the album, was available before its official release for download on his website. The single features a music video directed by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. There is also a video for the song "Me Llaman Calle", featuring Manu Chao performing in a local bar.

Track listing
  1. "13 Días"
  2. "Tristeza Maleza"
  3. "Politik Kills"
  4. "Rainin in Paradize (Scheps version)"
  5. "Besoin de la Lune"
  6. "El Kitapena"
  7. "Me Llaman Calle"
  8. "A Cosa"
  9. "The Bleedin Clown (Scheps version)"
  10. "Mundorévès"
  11. "El Hoyo"
  12. "La Vida Tómbola"
  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"

Languages and style

The album's title La Radiolina means the small radio in Italian, referring to a small-sized transistor radio. The album is mainly sung in Spanish. "Politik Kills", "Rainin In Paradize", "The Bleedin Clown" and the first two lines of "Siberia" are in English; "Besoin de la Lune" and "Panik Panik" are in French; "A Cosa" is in Italian, a first for Manu Chao; "Amalucada Vida" is in Brazilian Portuguese.

Musically, the album features a trademark of Manu Chao's style in its re-utilizing of the same instrumental backing tracks with different melodies and lyrics:

  • "Rainin In Paradize", "El Kitapena", "Siberia" and "Mama Cuchara" all feature the same backing track, which is slightly heavier and rockier than the usual Manu Chao output, with distorted guitars played by Madjid Fahem.
  • "El Hoyo" and "Panik Panik" are similar in style to the above song, but the chords are slightly different.
  • Other tracks on the album are just coupled by using the same music: "13 Días" and "Besoin de la Lune"; "Politik Kills" and "Mundorévès"; "A Cosa" and "Amalucada Vida"; "The Bleedin Clown" and "Y Ahora Qué?", which at the same time have the same lead guitar melody as "Tristeza Maleza", but on a different chord.
  • "Piccola Radiolina" is an edited instrumental version of "Mala Fama".
  • "Soñé Otro Mundo" is a short instrumental excerpt from "Otro Mundo".
  • "Me Llaman Calle" and "La Vida Tómbola" feature the same chords and the same accompaniment pattern, although the music is not exactly identical.

A similar "recycling" process also affects some of the lyrics. "Tristeza Maleza" features the repeated phrase "Infinita Tristeza", from the album Próxima Estación: Esperanza; the lyrics for "Besoin de la Lune" originally appeared with different music, and in a slightly longer version, on the album Sibérie m'était contéee; that same album also included the original French lyrics of "Sibérie" (again with different music), which Chao partly translated in "Siberia"; the lyrics for "Mama Cuchara" were originally written in Quito, Ecuador, during a rainy Sunday,[1] and originally appeared, with different music, in Chao's short film "Infinita Tristeza", included in the Kikelandia bonus section of the 2002 Babylonia en Guagua DVD (that performance was never officially released). Additionally, "13 Días" and "Otro Mundo" contain phrases appearing several times in Chao's previous output, such as "Me hielo en la habitación / No tengo calefacción" in "13 Días" and "Calavera no llora / Serenata de amor" in "Otro Mundo". The lyrics to the tracks "Panik Panik" and "Politik Kills" are the same as those in the tracks "Camions Sauvages" and "Politic Amagni" respectively on Amadou & Mariam's album Dimanche à Bamako which was produced by Manu Chao.

Personnel/credits
  • Manu Chao – vocals and guitars[2]
  • Madjid Fahem – guitars and bass
  • David Bourguigon – guitars
  • Jean Michel Dercourt a.k.a. Gambeat – bass and vocals
  • Roy Paci – trumpets
  • Angelo Mancini – trumpets on "Politik Kills"
  • Tonino Carotone – vocals and harmonies on "A Cosa"
  • Amadou Bagayoko – guitar on "A Cosa"
  • Cheik Tidiane – keyboard on "A Cosa"
  • Flor – Spoken vocals on "A Cosa"
  • Beatnik – vocals on "Tristeza Maleza"
  • José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero – flamenco guitars on "Me Llaman Calle"
  • Writing, composition, and production – Manu Chao
  • Mixing – Mario C., Andrew Scheps, Manu Chao, and Charlie VDE Farravox
  • Mastering – Adam Ayan at Gateway Sound
  • Artwork – Manu Chao and Wozniak
  • Photos – Chucolinai

Chart performance
Chart (2007)[3][4] Peak
position
Austrian Album Chart 5
Belgium Album Chart Ultratop (Flanders) 1
Belgium Album Chart (Wallonia) 2
Danish Album Chart 20
Dutch Album Chart 10
Finnish Album Chart 13
French Album Chart 2
Italian Album Chart 2
Mexican AMPROFON Album Chart 10
Norwegian Album Chart 7
Portuguese Album Chart 11
Spanish PROMUSICAE Album Chart 1
Swedish Album Chart 4
Swiss Album Chart 1
United States Billboard Top Latin Albums 1
US Billboard Top Canadian Albums 6
US Billboard Independent Albums 7
US Billboard Top Internet Albums 71
US Billboard 200 71
US Billboard Top World Music Albums 1

Year-End Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Billboard Top World Albums[5] 14

Sales and certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[6] Gold 20,000^
Belgium (BEA)[7] Gold 15,000*
France — 400,000[8]
Hungary (MAHASZ)[9] Gold 3,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[10] Platinum 30,000^
United States (RIAA)[11] Gold 111,000[12]
Summaries
Europe — 500,000[13]
Worldwide 1,000,000[14]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. from Babylonia en Guagua DVD booklet
  2. all credits taken from La radiolina CD booklet
  3. "La Radiolina". Allmusic. Macromedia Corporation. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  4. "La Radiolina". Les Charts. Les Charts. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  5. "Top World Albums - La Radiolina". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  6. "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  7. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2007". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  8. Cadet, Thierry (1 December 2008). "Manu Chao : une chanson inédite sur les ondes". Chart in France. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  9. "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2007" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  10. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Manu Chao; 'La Radiolina')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  11. "American album certifications – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  12. Phillips, Erica E. (18 September 2012). "Record Company Carves Niche in 'Latin Alternative'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  13. "Impala Sales Award Winner June 2005 - January 2008" (PDF). Impala. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  14. https://www.jambase.com/article/manu-chao-live-albumdvd
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