Baionarena
Manu Chao (2-CD/DVD set, Nacional)
Though he is a musician who strives to keep it real, Manu Chao often seems to be a fictional character himself.
A sort of musical Peter Pan, he is the quintessential star for a globalized world — one who pops up irregularly with an album or tour, seemingly at home in any number of countries. Raised in France by Galician/Basque parents, Chao made his name in the punk- and rockabilly-influenced French band Manu Negra. His subsequent solo efforts, however, have been a multilingual hybrid of various styles, from reggae to Catalan rumba.
"Baionarena" chronicles a 2008 concert in Bayonne, the Basque city in southern France, and features a stripped-down, revved-up set with Chao’s band Radio Bemba. The package includes two CDs and one DVD, as well as a few extras, including some of Chao’s videos.
The 2½-hour show is high-energy throughout, sometimes to the detriment of the home-listening experience. Quick-tempo songs like "Rainin’ in Paradize" are almost unrecognizable as they whiz by. While jumping and pumping fists at a high-velocity performance is fun, when you take away the loud, sweaty context, the music can seem one-dimensional.
While Chao’s spirit and energy are aligned with punk-rockers, he substitutes punk playfulness for punk fury, and though the band seems hooked on speed, the music is indefatigably joyous.
Chao’s songs tend to be more anthem-like than intellectual — stadium-sized agitprop with an egalitarian spirit. His music is self-consciously for the working class, disenfranchised and poor, whether they are in Paris, Mexico City, Faluja or Africa.
Political yet childlike, the 48-year-old is more Everychild than Everyman. He is all about fun and sees the world in bright, primary colors. But he also has an innocent’s sense of injustice, which make his messages no less powerful for being simply stated.
The songs are mostly Chao’s solo works, though there are a handful from his Manu Negra days. The best songs are the less breathless run-throughs, such as "Clandestino," "Forzando Maquina" and "A Cosa."
The singer-songwriter has a wildly dedicated international following, though he has made only the slightest of dents among English-speaking audiences. "Baionarena," with its frenetic reading of Chao’s catalog, is more for fans than newcomers — the spirited renditions toss out some of the inventiveness of his studio work to lighten the load for maximum velocity.
— Marty Lipp