Following the international success of his second album, last year's Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, Manu Chao will release his first live album, efficiently titled The Live Album, on September 17th.

The twenty-nine-track set was recorded at the Grande Hall de la Villette on September 3rd and 4th last year, and features Chao backed by his ten-piece Radio Bemba Sound System band. Chao and Renaud Letang produced the recording, which will be released without any overdubs or post-production tinkering. The dates were part of a two-year world tour behind Esperanza, which finally wrapped this past July.

A DVD featuring footage culled from the entire tour will be released by year's end.

Track listing for The Live Album:

Intro
Bienvenida a Tijuana
Machine Gun
Por Donde Saldra el Sol
Peligro
Welcome to Tijuana
El Viento
Casa Babylon
Por el Suelo
Blood and Fire
EZLN
Mr. Bobby
Bongo Bong
Radio Bemba
Que Paso que Paso
Pinocchio (Viaggio in Groppa al Tonno)
Cahi en la Trampa
Clandestino
Rumba de Barcelona
La Despedida
Mala Vida
Radio Bemba
Que Paso que Paso
Pinocchio
La Primavera
The Monkey
King Kong Five
Minha Galera
Promiscuity

ANDREW DANSBY
(August 29, 2002)