-
Nice stuff; highly recommended. by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"Star of stage and song, Mireille Hartuch had an irresistibly appealing, immensely charming and refreshingly direct vocal presence. With her comedic bent she was a bit like a French version of Gracie Fields, though with a more serious, more glamorous side She wrote or cowrote much of her material, and delivered it with a comedic touch that demonstrated her command of the music. She had many notable collaborators, including movie idol Jean Sablon, who sings several duets on this fine 2-CD set, as well as the music-hall duo, Jacques Pills and Georges Tabet, and pianist Georges Van Parys, and lyricist Jean Nohain... some of the cream of the crop in French pop during the Depression era. Nice stuff; highly recommended."By Joe SIXPACK - SLIPCUE.COM
-
This is a top-notch collection of some of his best early work. by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"Ruggedly, Gallically handsome, actor Yves Montand was actually of Italian ancestry (born Ivo Livi, in 1921). He became nationally famous just as the Second World War engulfed Europe, and his star rose steadily during the war years. The patronage of diva Edith Piaf made a huge difference - she chose him to open her shows in 1944 and pushed his film career along, so that by the postwar period he was poised to become one of France's leading celebrities. This excellent 2-CD set gathers together some of his earliest work, opening with lively swing-oriented material straight out of the Charles Trenet stylebook, and gradually settled into a more staid - even corny - romantic style. The big band/pop vocals arrangements support Montand's immense warmth and charismatic confidence. This is a top-notch collection of some of his best early work, and a great introduction to his career, particularly for those who are looking for some of his livelier material." By Joe SIXPACK - SLIPCUE.COM
-
This is a fine 2-CD set. by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"Corsican-born crooner Constantino Rossi (1907-1983) had a bright, inviting voice, that dipped into flowery operatic curliques, but also lent itself to the sparkling charm of 1930s popular song. He may be a bit corny for some, but unforgettable for others. This is a fine 2-CD set, spanning the first two decades of his career, including sons taken from his numerous film appearances, and including glowing but useful liner notes in English and French. Other Tino Rossi collections may be more compact and more fun to listen to, but this one is fairly authoritative, and gives a good sense of Rossi's stylistic range."By Joe SIXPACK - SLIPCUE.COM
-
A collection of recordings Sablon made abroad by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"The title of this 2-CD collection is kind of a pun: this is a collection of recordings Sablon made abroad, while in England, Argentina and the U.S. Unfortunately, it's also not the best stuff he'd ever recorded - he's working with unfamiliar bandleaders, and musicians who also were clearly not familiar with him or his musical strengths. It's an interesting historical curio, but the music doesn't swing as his best records do."By Joe SIXPACK - SLIPCUE.COM
-
It's great stuff by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"Cool old recordings from a remarkably multi-talented guitarist and vocalist who was a disciple of Django Reinhardt's, back in the WWII era. Following the war, Salvador swiftly went his own way, carving out a career that found him recording big band swing, Brazilian-style samba and other exotica, latin jazz, takeoffs on American rock, romantic ballads and humorous ditties. Some of the material is super-schmaltzy, in a Carmen Dragon kinda way, although other tunes swing mightily, and even have a Slim Gaillard-ish hepcat edge. This 2-CD set is the second in a series that gathers dozens of hard-to-find recordings. Salvador appears as a featured artist in various orchestras and small combos led by Ray Ventura, and as a bandleader himself. It's great stuff, and by Disc Two, which picks up in 1947, he's really found his groove. Hepcat big band material not unlike Louis Prima or Cab Calloway (who gets a Gallic shout-out in the soundtrack to the film, Mademoiselle S'Amuse...) - [...]
-
More great oldies by this unique postwar showman. by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"More great oldies by this unique postwar showman. This second 2-CD set features Salvador working again with bandleader Ray Ventura, as well as Katherine Dunham, Emil Stern and Jo Boyer. C'est magnifique!"By Joe SIXPACK - SLIPCUE.COM
-
I love vintage French swing songs! by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"The French label Fremeaux may have the final word on the Trenet canon, with this authoritative chronological series of double-disc collections, tracing Trenet's career, step by step, year by year, song by song. This first volume gathers all of Trenet's collaborations with pianist-composer Johnny Hess, his first musical partner, whom Trenet met when they were both teens. Hess and Trenet shared a love for American-style swing, and when they started performing together, the Parisian jazz scene was coming into full bloom. The duet of Charles et Johnny swept through the city's cabaret circuit, and made Trenet a star. These early recordings burst with exuberance and good nature -- the boys were clearly having a blast. Included are all thirty-six songs released by the Pathe label, along with one alternate version, and two songs recorded with Fred Adison's big band, just before the duo dissolved its partnership in the Fall of '36. Although these tracks are buoyant and joyful, I would [...]
-
Another nice offering from the Fremeaux label! by Slipcue
Catégories : Article de presse ( Article de presse )"Wartime conditions meant that Trenet, like many others, went from project to project with less of a chance to develop a coherent artistic path (indeed, working at all under the Nazi rule was considered quite controversial...) The first disc of this 2-CD set features a hodgepodge of recordings, including numerous Trenet songs being covered by other artists (Lucienne Boyer, etc.) as well as performances culled from films (the soundtrack to 1943's Adieu... Leonard) and even an example of a Trenet song being re-recorded with altered lyrics, as part of the Allied radio propaganda campaigns (Pierre Dac's "La Compainte Des Nazis," which was a parody of "La Romance De Paris"). Trenet was criticized for touring and giving concerts during the Occupation, but his popularity was such that he transcended these complaints, and was not seen as a collaborator; regardless, in 1945 he was able to record "Liberte," ringing in the freedom from German rule, and on the second disc of this volume, his [...]