NOUVELLE
VAGUE – POP, MAMBO, CHA CHA, JAZZ & BOSSA NOVA WITH A FRENCH TOUCH
A cool
portrait of Paris in the late 50s/early 60s years of the new wave – served up
here in a collection of music from soundtracks, jazz albums, and lots of French
vocal treasures from the time! The grooves definitely run the gamut of styles
promised in the title – with an especially strong focus on the way that Latin
rhythms really came into the Parisian modes of music, and helped create fresh
instrumental interplay that opened the doors to a new variety of vocal
expression too! The set list is great – and mixes favorites from the films of
Truffaut, Goddard, and others with even more obscure French records of the time
– on titles that include "J'Aime Pas Le Rock", "L'Amour Et Le
Jeu" by Michel Legrand, "Rendez Vous Au Lavandou" by Henri
Salvador, "Nouvell Vague" by Ciarhd Anthony, "I Want To Be
Kissed" by Charles Aznavour, "Viens A Juan Les Pins" by Bob
Azzam, "Le Cinema" by Claude Nougaro, "Le Tourbillon" by
Jeanne Moreau, "Chanson D'Angela" by Anna Karina, "Il Fait Gris
Dans Mon Coeur" by Jacqueline Boyer, "Mon Truc En Plumes" by
Zizi Jeanmarie, "Coucouch Panier" by Gillian Hills, and
"Scrapple From The Apple" by Les Double Six. ~ Dusty Groove
KAREN ANN –
YOU’RE GONNA LOVE
Wonderful
work from Keren Ann – a French singer we first fell in love with on her albums
done with producer Benjamin Biolay – working here with a different talent at
the helm, but a sound that's equally sublime! Keren's also making a big step
towards a global market here, too – continuing her trend of singing in English,
which is the case throughout the album – which really helps get her captivating
tunes and amazing sound to a larger market on this side of the Atlantic – all
without losing the breathy charm of her previous French language vocals. The
tunes have this moody vibe, almost in a hip early 70s singer/songwriter mode –
and backing instrumentation that really follows suit. Titles include
"Again & Again", "you Knew Me Then", "Bring
Back", "The Separated Twin", "You Have It All To
Lose", and "The River That Swallows All The Rivers". ~ Dusty Groove
DEEP STREET
SOUL – COME ALIVE!
Deep Street
Soul are deeper than ever here – coming across with full-on, nonstop funky
action – right from the very first drum breaks that start out the record! The
set's got the group moving with incredible tightness – a razor-sharp
instrumental core to beat the rest of the deep funk competition – topped on
most cuts by vocals from May Johnson, who's easily one of the most unbridled
singers we've heard working with a group like this! Some cuts have nicely noisy
electric piano (Wurlitzer?) – which gives these guys a different core than some
of the more Hammond-heavy groups – and the record also features guest vocals
from Kylie Auldist and Joshua Taveres – but honestly, we like May's vocals the
best! Titles include "Out Of The Gates", "Little Ray",
"Done Me Wrong", "Big C", "Deux Freres",
"The Hardest Part Is Knowing", "Love On Tap", and
"Sweet Sugar Man". ~ Dusty Groove
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