Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0790248021928 Label: Putumayo World Music Manufacturer: Putumayo World Music Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Putumayo World Music Release Date: November 11, 2003 Sales Rank: 2394 Studio: Putumayo World Music
Amazon.com: Although far from definitive (no Edith Piaf in sight!), this enchanting compilation delivers a perfect aural snapshot of what spending a late summer afternoon in a French cafe actually feels like. The supreme elegance and understated approach that lie at the core of these 13 tracks will delight fans of sophisticated pop. As is the case with previous Putumayo releases, the sequencing is seamless, combining the endearingly old-fashioned flavor of George Brassens with the iconoclastic romanticism of George Gainsbourg and the sultry whispers of a youthful Brigitte Bardot. Better yet, the disc spends some valuable time introducing listeners to a new generation of French musicians who have embraced the traditional chanson format while incorporating fresh elements into the mix. Try the light-as-a-feather caress of female vocalist Enzo Enzo, the sweet playfulness of the electronica-informed Mathieu Boogaerts, and the irrepressible optimism of Paris Combo--a jazzy quintet that represents the French cafe ambiance at its cosmopolitan best. --Ernesto Lechner
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - In Paris
It really does feel like I'm sitting in a cafe in Paris. It makes me want to go to France!
Rating: - Tre' Bon
Everything about this made me yearn to return to France, as i had been there just the year before. The light beat to the chanson songs made me wish i was sitting on the cobbled streets of Paris or the south of France, enjoying "un cafe" and watching everything just pass me by as i lingered on every sip of the always-fabulous rich brew that French all did so well. (A croissant on the side wouldn't go astray!)
This is one album that i can't get enough of.
Rating: - We love it
I am French Canadian, my husband English and we both love it. It's very European.
Rating: - Est-ce que vous fumez ce soir?
Listen, I know it's universally fashionable to bash the French these days. And I won't pretend I'm above it. Sometimes it seems the French go to great lengths to be unlikable. But, after listening to this collection, I just can't bring myself to be another jackal heaping on the abuse. Sure, the French can be relentless with their humorless, self-righteous, hypocritical pretensions. But they come by it honestly. Historically, they've played enough of a role driving cultural evolution to earn them a little deference.
Truth be told, I do like the French. There have been ... Read More
Rating: - Sip your cafe au lait and people watch at your own French Cafe
Putumayo's French Cafe is a charmant blend of old and new from such luminaries as Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin, Barbara and Serge Gainsbourg, mixed with modern panache from the Paris Combo, Sanseverino, Polo, and Coralie Clement (whose breathy delivery is a cross between Birkin and Astrud Gilberto). Clement recorded her debut album Salle Des Pas Perdus at the tender age of 19 and captures that breezy bossa nova style immortalized by Astrud Gilberto in the '60s, and her album is worth tracking down if you enjoy the music on French Cafe.
The resulting tracks capture that sort of carefree, ... Read More
- 