Vol. 1-Hotel Costes [Import]

Various Artists - Dance & DJ - Electronica, Stéphane Pompougnac | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 25, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Pschent
• ASIN: B00006RIN6
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,429 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

French only collection, strictly for fans of the Claude Challe's 'Buddha Bar' series, red wine, beautiful people etc. T he first edition includes tracks from, Ballistic Brothers 'Cubafro Con Amigos', Grace Jones 'Libertango', Nitin Sawhney 'Migration', Rinocerso 'Machine Pour Les Oreilles', Fantastic Plastic Machine 'First Class 77', Big Muff 'My Funny Valentine' and many more. Digipak. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a New Convert to Lounge Music, October 3, 2004

By 

K. Oda "tkoart" (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vol. 1-Hotel Costes (Audio CD)

I am new to club/lounge compilations in general, and the Hotel Costes series in particular, so I am perhaps being overly enthusiastic here. But I am really knocked out by this music. As background, I am more into classic rock and soul, but I bought this CD after hearing a couple of Costes tracks on an internet radio station from France (Wax Radio--very cool). The CD did not disappoint.

For the benefit of other lounge music newbies, let me explain that the Hotel Costes is a chic nightclub/lounge in Paris, and the Costes series CDs are compilations of tracks by various artists, mixed by the Costes DJ, Stephane Pompougnac. This CD does a wonderful job of evoking the mood of being in a hip nightclub. (I have never been to Paris, but I've hit a few nightspots in my time.)

The music is designed to set a laid back partying mood. The beats tend to be mid to uptempo, danceable, heavy on drums and bass, sort of like disco, but updated and more sophisticated. The melodies are more atmospheric than song-oriented. What especially intrigues me about this compilation is its emphasis on an eclectic mix of international artists and sounds. There are French, Spanish, Brazilian, even Middle Eastern (as well as American) sounds here that you rarely hear on American radio stations. The fact that I had never heard of any of these artists (except Grace Jones) only added to the sense of new discovery I experienced with this CD.

Due to the high cost, you probably should sample this CD before buying. There is an older, out of print version of this CD listed at amazon that includes samples. As far as I can tell, the contents are identical to this version. An even better way to sample is to tune into Wax Radio on the internet--they play Costes numbers fairly frequently.

Another note of fair warning. One of the tracks--"Rollin' on Chrome" by the Aphrodelics--features a heavy-duty vulgarity in the vocal. This doesn't bother me, but it can startle unsuspecting listeners with more genteel tastes.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FOUR YEARS LATER.............., July 30, 2003

By 

Darrell L. Lee "dlatrell" (Jackson, MS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vol. 1-Hotel Costes (Audio CD)

I finally bought the very first Hotel Costes thanks to a friend (Hey, J.C.!) of mine, who I guess got tired of me sampling it everytime we visited Borders on our lunch break. And let me tell you honestly after listening to the incredible Volumes 2, 4 and 5, I am left slightly disappointed with volume 1. I guess I should have started with "Costes" and went in order, because after hearing the other seamless and beautifully mixed CDs from French DJ Stephane Pompougnac, I am left a little more critical of the CD that catipulted this phenomenally successful series. I realize now that there really isn't anything new or ground-breaking about Pompougnac's style of mixing other than the unique selection of most of his tracks and the way he's able to blend them all together so flawlessly. The addition of Grace Jones' 1981 (whoa, how old was I then--11?) classic "Libertango" and Nitin Sawhney's "Migration" were added nicely to this set without disrupting the flow of things. A+ for Pompougnac! He also manages this form of "cross-genre-mixing" successfully on Costes Volume 2 with Pink Martini's Parisian, Sympatique, and on volume 5 with Gabin's "Doo Uap, Doo Uap...". I think a lot of hype has contributed to the success of this series...Hey! Guilty as charged...after reading the reviews from you guys, what can I say? I did in fact go out and purchase the Costes series myself...except for volume 3 which is still unavailable in record stores...so, stand-by, Amazon. com...I'll be ordering it from you guys soon no doubt. Anyway, Volume 1 is still a gem and in my part of the US a rare find. It opens with my all time favorite vocal song, "My Funny Valentine" very nicely done by Big Muff with sultry female vocals from some chick named Ital Shur (???). Other songs of note, and worthy of repeat plays are Baffa featuring Paganni, Rinocerose, Flying Pop's, New Phunk Theory, Almeidinha Do El Gringo and a few others that have yet to grow on me, but I'm sure will in time. Don't know when this series will end and I somewhat feel complete after purchasing Costes Volume 1, but after investing in these babies, it has left a brother seriously in the hole, financially. One thing I can say is at least you're compelled to listen to the Costes series over and over again and that in itself makes all the money I spent (or you'll spend) acquiring these CDs well worth it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than "etage trois"., April 6, 2001

By 

Torquemada "dunlopilo" (Atlanta, Georgia USA / Madrid, Spain.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hotel Costes 1 (Audio CD)

I only could get two of the trilogy from "le Costes", but this is definitely a better choice than "Etage trois". The sound is irreprochable (unlike the other cd where the recording level is too high and some tracks are over saturated, if you see what I mean), and the tempo is a bit higher. The overall quality of the songs and the mix is also better (all the tracks are mixed and you have no timeout between them).

Of course, you still find strange tracks that some will find absolutely cheesy (Actor Yves Montand telling a funny story in "pour faire le dessin d'un oiseau". It is an overdub and a tribute, because Montand passed away several years ago, but it is really too long). However I really appreciated listening to Grace Jones again, and the closing track (love the DJ) is top. Curiously enough, just as for the other cd, it only really gets hot after 8 cuts. From there on it's close to ecstasy... The packaging is great, with some comments about the club in a brochure you will find inside the sleeve.

Even if it's not the best cd in this genre that I have, it's recommendable if you have been there (I haven't yet) and are nostalgic, or if you like to have a cd to play when having friends over, or to go clubbing without even leaving your house or your car.