Customer Reviews

Anamorphosee

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yup, I'm a five-star Mylene Farmer fan too. Her fame should go a lot farther than France, though there's so much word-play in the lyrics of these sometimes beastly ballads that I guess they could be a turn-off. On the other hand, they just might turn you on to what the French are doing with their language now -- it's almost poetry... My nearly 10-year-old kid's favourite song on "Anamorphosée" is "L'Instant X" (the one about 'Papa Noël'), but I hope she doesn't sing it too loud in the schoolyard. At least it's not "XXL", which is better still. Much of Mylene is not for the children, and many adults think she's off-limits as well. She's sexy (knows it, doesn't wear much on stage and gives a great show), funny, fiery, full of franglais, and at the meeting point of all kinds of musical styles, from pretty hard rock to something -- well, yes, downright spiritual. Take note, though; if you're lucky enough to get your hands on live recordings, where she really puts it out, the sound quality is not as stunning as on CDs like this one. Wake up America! Mylene likes you (the choir of the 'Lycée français' in Los Angeles even joins her on this CD), Europe's discovered her, so has South Africa (to judge by this page), now it's your turn. Don't miss Mylene! One of THE voices of the decade.--"Le Loup", Paris.

this album was made after mylene made her visit to california. she mentioned how she loved being able to walk the streets without being harassed by tons of fans, the way she often is in europe. she being a person who enjoys being solitary at times, it was a really good thing for her... well on with the music... in this album she seems a lot more relaxed, and the songs are not as dark or depressing as the ones on her previous albums. this is like a new mylene emerging as a woman who has found her place in music and into a category of music with a rock edge to it, something that was absent in the past. again, she does not fail to grow as an artist. my fav tracks are "alice", "et tournoie" and "l'instant X"... the video for the latter included a very sexxy mylene, which i did not mind seeing either :)
the track "XXL" does not fail to empower women either, which again shows how mylene has changed her subject matter in songs compared to her previous ones... this is a true change from "ainsi-soit je", "cendres de lune", and "l'autre"... one which i doubt you will find distasteful... :)

I'm a Fan since I listened the superalbum "Live in Bercy", today one of the best live albums of the ninties. I'm in disagreement with the opinion that Anamorphosee is a despite, absolutely!!. These are my reasons:
-After 3 very good albums (Cendres de Lune, Ainsi soit je and the celebrated L'autre), in this work Mylene made a really change in her music, leaving a music predominantly electronic with synthetizers in the 90% of the songs to a music more intelligent, more complex, more sweet and more contribution of musicians increasing the level of quality. All the songs are different with a rich variety of rhytms and melody and the same time all the album have the same concept. Mylene sing more beautiful than ever, using different tones of voice (this is the only one) always excellent. In this work she get her best crew until now. (Some players of this album play in the Millenium tour). Since the first song, the supersexy and hypnotizing "California", the listener fall in love. And finally the artwork design with profesional photos with Mylene more beautiful than ever.
I don't know in Europe, but in my country Mexico, only "Anamorphosee" and "Live in Bercy" (very expensives here!) get the first place in sales of French music for several weeks. I listened "Innamoramento" (you can read my review). It's good but...
In conclusion, if is your first time with Mylene Farmer, or you want to know French Rock Pop, "Anamorphosee" and "Live in Bercy" are the first choice. Rate 9.0 (10 is god)

If there is one reason I wish to brush up on my French, it's Mylène Farmer. I was desperate for something new to sink my teeth into recently with Y2K not really offering me much to get excited about, and I caught a whole 6 seconds of one of Mylène's old videos on a tape I'd recorded from MTV circa 1991. Not only did I vividly recall the song nine years later, but her name was lodged in my semi-conscious waiting to be remembered. Amazon never lets me down when I get the urge to get experimental, and this was one of the more rewarding experiments I've had. I ordered her back catalogue in one go. This was the first of the batch to turn up, and it's absolutely wonderful. I haven't stopped playing it at every opportunity for over two weeks. This is a good sign, it puts it in the company of Shawn Colvin's "A Few Small Repairs," Neil Finn's "Try Whistling This" and Fiona Apple's "When The Pawn..." from recent times. Genre-wise, this is nothing like the aforementioned, but it has that same insistence that makes you want to hit play as soon as the album ends.

Mylène's pure voice is a prime example of why the French language is often regarded as romantic or seductive. I have grown used to not fully understanding the lyrics, the sound alone is beautiful and soothing, a real treat to the ears. The production has a clean, warm, almost polished effect, and her voice simply soars above it. The instrumentation is largely keyboard based, although the arrangements are very tasteful and not indicative of, say, any leanings towards the electronica genre. There are quite a few guitars on this album, something I believe doesn't occur too often in Mylène's music, but the often incessant, driving way they are used is more akin to the almost dancefloor charge that characterised Nine Inch Nails' debut, "Pretty Hate Machine" than, for instance, mainstream heavy metal or rock.

The closest thing I have in my vast CD collection to compare it to is Bel Canto, who I admire dearly for similar reasons to this; if you like their later albums, I think there's a fairly good chance this would work for you. I just wish my comprehension of the French language could do more justice to what sounds to these ears like an excellent body of work. (Can't wait to hear the others!)

Remember Ozzy's Crazy Train? Waiting for a female singer with the same edge, excellent engineering, songs that MOVE, and a voice to rival the best in the genre... This is it. Buy it and you will buy them all... Bercy is as good.

XXL is the ringer on this one...None Better Anywhere...

Mylene Farmer, one of the more commercial French singers, really impresses here with a collection of rock songs. She immediately grips the listener with the gut-wrenching kick drum on Californie. Her enchanting light vocals create a richly textured sound over the grinding bass lines and driving guitars featured in all her songs. This album features what must be my favourite Christmas song of all time. L'instant X is a Christmas song with a difference though. It rocks. There are quite a few experiments on the album with different sounding songs. Alice is for instance a charming little dance orientated rap song with her high pitched voice dancing over the drums and bass. Her voice is often overshadowed by all the effects and reverberation, but for someone who does not have a strong voice with a lot of subharmonics, it does enhance the overall vocal performance. I would recommend this album to anyone who likes European rock or French music. This album will fall in the taste of many different people with a wide variety of likes. It is commercial, but also has complicated nuances which will satisfy the more sophisticated listener

If MF sang in English, she'd be as popular as Madonna. As it is, most of her French is sung on a 1-2 (iambic) beat, so her sound is very accessible to the ears of English speakers. Like Madonna, many of her best songs have been lovingly reworked into extended dance mixes, notably those by Razormaid. And her songs are generally very interesting. As an example, Beyond My Control, on this album, riffs on John Malkovitch's spoken phrase from Dangerous Liaisons (when he explains to Michele Pfeiffer's Mme de Tourvelle why he is dropping her). MF 's constant collaborator is Laurent Boutonnat and it difficult to perceive where he ends and she begins - but together they certainly make some great music. By the way, you can get a good feel for her popularity in France from the suberb recording (and DVD) Live at Bercy where the audience participation is strong and moving.

I first heard about Mylene Farmer, when I bought the Rugrats in Paris soundtrack. I heard her song (#10, L'Histoire d'une fee C'est) and just had to find out who this great singer was immediately!! I assumed that she was new French snger, trying to branch out in America, because I was accustomed to the typical teen-scene stereotype. But after reseaching her on the internet (pretty hard to do, since most of the fansites were in French) I became fascinated! She has the voice of angel, and is very different from the mainstream music of today! Her lyrics are unique and they touch you in a way that many artist have only dreamed of doing. It is beyond me how she is virtually unknown in the US, and how people can spend their time swooning over manufactured "artists" when a real one is just on the other side of the ocean. As I learned more about her, I just had to one of her albums, that's where Anamorphosee came in! A terrific CD, she quickly grabs your attention with the sultry and melodic song, "California" then transforms into a hard-core rock diva with "Vertige" and then slows it down again with the sexy "Mylene S'en Fout" followed by an empowering "L'instant X" and a soothing "Eaunanisme", then an ethereal "Et Tournoie", the happy and colorful "XXL" the sad "Rever" the intoxicating "Alice" the riveting "Comme J'ai Mal", leading into the strong and firm "Tomber 7 Fois" and ending with the expressive and dark "Laisse Le Vent Emporter Tout". She takes you on the musical roller coaster ride of your life with original music and a hypnotic voice as she escalates her talent even more by writing the music to her lyrics for the first time in "Tomber 7 Fois". Now that I have this album, I can not wait for the next opportunity to get another one! She makes me want to go out and take extentsive French classes right now! If you are thinking about buying ths album, DO IT NOW! This sexy and elusive songstress will have you hooked before you can say "C'est sexy le ciel de Californie" She shows a new, more vibrant side of herself, that reminds me of another talented singer, Sade. By the end of the album, you will be crying, begging for more of this amazingly talented enchantress! My only regret is not hearing about her earlier....

Mylene Farmer is one of the worldwide greats who because she sings in French is shut out of the US music industry. This album shows major growth and steps in new directions for her, with traxx like the sultry sensual erotic California, the rock-edged XXL and L'instant x, and the rock ballad Tomber 7 fois. If you enjoy pop and dance music with an international/French touch, definitely definitely check this out. Her albums Les mots (her best-of) and Ainsi soit-il are other highlights of her extraordinary top-top-top career (I am admittedly a mega fan, and she has loads of super mega mega fans in Europe - you can find dozens of websites dedicated to her all over the internet).

More guitars and stronger/"rockier" arrangements for her sophisticated songs (& lyrics), in this her fourth studio album, and part of her personal "process" of evolution which has culminated...so far...with her poetic masterpiece, the album "Innamoramento".

Standout songs: "Alice", "XXL", "Comme J'ai Mal", "L'instant X", "Eunanisme"....well, the entire recording is AA++!!!.

If you want to listen to the live versions of most of this album's songs, buy "Live a Bercy" (of which a companion great DVD (zone 2) exists), her best live (IMHO) record until now, because it combines very well pop, rock an melodic ballads (Although "Mylenium Tour" is also a personal favorite, but in the case of this one you ought to watch the DVD as well!!). Bravo Mylene.