Attraction

Paris Combo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ark 21
• ASIN: B0000657YC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,145 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INFECTIOUS, CREATIVE, FUN..., May 21, 2003

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attraction (Audio CD)

...and there are plenty of other adjectives for this wonderful recording - I'm sure I'll find more to use before I'm done here. This was my first exposure to this group - and I flipped over it so much that I went back the next day and picked up their previous effort, LIVING-ROOM, which is a fine album as well.

Paris Combo is an extremely talented, vivacious five-piece whose members skillfully combine elements of various genres into their own sound: Parisian café music, Gypsy jazz, be-bop, cabaret and other forms swirl together in a mix that would prove unwieldy in the hands of many. They are all accomplished musicians, and very obviously in tune literally and figuratively with each other on many levels - each member finds a way to both shine and blend on every single track, without ever seeming to eclipse the contributions of the others.

All of the tracks are truly standouts - for the sake of brevity (I looked up the word, for those of you who might wonder...), I'll limit my comments on individual selections to four. On track 2, `Trois petits points', the band takes a breakneck 7/8 rhythm and makes it graceful and natural; tracks 7 and 10, `Dans les bras dun loup' and `Avril', respectively, have two of the loveliest melodies I've ever heard; track 12, the mostly instrumental `Escapade', allows each member to step up in either solo or duo sections - the guitar on this track will bring to mind the stylings of Django Reinhardt, and the tandem work between the scat vocal and upright bass is incredible.

Belle de Berry is the quintessential chanteuse (although she's not limited to that style alone), and she adds some very tasty accordion here and there. Potzi's guitar is astonishing - he's quick and precise where he needs to be, but he never plays without feeling, never like a machine. Multi-instrumentalist David Lewis (trumpet, bugle, piano, string arrangements and co-producer) is excellent on the keys and never overbearing in his brass playing - the production/arrangement values are especially fine and unique in several places where he sounds like he's almost off-stage from the rest of the group, a nice, very effective touch. Mano Razanajato provides a steady (but again, never mechanical) bottom on his upright bass, as well as contributing vocals; and François-François is always inventive, being alternately supportive and driving with his drums and percussion.

The whole thing comes together marvelously - and the spirit of this music is so strong and delightful that knowledge of French is not necessary to enjoy it (or to sense the humor in some of the songs, such as `Mais que fait la NASA?' (`...but who made NASA?'). Whenever I put this into the assortment of CDs I take in the car with me, I might as well leave everything else at home - it stays in the player for days.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Exciting Band in Decades!, May 14, 2002

By 

Fanfan "fanfantulipan" (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attraction (Audio CD)

Weird things happen sometimes. A world renowned band plays to a gathering of two hundred
at a veteran's hall in a California farming town. Most in the audience have never heard
of the group, but by the end of the performance everyone is gyrating on the dance floor.
The band's infectious music and enthusiastic attitude seduce everyone in the hall.
One fellow is doing cartwheels. In between the sets and afterward band members mingle
with the audience, sign autographs, chat. I saw Paris Combo there, 60 miles from my home,
on a Saturday in May after seeing them two evenings earlier at a club a mile from home,
and only four weeks after first hearing one of their songs on a compilation album with
a Starbucks logo, entirely by chance while waiting for a record store performance by
another new sensation - Portugal's Mariza. The first track on that Starbucks CD was
"Living Room" and I listened to it repeatedly never getting past it.

Listening to Paris Combo, I'm reminded of Burt Bacharach and the complex music he produced,
with its jazz, classical, Latin influences, with its sudden changes of tempo and key
and with the prominent trumpet in many of his arrangements.
Seeing Paris Combo I think of the early days of rock and roll when music was exciting
and fresh, when it was intended for dancing, and when you could see top flight performers
in comfortable, unmobbed settings. But of course their music sounds nothing like
Burt Bacharach's or early rock'n'roll.

Three days later, Mano's bass lines, Belle du Berry's vocal embellishments, David Lewis' piano
riffs, Potzi's amazingly inventive guitar solos and Francois-Francois' terrific drumming are
still ringing in my ears. I can't wait for Paris Combo's next visit to the area and their next
album. ...

Finally, what do they sound like? Like no band you've heard before. They leave one in awe of
the range of influences they seem to absorb so effortlessly, most times several at once in a single tune:
American jazz, Cuban salsa, Brazilian bossa nova, North African and Middle Eastern and of course the
French chanson. How do they manage to do it?

...

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I brought back a gift from paris, March 6, 2002

By 

AllwayznStyle (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attraction (Audio CD)

The europeans are so cool. I visited France over spring break and I kept hearing this one song all over the place, then, on the last day I was there I found out that is was this band, Paris Combo. I can't understand a single word they say but I love the music so much. To me it kind of sounds like Cirque Du Soliel type music with a little bit of swing thrown in. It's like lounge music and I really like it. The lead singer is a girl and she has such a lovely voice and tons of style.