The Crocodile Smile

Nicola Conte, Marc Beacco | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 1, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nova
• ASIN: B000008D9T
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #529,129 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Italian DJ/producer Nicola Conte's loungey brand of acid jazz relies extensively on bossa nova, but is also heavily influenced by the swinging soundtracks of Italian films in the '60s and '70s, plus touches of ethnic music and easy listening kitsch reminiscent of Japan's Pizzicato Five and the Vampyros Lesbos soundtrack. Great stuff! 2000 release. Import only. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the jet set...or your car stuck in traffic, March 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Jet Sounds (Audio CD)

A couple of corrections from a previous reviewer: He's a guy (unless he's undergone surgery I haven't heard about), and martini madness will never die.

You know how different countries have somewhat distinct sounds: Japan has the retro-futuristic sound typical of Fantastic Plastic Machine, Pizzicato Five, and even Holland's Arling & Cameron are signed in Japan because their sound is more Japanese than Dutch, France and Quebec excel at Tech House, UK does Garage House, and the US does whatever it does...the point is Italy has an accoustic retro-futuristic lounge sound kind of like P5 and the like, but less electronic sounding. Instead of blatantly electronically sampling the sounds of the 60's in Italy, it actually sounds like the 60's in Italy. Nicola Conte is a big DJ there, so his music reflects the regions musical preference.

Perfect for a patio & pool party, glamorous balcony in Manhattan, or on a rooftop deck in Venice. Hope this helps. It's great.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOWIE ZOWIE!!! AM I GLAD I FOUND THIS GUY!!, February 6, 2001

By 

L. S. Slaughter "silvanus" (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jet Sounds (Audio CD)

I was at the end of my rope playing my old Piero Piccioni Easy Tempo CDs to bits (ha) when the great internet radio station Luxuria.Com started playing this KICK BUTT song called 'Futura 2000' by this Italian dude named Nicola Conte. I didn't ask questions: I called the local record store in Durham, drove down that same day and shelled out the sixteen bucks and my life hasn't been the same since! Talk about 'Spring is Here' Music!

What is it like? Hmmmm. It's lounge, but it's not that tiresome camp variety. This guy ROCKS, and his outfit is solid; it's not just a bunch of turntables and sequencers. He clearly has a deep love for the spirit of La Dolce Vita, and respects it, and moreover, has absorbed it.

Everything here is uptempo and breezy, samba-based, with some nods to later sixties psychedelia and pre-Shaft horn clusters. "Il Cerchio Rosso" is my favorite song of the year thus far. Little snippets of everything from Claudine Longet to Brasil '66 to Piero Piccioni to Nino Rota to Morricone to Francis Lai to Traviolji seep in here and there, but somehow it's all fresh and new. Someone suggested it was 'tres Esquivel', but I beg to differ. It's much hipper, and a great dance album.

I can't wait for more Nicola! Buy this super disc now! You'll be dancing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Set the standard... from the past, October 26, 2002

By 

bordersj2 (Boston) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jet Sounds (Audio CD)

Picked this one up almost two years ago - and needless to say it still holds it's own in the collection. This feature release was in fact heard in... the Acura commercial... which can be annoying. But more recently fans have probably heard Conte's music in the "Joe Boxer" ad (talk about one-upping Acura in obnoxious advertising!) lol.

I really enjoyed this CD. You can pop it in and listen to it, and be taken away on a journey - it's a terrific soundtrack through the 60's and 70's, bossa Italia and, of course, bossa nova. Instantly, an image is brought into your head from track one. The feel of the music is from that era - and very much so martini/lounge style. But otherwise - it's easy beach music too.

Nicola Conte plays a big role with the Schema label - which features Soulstance and also the Break & Bossa series to name a few. The style is pretty consistent and if you like Conte's style, I'd recommend checking out Schema label artists and the series listed before.

Since this release, Conte has gone on to do a number of remixes and works: Montefiori Cocktail, Maxwell Implosion, Mo Horizons, and even the late Suba have all had some of their best tracks redone by Conte. And what will make fans more enthusiastic - a remix album was released and appears headed for US shores shortly. Also, a collaboration project which features Rosalia De Sousa (of Les Hommes/Break N Bossa/etc) will be released in early November.

A few other recommendations for fans of this: Sister Bossa 3 (almost a shameless rip-off of Bossa Per Deu can be found later in the cd), Easy Tempo, and maybe Brazilectro.