Customer Reviews

Edith Piaf: Her Greatest Recordings 1935-1943

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Probably the greatest, most celebrated -- and most tragic -- of the French popular "chanson" singers. Piaf was celebrated for having come, indisputably, from "the people", having been born the child of a prostitute, and having been abandoned by both her parents while still an infant. In 1935, at the age of 19, she was discovered by a nightclub owner who both built her popular image and got her a recording contract. Her popularity swelled during the War, and her song "La Vie En Rose" became a standard during the German occupation of France. After the war, Piaf's glamour became torn by ongoing hardships and substance abuse (which, in turn, enhanced the tragic elements of her legend...) This CD sticks pretty strictly to her earliest stuff, from the '30s and '40s; it includes her first big hit, "Mon Legionnaire", but omits "La Vie En Rose" and "Non, Ne Je Regrette Rien", which are her two best-known works. The tinny, Jazz Era sound of these early songs may be less accessible to listeners who are more familiar with the emotionally torturous (and more warmly recorded) material made at the time of her postwar tours of America, many of which are highly prized by her fans.

This CD is Edith Piaf at her best... I love many of the songs on it - I would single out "C'est Lui Que Mon Coeur A Choisi" and "L'Accordeoniste" as being two of my personal favorites. This is a must for any Piaf fan...

With all due respect to the person who posted below about "Cannibal Corpse", I don't think we're talking about the same Edith Piaf, and I thought I might clear it up here to avoid any confusion for anyone else. The Edith Piaf I'm talking about, and the one who sings the songs on this CD, is a Parisian singer who has been dead for nearly 40 years (b. 1915 d. 1963). Your Edith Piaf is a different person, I think, because you said that she left "Cannibal Corpse" in 1991. My Edith Piaf, and the one who sings the songs on this CD, left this earth and went to heaven in 1963.

Anyway, thought I'd clear it up - No offense intended...

Having heard a song by Edith Piaf while watching the movie "Saving Private Ryan" and being captivated by the sound of her voice, I decided to venture into a completely new direction in my listening library. I must admit that I have not been able to take this CD out of any player that happens to be around me! Even though I have no idea of the lyrics, Ms. Piaf has the ability to draw you in and make you feel like you understand exactly what she is saying. She is joyful, tragic, coy, sad, dramatic, and ultimately she leaves me with the feeling of her devotion to her art and her time in history.

This is the best Edith Piaf CD i have listened to.... 1935-1943 was a great time period for music

What a delight to hear Edith Piaf's lovely voice! Lovely songs, and it is well done.

I am French and was born in 1949, her songs played on the radio day and night when I was a child and even then I could tell the difference in her songs and in her voice. Post 1950 is out for me , she bears the weight of her years and her songs after 1950 -like Mylord (not charismatic praise song by any stretch of the imagination) became sad and depressing- So I suggest that this period and this CD contain her best songs , her voice was THEN coined "the voice of the sparrow" and is fresh and clear , her songs are the best and she carries them with the emotion you heard in Private Ryan. A very good buy.

Once she has won your heart, you will want this collection to hear how she developed as a performer -- and came to be a great symbol of France in the 20th Century

Edith Piaf: 30th AnniversaireI bought both of these recordings for my husband. It was one of the better presents I ever got for him. He is throughly enjoying both of them.

Adds depth to a music collection; sound quality of old recording makes it interesting