Customer Reviews

Famille Nombreuse

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

 

 

If you think that nothing happened in French music since Brel's death, you're definitely wrong. Les Negresses Vertes have captured the soul of Paris, and, listening to this CD, you'll get the smell of red wine in a cafe. Les negresses are interesting because they play a music which looks like France : a mixture of flamenco, latin and arabic rythms with traditionnal instruments. This CD will be probably classified as "World music" in America, but it's not. It's rock and roll man ! Champions du monde !

Anyone who is into world music especially fusion, this is a must have. A mix of french, flamenco, and north african tunes! A french classic. Five stars *****.

This is one fantastic album. If music moves one, it is working. This music moves me, I have to force myself to stop listening to it so I can savor it for a longer time.
If you like Rumba Catalana, Manu Chao, Sergent Garcia, Ojos de Brujo and the like you may love this music as well. It's more French but has all the elements.
So far I haven't heard a Negresses Vertes album I didn't like, but this one is superb.
I highly recommend it.

"Famille Nombreuse" is my favorite Les Negresses Vertes album, but all of their work is amazing and worth seeking out. Still, if you're new to Les Negresses Vertes, this is a great place to start.
I found out about Les Negresses Vertes in December, 1991, when I visited family in Germany for the Christmas holidays. My brother-in-law had the vinyl album version of "Famille Nombreuse" playing in the background during our late night card playing/video game sessions, and the music just sort of took me away. I do not speak or understand French, but that didn't matter at all: the music was what I responded to. It was new, fresh and exciting. Definitely something different, with hooky melodies and amazing musicianship. How can one possibly categorize this band? They rise above categorization, and I don't even know where to begin in describing their sound. I was quite suitably impressed as there wasn't a bad track on the album, and I found myself in a World of Music store in downtown Munich the next day, picking up the CD (there were stacks of them).
12 years later, I'm still listening to this great work by a band that I'd love to see live, as I understand their live concert performances are out of this world. While I have purchased other CDs by Les Negresses Vertes and enjoy all of them, "Famille Nombreuse" remains my personal favorite.