Hope & Sorrow

Wax Tailor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 3, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Le Plan
• ASIN: B000MXPEQA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,603 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #62 in Music > Dance & DJ > Turntablists

Editorial Reviews

French DJ JC la Saout, who records under the nom de club Wax Tailor, has the wide-ranging musical erudition of DJ Spooky without the latter's insufferable pretentiousness, and the Technicolor stylistic range of DJ Shadow without the latter's tendency towards unwieldy sonic sprawl. He is also -- and this is interesting -- not obviously concerned with showcasing his Frenchness in any noticeable way. No Johnny Hallyday or Indochine samples, no accordions, no French-language found sound. Some of his guests are French, but they all sing in English and contribute to an album that could almost be called an exercise in musical Esperanto -- a mishmash of stylistic elements that draws from a wide variety of sources and adds up to something familiar-sounding but new. Not everything is spectacular, and like many of his colleagues, Wax Tailor has a maddening weakness for between-song filler. But there's more than enough spectacular content here to justify the four-star rating. Highlights include the edgily funky "Once Upon a Past," the turntablist-goes-to-the-movies brilliance of "The Tune," and "That Case," with its jazzy flute multiphonics and Mission Impossible bongo drums. Highly recommended overall. -All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No sophomore slump here, May 2, 2007

By 

J. Olsen - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hope & Sorrow (Audio CD)

I hardly ever review albums but saw this one didn't have one yet, and it definitely deserves one. About six months ago or so I picked up Tailor's debut, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies. It quickly became one of my favorite instrumental hip hop albums, right up there with my Rjd2 collection. But his new effort, Hope & Sorrow, definitely one-ups it.

There's no weaknesses here at all, each track has its own vibe, and all the guest vocals are strong. In fact that's one thing that sets this apart from Tailor's debut; his choice of vocals, with more than a few tracks featuring female singers, perfectly compliment the music. Think Alias's partner in crime, Tarsier. And after only a couple listens, you'll find some of these songs still looping through your head well after you've put the headphones down. The whole album has that secret ingredient that makes it grow on you more and more with every listen. I've spun it several times in the week or so I've had it and still haven't gotten tired of a single track. The whole album also still has what seems to be Tailor's signature elements of plenty of strings and horns, but it has a great balance, and he really knows how to weave them into a great composition. And the samples on this album are also stellar, just like they were in Forgotten Melodies.

If you're a fan of instrumental hip hop in the vein of Rjd2, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, etc., this is a must have. But Wax Tailor has a sound all his own that you can only get a feel for by listening, not comparing, so check it for yourself.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding electronica, February 29, 2008

By 

Jeremy Michael Page (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hope & Sorrow (Audio CD)

Call it downtempo, trip hop or IDM, I don't care, this and Wax Tailor's other album, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies both truly show how electronic music can have soul and at the same time push the boundaries of music.

It's smart music that stands up to many, many repeated listenings but at the same time catchy and accessible. If you enjoy this album (or TotFM) I highly recommend trying out Radio Citizen's Berlin Serengeti.

4.0 out of 5 stars Hope and Sorrow, July 17, 2007

By 

R. Ebert (Oregon,USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hope & Sorrow (Audio CD)

Hope and Sorrow is the newest album from the French artist Wax Tailor. It's similar to his previous CD "Tales of the Forgotten Melodies". The sample splicing in this CD loses it's shock it had in the first album. Hope & Sorrow has more dark songs on it and in parts tries to be political.

It has a few really good songs on it but it doesn't seem to flow quite as well from song to song. So if you like Wax Tailor and have the first album pick this one up as well. It'll grow on you.