Customer Reviews

Nenette Et Boni

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I didn't know how I was going to like Nenette Et Boni when I ordered it. The soundtrack CD was out of print, quite obscure and the one review I read was lukewarm on its charms. But I ordered it anyway because I liked everything else that Tindersticks had done to this point.
As it turned out, I had inadvertently ordered yet another winner by Tindersticks. The remastered soundtrack is good enough for five stars alone. It is a pastiche of mostly older songs, rearranged and rehashed into a mostly instrumental film music format.Though I'd heard it all before in other arrangements, I still could not get enough of the music. I let the CD play over and over again while my brain absorbed every note and the tunes became part of my consciousness.
As good as Nenette Et Boni is, the real star of this remastered set is the bonus CD called Mark's Moods. It too is mostly instrumental, but the best songs are the stunning vocal renditions of Buried Bones and Don't Look Down which were first presented on Curtains. They make the excellent originals seem flaccid in comparison. The best instrumentals on the bonus disc are No More Affairs, Paco's Theme, and a dreamy rendition of Let's Pretend that is evocative of the southwestern soundscapes performed by Calexico.
If you are not yet a Tindersticks fan, its time to become one. They stand as giants among contemporary bands and deserve far more recognition than the US music press gives them. I recommend this CD without reservations. If the amazon price seems high, order it new through an amazon partner. I ordered from fiesta music through amazon and got fast and excellent service at half the price amazon was selling it for.

This is the first Tindersticks album I ever bought, and the most lush, beautiful album I've heard in a long time. The vocalist, whoever he is, sounds an awful lot like Nick Cave or Leonard Cohen (and a friend of mine who heard the album thought he sounded like Tim Curry in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show,") but he has more feeling in his voice than Nicky ever did.

Actually, most of the songs are instrumentals with an emphasis on strings and piano, but Track 8 has vocals, and it's one of the sweetest songs I've heard--I keep playing it over and over.

Low-key, sometimes funky, moody, and definitely spooky, this is totally worth getting. I wish I knew more about the film it's a soundtrack for.

I reckon one of the appeals of music is its ability to provide cinematic scope. A larger than life representation of emotions brought forward by music. I can't think about the movie "The Royal Tenenbaums" without the scene augmented by Elliot Smith's "Needle in the Hay". Nenette et Boni is not as visceral--an aspect of the movie. However, the Tinderstcks have always produced larger than life songs, so it seems like the perfect fit to use their music with film. In a Tinderstcks song there are so many things to draw upon; their diverse mix of mood, musicianship, and affected sound would make for a wide pastiche of a screen writer and movie scorer to draw from. Thus the music on "Nenette" is fitting to the sounds of love, isolation, and reflection. This isn't a recording you would play for a group; this is food for those times you spend alone; working, writing or just chilling out. It's another source for Tinderstcks to draw upon and nod in affirmation of the power this group puts into music. Few bands can add film score cred to there CV--if you are new to the Tinderstcks you'll know why it's only fair to use that moniker of credibility after listening to the score of Nenette et Boni. This is music for those who demand more and want their musical predilections to be pushed outside of their comfort zone. It's okay because the Tinderstcks never let you fall and when they let you do on purpose, you'll land lightly. For those who know the Tinderstcks you might like how the re-tooled many of their greatest songs as the background for the movie. "My Sister" is titled "Ma Soeur" and the melody takes on a jazzy more punchy feel, although you can barely hear Stuart Staples baritone as he hums along. It's all about discovery and rediscovering the magic The Tinderstcks create as they deftly move from song to song. The magic here is their restraint a less is more approach culminating to the larger than life takeaway.

This album is just like a darkened room listening to rain fall-the music is beautifully understated..although Stuart's voice is only in Petites Goutes d'Eau, the album as a whole (which is the only way to listen to this) is just superb and tranquil, without being at all boring.

An exquisitely beautiful, if melancholy, set of tracks. Imagine a Morcheeba instrumental, put Schubert on the piano, and picture yourself in a smoky Parisian jazz club. Truly divine.

This piece is marvellous. Although (as a true Tindersticks-Fan) I miss the voice of Stuart Staples this soundtrack just delivers the right stuff for any mood you are in. You cannot write more about this record because you just have to listen to it and it will tell you everything by itself.

Tindersticks are well presented in my CD collection. Only this one perhaps shouldn't have been added. The usual intens listening experience makes place for waiting something better to turn up. But even the bonus CD does not bring relief. The alternative versions are often less exciting as the originals. It could be the missing of Stuart Staples voice on the main part of this album, although this is not the case while listening 'More Trouble Eveyday' over and over. Or the little amount of string arrangments. But I'm affraid it's the feeling being Tindertricked with some leftovers. It's a good thing Stuart Staples' recently released solo album makes up in any way.