The No Comprendo [Import]

Les Rita Mitsouko | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 1, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Virgin France
• ASIN: B000006T7F
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,010 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Les Histoires D'a

2. Andy

3. C'est Comme Ca

4. Vol De Nuit

5. Someone To Love

6. Stupid Anyway

7. Un Soir Un Chien

8. Bad Days

9. Tonite

10. Nuit D'ivresse

11. Andy (English Verison)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another all-time Top Twenty album, March 30, 2005

By 

Wayne A. (Belfast, Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The No Comprendo (Audio CD)

New Wave got brainless pretty fast, probably as soon as many bands started to smell the money. These guys never lost their weird and wonderful edge while at the same time stayed pop and listenable. The only thing that held them back from canonization in this country were the French lyrics. Too bad, it adds to the charm of the music. This is one of the best albums of that era and their earlier self-titled offering is even better. Way too many catchy tunes with great twists and hooks. Catherine Ringer was one of the best pop vocalists of that time with a crazy flexible voice. Style wise not exactly Lene Lovich but in the same class.

(Oh God, I hope we haven't forgotten about Lene Lovich!)

[Months later]

Yikes! 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful Hmm, what did I do wrong? I said "New Wave." They're "edgier" but "listenable" (well, not my exact words). They sing in French and any sane human hates that. I dunno. OK. let me try again with a more literal approach. The first song starts out bim bim...bimbimbim..babim on the bass and then after three bars this wobbly sort-of guitar fades in and then drums, maybe synth drums I'm not sure, and two bars later...

Oh Jeebers, this'll take days!

How about this:

The first track lasts exactly 4 minutes and 13 seconds and that sure seemed exactly right to me! I love tracks that are 4 minutes and 13 seconds long! They make me happy and I'm sure as salt they'll make you happy too. Buy this CD!

Now that's being helpful!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars C'est Comme Ca!, April 28, 2006

By 

R. Mix "Funkingroovin" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The No Comprendo (Audio CD)

It was at the late, lamented Exit in Chicago that I first heard Les Rita Mitsouko.

Somewhere between the Danielle Dax and the Nitzer Ebb and the James Brown and the Revolting Cocks, I was swept up in the dizzying howl of a strident female voice and a blistering guitar. It was backed by a pounding bass and drum, and it was irresistible.

I had no idea what this woman and her male companion were singing about so urgently, but it was exhilarating. It was wild, and it was hot. Sometimes, it's not what you say, but how you say it. And even without translation, I knew: "It is this".

The rest of the album comes highly recommended as well, and if you're motivated, seek out the vinyl 12" of "C'est Comme Ca": Virgin 7 96768-0 (1987). It's what that unnamed DJ played all those years ago, and I still have the blisters to prove it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First, but not the last, April 9, 2002

By 

Jennifer L. Berger "malleron" (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The No Comprendo (Audio CD)

I had stumbled upon the vinyl album of "No Comprendo" back in the day when CDs were barely a blip on the musi-tech monitor (~ 1987). Back then, I had just gotten back from visiting France, and I was seriously craving sounds that were simply not a part of the local aural tradition. I had been overdosing on Indochine, and needed something edgier, more raucous, less bubble-gum.

Enter Les Rita Mitsouko's "No Comprendo," and my life hasn't been the same since. The hard-edged music still holds up, even after the blessed departure of grunge, and Catherine Ringer's voice was as multifaceted then as it is now. After all this time, "Les Histoires d'A" is still my favorite on the album because it really showcases her beautifully flexible and emotive voice. Bjork, watch out.