Customer Reviews

Paris After Dark

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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All the wonderful classic French romantic songs by the original recording artists--most very familiar to Americans over 40. One of the best CDs ever.

What a wonderful world this CD conjures up! French chansons are part of the supreme legacy of popular music in the 20th Century, and a lot of the best of them are on this CD. How can you not enter this world when the CD begins with Charles Trenet's La Mer, better known in the U.S. as Bobby Darin's Beyond the Sea. The Trenet is more moving, though. There are three Edith Piaf selections, arguably no wheres nearly enough to introduce this great artist, but they certainly still belong here. And there is no shortage of Josephine Baker and Maurice Chevalier, two of the great international stars from the French stage. Baker sings her trademark song about having two loves, America and Paris. For me, this CD is just as treasurable for introducing me to music I had never known, especially cuts by the legendary Mistinguett, Jean Sablon, and Tino Rossi. Naturally, Francophiles will have collected a lot of CDs featuring each of these artists. But if you've ever just heard a Piaf song that was just intoxicating (and La Vie En Rose is included here), this CD is a wonderful step into her world.

I first heard this album in my high school French class and was overjoyed to find it on CD more than a decade later. . .I was left breathless with the music at 16 and feel no different now. My personal favorites are those by Josephine Baker and Edith Piaf, but there truly is no bad song. It's wonderfully nostalgic, and if you close your eyes while listening, you can almost imagine yourself at a Parisian cafe in the 1930's. Je l'adore!