Customer Reviews

Paris Lounge

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great double album. If you're a fan of the Hotel Costes series, you'll be impressed with this collection. Actually, several tracks appear on both albums, so you're going to be in familiar territory if this is your gig. The opening track may remind you of Dmitri from Paris's first track on his Sacrebleu effort. And, while this isn't quite as kitsch or fast paced (not that Sacrebleu was too much of either--just another really fine album), you will find yourself amazing people with your hipster tendencies. Some will dismiss this as music for the beautiful people crowd, but in my humble opinion, that's a rather limited view. It's equally at home in the Buddha Bar or Hotel Costes in Paris, the Eighteenth Street Lounge in DC, or a swank evening at home pouring martinis for your friends. True to its form, it's very lounge. You can relax and have a conversation or get up and groove, depending on your style. A 21st century update on the 60s stylings and not to be missed.

I first became addicted to chillout music when I heard Cafe del Mar 8 playing at a record store in NYC. Since then, I've become an avid collector and somewhat of an afficianado.

I bought "Paris Lounge" based on its very positive reviews. But compared to Cafe del Mar, Hotel Costes, and the magnificent Buddha Bar series, this collection does not make the grade. There are some good samplings here, but all in all, it is uneven, badly mixed, and often way too weird to be even listenable, let alone enjoyable.

I firmly reccommend this CD even if its your first purchase for Paris Lounge music-like me.
I purchased this CD at a music store-only listening to the first sample track. I thought it would be great music for my party-and so it was! Everyone wanted to know what CD this was and the name etc. I was praised for having excellent taste in music.
So its a great CD even if you are not necessarily into this kind of music but are willing to explore.
The very fact that all of my friends enjoyed it made it a win win purchase for me.

Excellent two CD set: one disc is chill-out jams, while the other is uptempo house. "Paris by Day" is a tasteful mix of jazzed-out, mellow tunes that seem right for either the dinner party or working out at the gym. The tracks are mixed nicely together into one seamless, seductive groove. "Paris by Night" is made up of slammin' house tracks; some are instrumentals while most feature soulful vocals. And believe me when I tell you: these jams are HOUSE, not the hyper trance numbers you find on other compilations. For a two-CD set, this disc is reasonably-priced. If you're looking for a one-stop guide to chill-out and house, few compilations can top this.

As an intro to the Paris lounge scene, this is a truly great compilation. Very original pieces and good mix of genres, both CDs make you feel upbeat and happy. From the jungle sounds and percussion intro of P. by night, all the various grooves, to the hilariously sexy voice of the woman calling the show host, the overall party feel, there are many great pleasure moments on this CD.
Someone else commented that these artists were the big names...Well I hope they keep doing what they're doing and allow for more great compos like this one.
I have played both Cds in my car, in my house, on my PC, at a dinner party, for cocktails. I had to put them away for a while in order to not get overloaded and ending up getting fed up with it. So be careful, use only in moderation.

Well known names, well known songs. If you know about them, and you don't have their CDs, this is a good compilation to buy just to see a sample of their music because each song is quite particular to one aspect of their artist's style.

The CDs give a great overall feel to Paris Lounge--a very complete feel--and I for one really enjoyed listening to it. True, I was a little disappointed at the mixes and I thought they could've been better, and I was a little surprised at certain songs they chose to put on this compilation, like Le Peuple De L'herbe's PH Theme and Jeanne Moreau's Le Tourbillon since it sounded a little 'out there,' but it gave a great contrast to the rest of the songs and allowed that 'complete' feel. What's also interesting is how the certain songs on the compilation blends near eastern styles with Lounge to some of the songs. So if you like near eastern cross-overs this might be interesting as well.

However, I'm withholding my extra star for the artists who weren't on this compilation and should have been on it...

The Paris Lounge series now spans 4 volumes and the recipe for each is the same. One side daytime lounge, the second side up-beat house and an occasionally beat heavy nu-jazz cut. The series is released and distributed by Wagram, which also released the St. Germain Des Pres Cafe series, Hotel Costes series along with Berlin Lounge, London Lounge, New York Lounge, etc.

This one, the first one, is actually my favorite! It's a bit older, released back in 2001, but the songs on it bring back some good memories. From CD1 - Paris by Day, the opening Troublemaker's cut lets you know you're on a light and easy going voyage. Llorca's "The End" is kickin' on it too. But Zimpala's "Doo You Bop" is the gem... epitomizing French lounge with that old style swing. "Lovelight" by Stereo Action Unlimited (STRONG tie with Gotan Project and Boyz from Brazil) is a smooth cut too. And as is the case with every Paris Lounge cd, you have a bit of the Paris hip-hop scene. CD 2, Paris by Night, has some cool cuts on it too. In fact, CD 2 of this one I enjoyed more than the others. Stephane B, CD.D.D, Stephane Pompougnac (Costes DJ), St. Germain and Next Evidence have some cuts. THe real gem of CD 2 - a nu-jazz cut off of Reminiscence Quartet TOUGH to find feature cd titled 'Inspiration'. The cut itself is nothing new, but it fits the mood.

I recomend this - however Paris Lounge 1 wasn't flawless. While I dig Jene Moreau, I don't know if her cut really fits in here. And there is some general filler on both of the CD's. But through in through, it's a strong compilation that I've enjoyed. Further, if you like this be sure to check out the other Paris Lounge compilations and French comps on this label. Just know that this is a double disc set, and none of the recent Costes or Des Pres Cafe's can boast this. However shop around, the Paris Lounge series is pretty expensive on amazon and be careful of overlap between the different compilations. Before spidering out for the individual artists, make sure that the cut your looking for is on that feature'd artist' cd... for example, the Zimpala track isn't on Almaviva... and "Breeze is Black" just came out in 2003 so it wasn't on that either.

This album is a great compilation, incredibly well mixed and selected. I love especially cd 2. It just drives you, song after song, to a really chilled out state, as you listen to all this different, enchanting sounds. I'd say it's the beggining of a tradition, like Costes, Buddha, or Cafe del Mar.

This is still a solid release. The tracks are pretty nicely selected, and for the price, it's a decent double disc set whereas with other French lounge comps, you pay more for half the material.

One thing I did like about this release was that it included a few good and hard to find artists and tracks. For instance, Reminiscence Quartet is a terrific group, and their track featured here isn't on their feature album. The same can be said about Zimpala's track.

All in all, I would in fact recommend this. However, I don't think it's at the same quality level through and through as Hotel Costes Etage 3, or La Suite.

Excellen Lounge Music. Really ecclectic selection from modern day jazz to some crazy remixes of billi holliday. Can be heard in most lounges in NYC today. Definately worth it for any jazz collector or trendy hipster.