Customer Reviews

Piece of My Soul

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

 

 

I've been listening to Garou for about 8 years. I discovered him on an International audio program while flying from somewhere to somewhere. Impressed, I sought out a CD and found "Seul". I noticed a duet with Celine Dion so I bought the CD and loved it. I've bought all subsequent CDs and enjoy them all.

When I found Garou's first Englich language CD on Amazon I pounced. Curious, excited and a bit skeptical. I listen to a lot of music in French, Italian and Spanish and not all artists make the transition as well as others. For example, I've not enjoyed Lara Fabian's English recordings nearly as much as her French/Spanish/Italian songs. Happy to report that I am delighted with Garou's new CD. His incredible voice resonates as well in English as it does in French. Well, almost as well.

The songs are well crafted pop. Tightly arranged and produced without overproduction the songs work well alone and also together. There is a great flow to this CD and it almost has a "concept" feel to it.
Tracks 7, 8, 9 and 10 are my favorites. Especially "Nothing Else Matters".

I've turned two friends on to ths CD and both have been elated! I hope that Garou gets the exposure that he deserves. It's a shame that Americans are so incredibly narrow in the mucical taste. With exception of Opera, songs need to be sung in English to get broad attention in the US.

I look forward to more recordings from Garou in whatever language he chooses to sing. In any language I am a fan.

After being discovered singing in Sherbrooke's bars, Garou rocketed to fame in 1997 starring as Quasimodo in Luc Plamondon's Notre Dame de Paris. His debut album Seul was followed by Reviens and Garou. During this time, Garou was under the management of Celine Dion's husband Rene Angelil. There had been rumors for years regarding his first English album, and Corey Hart even mentioned writing two songs for it ("10,000 Horses" and "In Your Sweater") on his website. But other than the rare English cover of "Dust in the Wind" on Within and the English-langauge recording of Notre Dame De Paris (Music From the Show, fans have had to wait for "Piece of My Soul."

"Piece of My Soul" also marks Garou's departure from Rene Angelil in order to start his own label, Wolfgang, and to devote more time to a film/TV career. This also marks a departure from his strong team of French-language songwriters such as Eric Lapointe, Didier Barbelivien, Jacques Veneruso, and Gildas Arzel. However, he gets some well-known help from Rob Thomas on Stand Up, Enrique Iglesias on The First Day of My Life and Ronan Hardiman on What's the Time In NYC. In a change from his previous albums, All the Way is penned by Garou himself in a double-entendre homage to two of his great loves: poker and women (he's credited by his real name Pierre Garand; Corey Hart's songs seemed to have disappeared by the wayside). Like many Quebecois, Garou's bilingual; his English diction is mostly flawless (for most of his early career he was singing covers of English-language R&B and pop). The ballads are well crafted and mainly low-key, and this definitely deserves a listen if you've never before heard Garou. I found Heaven's Table to be particularly mesmerizing, and the haunting Nothing Else Matters, based on the 2005 tsunami.

It seems that Sony BMG Canada isn't putting a lot of promotional effort / funds into Garou's first English CD; more than a month after its domestic release in Canada, I only found one (not very favorable) review in the Montreal Gazette, and there's no release date listed for the US. Surprising, since Rob Thomas and Enrique Iglesias are bankable names in the States. It's a pity, really, because as usual Garou pours his heart and soul into bringing the thirteen songs to life, and this would have been a perfect break into the market south of the (Canadian) border: oh, and it doesn't hurt that Garou's versatile (he plays several instruments including guitar, piano, and trumpet), charming, easy on the eyes, and has a wicked sense of humor in French and English. I only hope that "Piece of My Soul" will receive a launch in the US so that Garou gets the attention he deserves; his albums are head and shoulders above the prefab blandness crowding our ClearChannel airwaves.

My first encounter with Garou was during a French Immersion School program in Trois-Pistoles, Canada while still in college. I took French as a Minor and I wanted to listen to French music. I had heard of Lara Fabian and went on to buy her cd "Nue" and I encountered Garou's "Seul". I remember that a person at the store had told me that it had just been released and he had bought it and had loved it! I must say that as I was listening to it I fell in love with almost all of the songs, especially "Sous le Vent". But what I loved the most about him was his voice, it's just a very very pleasant voice to listen to. From then on, I have always been a fan of Garou and must agree with the other reviewer in that I do not understand how he is not a mega star in the US like Celine Dion. I encountered this English cd here in amazon and was thrilled to know that he had finally released one in English. I will most certainly buy it as I was listening to the samples and have liked them all. Great transition! I hope he offers a concert in NY soon as I most certainly will go see him.

The problem I have with Garou's latest album, Piece of My Soul, is that they have stripped his great voice of its rawness which was part of his moving quality. This seems like a "pop music" album with all the depth and beauty he possesses lumped together into an over-produced, cloying, over-simplified lyrics mess. I admit I much prefer his songs in French, but it's more than the English words which makes Piece of My Soul so vapid. There's no energy in these songs, nothing personal, nothing even in performance that any other current pop singer couldn't do, especially with the gushy musical accompaniment. Sorry but this album is not even close to his former ones. He's been Hollywood-ized beyond recognition as Garou.

I first heard of Garou after picking up Céline Dion's album On Ne Change Pas; on this album she sings a duet called "Sous Le Vent" which I enjoyed immensely. After hearing samples of other songs by Garou, I decided to order this one and another. I found that I have enjoyed most of the songs on this ablum, most especially "Stand Up" and "Heaven's Table". His other albums are all in French, I believe, and this one is, if I'm not mistaken, his first English album. His voice reminds me some what of singer Huey Lewis (my favorite singer) which I think might be one of the reasons I enjoy listening to Garou so much. I highly recommend this album to anyone.

I am so excited to see Garou has made an English CD. I have 3 of his French CD's and I could listen to them all the time. I haven't heard his English CD yet, but I am definitely purchasing it today. He is such a favorite of mine. I know his English has got to be as good as his French CD's. I hope his CD catches on in the states. He has a magnificent voice, and a terrific style, besides being very cute. Those eyes!!!!