Tour De Charme

Patricia Kaas | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 17, 1993)
• Original Release Date: August 17, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000298J
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,926 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great , but buy the French version "Je te dis vous" instead., August 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tour De Charme (Audio CD)

This is a beautiful album indeed, but my first caveat is that -- in comparison with French release entitled "Je te dis vous" -- getting Mlle Kaas's version of "La vie en rose" is not compensation for getting a VASTLY inferior arrangement and version of one of her biggest hits ever "Il me dit que je suis belle." I bought the English release first and the song made no impression, and then with then French release I heard how powerful and transcendent it is. If you already like this song, you will not believe your ears when you hear the version on "Je te dis vous." The English album also omits the very pop "Hôtel Normandy" and an odd-ball German rocker "Ganz und Gar."

Otherwise, it's an extremely well-integrated musical collection spanning French cabaret tradition, Piaf-inspired vocalism, the drive of rock, with blues at its heart. Songs like the omitted "Hôtel Normandy" and "Je te dis vous," especially after her signature tune "Mademoiselle chante les blues" from her first album, are excessive in their self-regarding posture -- but, it IS great music.

The English songs (included in the French album) are performed creditably, even memorably, but the material isn't quite as arresting and come off as blues exercises. I'm sure her ability to communicate in English will improve, but we need her in French.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice, but buy the French version "Je te dis vous" instead, February 9, 2002

By 

Terry Serres (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tour De Charme (Audio CD)

This is a beautiful album indeed, but my first caveat is that -- in comparison with French release entitled "Je te dis vous" -- getting Mlle Kaas's version of "La vie en rose" is not compensation for getting a VASTLY inferior arrangement and version of one of her biggest hits ever "Il me dit que je suis belle." I bought the English release first and the song made no impression, and then with then French release I heard how powerful and transcendent it is. If you already like this song, you will not believe your ears when you hear the version on "Je te dis vous." The English album also omits the very pop "Hôtel Normandy" and an odd-ball German rocker "Ganz und Gar."

Otherwise, it's a well-integrated musical collection spanning French cabaret tradition, Piaf-inspired vocalism, the drive of rock, with blues at its heart. Songs like the omitted "Hôtel Normandy" and "Je te dis vous" (following her signature tune "Mademoiselle chante les blues" from her first album) are excessive in their self-regarding posture -- the performer's world view, alternately gutsy and winsome -- but, it IS great music. "La liberté" and "Jojo" are more convincing, touching on more universal themes, yet they bear the indescribable Frenchness that one associates with Juliette Gréco. How satisfying it is to have something new that reminds one intuitively of old favorites.

The English songs (included in the French album) are performed creditably, even memorably, but the material isn't quite as arresting and come off as blues exercises. I'm sure her ability to communicate in English will improve, but we need her in French.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best female singer in France...maybe anywhere, July 13, 2000

By 

monsieurms "monsieurms" (USA East Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tour De Charme (Audio CD)

The songs on this, as noted in another review, are rearranged a little from the French release. God knows why. Still, La Vie en Rose is a unique interpretation of this song, and stunning. Entrer dans la lumiere is underappreciated and beautiful. Il me dit que je suis belle is one of her best. Patricia Kaas has remarkable control, a remarkable voice, style, and a taste for good material, often with interesting lyrics, too. From Mon mec et moi, to Mademoiselle Chante les blues, to J'ai quitte' tout pour toi (the best torch song of our generation?) there is no female singer doing a better job in this style. If she were American, she would be a worldwide superstar. Regrettably, we are too provincial to accept foreign language recordings.