Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba [SOUNDTRACK]

Cirque du Soleil

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 29, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00000JG3O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #174,519 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Once upon a Time

2. Tale

3. Porte

4. Nouba

5. Distorted

6. Liama

7. Queens

8. Ą la Lune

9. Rźve Rouge

10. Urban

11. Propel

12. Jardin Chinois

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Kim Alexandre said, May 2, 2001

By	Mark Frost "Economist & Philosopher" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I confirm what Kim Alexandre said in a previous review. This CD is just awesome. I disagree with the reviewer who suggested one would need to see the show to appreciate the music. I heard the CD first and fell in love with Dessy Di Lauro's voice, style, and application. I'm not sure what heaven sounds like, but the farthest reach of my imagination tells me it sounds like her. The urban/jazz (at times an almost Russian style) in between her vocals serve to animate the "spiritual journey." Incredible. Just incredible.

PS Having just returned from Orlando and "Downtown Disney", I finally saw the show and it did indeed live up to my expectations. Indeed, it was the highlight of my Orlando trip.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Jutras & co., March 8, 2003

By	Tristan Moore (Salt Lake City, UT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Of all the provocative Cirque du Soleil albums, this one is the darkest and most challenging.... It weaves in the subversive energy of contemporary urban/electronic beats in mind-bending ways. Benoit Jutras finished "La Nouba" right on the heels of "O," which had an utterly different, much more symphonic sound with African tinges. Here we flirt ecstatically with the unrestrained energy of hip hop, of gospel, of rap, as Jutras quietly sculpts them into something new and breathtaking, an emotional rollercoaster. The level of musical mastery is beyond reproach here. This is the fullest realization of director Franco Dragone's darkest, wildest fantasies. Unlike the mainstream genres it samples, it is not just ear candy. From the shuddering dystopia of Track 1 through the final burst of bliss, La Nouba expresses an artistry without apologies -- it will make you want to dance, scream, laugh, cry, drive fast, change your life, experience the extremes of love and passion. Can I give this 6 stars? I mean, holy cow.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but different, July 15, 1999

By A Customer

La Nouba being Cirque latest permanent production is French for "to party" and thus leaves you with a certain expectation level of the music, especially when you know that Benoīt Jutras, the man who gave us the magical, wonderful music of "Quidam" and "O" wrote all the titles.

Having said that La Nouba is a good album, very good at times, although neither of the songs have the wonderful, dramatic sound of which makes "O" so great. La Nouba makes this up with One thing: Rhythm. All but a few songs are very danceable, yet not think party music put more of a house/techno style: "music with balls".

As with almost all Cirque albums so far, you really need to get used to the music, this One evens tops Mystere Live in that department. Although the rhythm is good, a bit more melody would not have hurt the songs at all; a bit less of guitars wouldn't be so much of a problem either. Lead vocalist Dessy has a good voice, however it would be nice to hear some phonetic words instead of the "lalalas" and "ohohos" such is the case on all the other albums except for the very first three.

The opening song, [Once Upon a time] has a great beat to it and the melody in the background is heavily borrowed from two of Jutras's earlier pieces from Quidam: [Atmadja] and [Steel Dream]. [A Tale] is a wonderful combination of rap, rhythm and blues and choir singing. One of the most melodic songs is Porte, which is a bit dreary, in the style of [Desert] from "O". [La Nouba] and [ Ą la lune] are sort of modern waltzes. Liama is great melodic song in the style of Amazonia building up to a climax middle and then going back to wonderful singing again.

One more thing: for the ones of you who are desperate to find the "diabolo song" which is not on the Quidam CD but is in the show: It is on La Nouba! O.K. in a slightly different mix, but I am quite sure that [Jardin Chinois] has the same basic tones as the diabolo song from Quidam... This counts also for the second part of Queens, which borrows heavily from the song that is played during the handbalancing act in Quidam.

In short La Nouba is Cirque on steroids: rougher, less lyrical and has more beat to it that all Cirque albums combined. If this is your first Cirque album or if you did not see the show, you are most likely to need quite a few times before enjoying this album. If you are a Cirque "freak" like I am you need to buy La Nouba, if only just for hearing [Jardin Chinois] and new mixes of old themes... I can't wait to hear Dralion!