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The initial fame Christophe Maé garnered in 2005-2006 as an actor in the musical Le Roi Soleil, where he played Philippe, the brother of Louis XIV, was trumped by his subsequent venture into the French pop scene as a folk-pop singer/songwriter/guitarist. Though not technically his full-length solo debut album (that would be a more or less impossible to find independently released album called Sa Danse Donne), Mon Paradis was the first of his albums heard on a mass scale, and it proved tremendously popular, becoming the second best-selling French album of 2007 and spawning a series of hit singles, including the chart-topping lead single, "On S'Attache." Maé is graced with a uniquely signature singing voice and an easygoing lilt in common with one of his most often cited influences, Bob Marley. These two characteristics above all others define Mon Paradis and are showcased best on "On S'Attache," the aforementioned album opener. Thankfully, the material that follows (co-written by Maé with the help of Michel Domisseck, Lionel Florence, Bruno Dandrimont, Jeff Oricelli, Olivier Schulteis, Pascal Obispo, and Jacquot) is uniformly excellent, especially the first quarter of the album, including "Mon Paradis," "Belle Demoiselle," and "Parce Qu'on Sait Jamais" as well as "On S'Attache." Sequenced midway through the album is another highlight, "C'est Ma Terre," a perfectly crafted pop song that opens with a little beatboxing before unfolding with backing vocals and a singalong chorus. Though four different writers are credited with penning "C'est Ma Terre," it doesn't sound overwrought. If anything, it sounds fine-tuned, as if Maé wrote the song himself and then sought input from a few of his hired hands, incorporating the finishing touches until he had a polished gem. Most of the latter half of Mon Paradis is credited solely to Maé, and while it's true these songs aren't as captivating as the earlier sequenced hit singles, the self-penned songs that fill much of the latter half of the album are impressive nonetheless. So while there's no doubt Maé is a capable songwriter, not only is he willing to collaborate with hired hands; it seems as if he benefits from the outside input. The production touches of Volodia benefit Maé as well. An industry veteran with a long track record of success, Volodia gives the stripped-down folk-pop of Maé a thoroughly modern sheen, adding little touches (e.g., the opening beatbox of "C'est Ma Terre," the hand percussion of "Spleen," lots of multi-tracked vocals) so that each song of Mon Paradis sounds unique and dynamic. Indeed, Maé is the rare folk-pop singer/songwriter/guitarist who can crash the gates and obtain commercial success internationally in the iPod age without forsaking any of his craftsmanship. It helps, of course, that Maé was able to build upon the initial fame he garnered in Le Roi Soleil, but there's no question Mon Paradis is the work of a talented young man who works well with others.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

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On Trace la Route, the eagerly awaited follow-up to Christophe Maé's smash breakout hit Mon Paradis (2007), follows in the same direction as its predecessor, and though it lacks that album's easygoing charm, it's an outstanding effort that should delight the singer/songwriter's legion of fans. During the past few years, no one was more successful in the French pop world than Maé, who was showered with NRJ Music Awards for three straight years. He brought home French Revelation of the Year in 2007, and then won both French Male Artist of the Year and French Song of the Year for two years straight in 2008 and 2009. Maé was not only acclaimed as French pop's brightest new star; he was a commercial juggernaut. Mon Paradis spawned several hits, most notably the chart-topper "On S'attache," and the live album Comme à la Maison (2008) kept him riding high on the charts with a couple more singles. It wasn't until 2009, after two straight years of non-stop airplay, that Maé stepped out of the media spotlight for a while to work on On Trace la Route. He reassembled much of the team that had worked with him on Mon Paradis, including producer Volodia and songwriters Michel Domisseck, Lionel Florence, and Bruno Dandrimont. Multi-instrumentalist Felipe Saldivia was also a key participant in the making of On Trace la Route. The end result of their teamwork is a solid batch of 11 songs in the same mold as those on Mon Paradis. Like that album, this one boasts a handful of flat-out great songs. "Dingue, Dingue, Dingue" and "J'ai Laissé," the first and second single spawned by the album, get it off to a perfect start. Then, after a few lackluster songs that dampen the excitement sparked by the first couple, the standout eighth and ninth songs, "Je Me Lâche" and "Ne M'abandonne Pas," revitalize the album as it nears its conclusion. As for Maé himself, he doesn't sound as carefree and unburdened by fame as he did on Mon Paradis. An unfortunate air of pretension hovers over On Trace la Route, and while some of that surely comes along with the great expectations heaped upon the album, one can't escape the sense that Maé has been affected by the incredible success of the past couple years, and not for the better.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

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In the wake of his blockbuster album Mon Paradis, which was among the best-selling French albums of 2007, folk-pop singer/songwriter Christophe Maé released the live CD/DVD package Comme à la Maison. The live concert featured on Comme à la Maison was recorded on June 18-19, 2008, on a beach in the south of Corse, a French island in the Mediterranean Sea, and includes Maé and his band accompanied at times by a gospel-style choir, accordionist Régis Gizavo, and singer William Baldé of "Rayon de Soleil" fame. The 14-song performance compiled on Comme à la Maison is comprised primarily of material from Mon Paradis; indeed, ten of the 14 songs come from that album, including the hit singles "On S'Attache," "Parce Qu'on Sait Jamais," and "Belle Demoiselle." Not until the eighth song on Comme à la Maison does Maé turn toward non-Mon Paradis material, performing the three-song cycle "Mon P'tit Gars," "Moi J'ai Pas le Sou" (a duet with William Baldé), and "Sa Danse Donne" (an old song from his more or less impossible to find debut album of the same name). Then before closing the performance with the Mon Paradis highlights "Parce Qu'on Sait Jamais" and "C'est Ma Terre," Maé and his choir perform "Tribute to Bob Marley," essentially a three-minute medley of the refrains from "No Woman, No Cry," "Redemption Song," and "Could You Be Loved" -- that is, nothing special. While it's disappointing that Comme à la Maison doesn't include more surprises than it does, whether in the form of new material or cover songs, the live performance is still impressive and casts the songs of Mon Paradis in a new light, one that highlights Maé's African influence in particular (the finale of "C'est Ma Terre" especially). Still, anyone looking for more than an "unplugged" version of Mon Paradis might be disappointed. In addition to the 14-song live performance, the DVD half of Comme à la Maison includes a making-of segment, plus the promotional videos for "On S'Attache," "Parce Qu'on Sait Jamais," "Ça Fait Mal," "Belle Demoiselle," and "C'est Ma Terre." The deluxe collector's edition of Comme à la Maison adds even more bonus material, including a seven-song "Live à Paris Bercy" performance. Those looking for simply music should opt for the cheaper CD-only version, which spreads the 14-song beach concert across two discs.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

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