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The debut disc from MC Solaar is a clear signal that quality hip-hop can exist outside the U.S. and the English language barriers. Most of his lyrics read as "I'm the man" MC boasts and shout-outs to the Paris hip-hop crew, but the French rapper has superb flow and a masterful producer in Jimmy Jay, an absolute natural when it comes to creating sonic pastiches/collages to fit the lyrics. It's French hip-hop and therefore a softer, gentler sound with the music more on the acid jazz tip to match the rhythm and flavor of Solaar's native tongue. The title track immediately alerts you to the difference -- the rapid but never rushed delivery works off the rhythms of active, chopping drums anchoring a full arrangement topped by organ fills and flavored by sax near the end. Solaar is far from one-dimensional, adeptly adopting a conversational tone ("Victime de la Mode" on a fashion victim theme), changing up vocal tempos (the low-key "A Temps Partiel," a slick segue from the brief, jazzy-with-acoustic-bass "Interlude"), and leaving more open spaces in the forceful "Quartier Nord." He whispers the lost-love tale "Caroline" while Jimmy Jay enhances the melancholy mood with mournful strings and his customary attention to detail and dynamics (listen for the near-subliminal organ). The producer's like that, very smoooove but also deceptive in that there's always a lot going on in the arrangements underneath. "Armand Est Mort" gets a laid-back feel from the sax solo, and a single, mood-creating piano chord echoes "Inner City Blues" enough to make you wonder if that's a fragmentary sample of Marvin Gaye's voice popping up there in the background. But the funk front isn't neglected -- "L'Histoire de l'Art" has clavinet licks and horns over turntable scratches, "Matière Grasse Contre Matière Grise" sports an early-'70s, JB-ish funk backing with wah-wah guitar and upfront drums (and a lyrical day-in-the-life reflection on Paris and the world). And the '70s funk groove for "La Musique Adoucit les Mouers" works from a bass/drums spine with scratching and keyboard sounds while "Bouge de Là" goes off from direct drum drive and bass funk before part two injects skank organ and dubbed-out toasting. It makes for a good transition to the quasi-duel of motormouths on "Ragga Jam," probably good for lighting up audiences live, but just lightweight here, and it brings the momentum to Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo a halt. But it's an impressive debut and important historically -- by pairing a rapper and producer in perfect sync with one another, it gave early French hip-hop a sound and tone of its own from the beginning.© Don Snowden /TiVo

These Années de pèlerinage by Franz Liszt (1811-1856) – the monumental piano work in three books that he composed over four decades – invites us on a threefold voyage: a journey through the thought and the art of a composer who gifted all his visionary genius to the piano; here he transcribes an actual physical geography, and transcends it with some of the most accomplished piano writing ever crafted. Our radiant guide on this great adventure is French-Hungarian pianist Suzana Bartal. From the bucolic Swiss scenes of nature to the evanescent mysticism of the final book, via the sudden flashes of the well-known Orage (Storm) and Après une lecture du Dante (After reading Dante), the pianist – one of the rare performers to present a complete recording of this dense, demandingly virtuosic masterwork – opens up astounding perspectives of sound and vision. ‘What I wanted was to translate this mixture of inspiration and technical brilliance so as to highlight the poetic aspect of these pieces,’ she says. ‘My core aim is to guide the listener through this poetic journey in all its incredible variety, by clearly defining the character of each piece so as to recreate their different worlds.’ © naive classique

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French rapper Rohff released this, his fifth album, in 2006. While having already established himself as one of his home country's leading hip-hop artists, Rohff continued to exceed expectations and this two-disc, 31-track collection is proof of all that work. It includes the favorites "Starfuckeuze," "La Puissance," and "Toujours."© Chris True /TiVo

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French rapper Rohff released this, his fifth album, in 2006. While having already established himself as one of his home country's leading hip-hop artists, Rohff continued to exceed expectations and this two-disc, 31-track collection is proof of all that work. It includes the favorites "Starfuckeuze," "La Puissance," and "Toujours."© Chris True /TiVo