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Ravel: L'Heure espagnole - Bolero

François-Xavier Roth

Opera - Released June 16, 2023 | harmonia mundi

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Choc de Classica
The main attraction of the orchestra Les Siècles and its conductor François-Xavier Roth is its use of period instruments from around 1900, the time period in which the group specializes. One could hardly ask for a better demonstration record (as audiophiles used to call them) than this take on Maurice Ravel's L'Heure espagnole, an edgy, rather tawdry but undeniably funny little opera about the extramarital escapades of a clockmaker's wife, complete with excellent satirical characterizations of her two lovers. The opera receives a pitch-perfect performance here from a quintet of younger singers, who deliver the kind of dry, close-to-spoken singing Ravel wanted. Even better, though, is the orchestral sound, where the opera's large contingent of winds, brass, and percussion displays the sound of Les Siècles at its most vivid. The score calls for trios of oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, and these all have a tangier sound than modern instruments provide. The program ends with Boléro, and this, too, stands out from among the hundreds or thousands of other recordings on the market. Ravel had very fixed ideas about how he wanted the work to sound, and he wrangled with Arturo Toscanini, who conducted the premiere in New York, about it: it should be played absolutely straight, with no variation in tempo and little expression. Notwithstanding the connotations that became attached to the work later on, he viewed it as an abstract work, and that is exactly what it becomes in Roth's bracing reading. Listeners who have been wanting to sample Roth's work with this orchestra are enthusiastically encouraged to try this release, which made classical best-seller charts in the summer of 2023.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Zappa In New York

Frank Zappa

Rock - Released October 29, 1977 | Frank Zappa Catalog

Hi-Res Booklet
Zappa in New York was recorded in December 1976 at the Palladium and originally intended for release in 1977. It was held up due to arguments between Frank Zappa and his then-record label, Warner Bros. When the two-LP set finally appeared in March 1978, Warner had deleted "Punky's Whips," a song about drummer Terry Bozzio's attraction to Punky Meadows of Angel. The Zappa band, which includes bassist Patrick O'Hearn, percussionist Ruth Underwood, and keyboard player Eddie Jobson, along with a horn section including the two Brecker brothers, was one of the bandleader's most accomplished, which it had to be to play songs like "Black Page," even in the "easy" version presented here. Zappa also was at the height of his comic stagecraft, notably on songs like "Titties & Beer," which is essentially a comedy routine between Zappa and Bozzio, and "The Illinois Enema Bandit," which features TV announcer Don Pardo.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
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The #1's

The Supremes

Soul - Released January 1, 2003 | UTV - Motown

Surprisingly, very few artists can float a digital-age collection of number one singles without resorting to trickery involving foreign countries or obscure charts. The Beatles had little trouble (The Beatles 1) and Elvis Presley managed both a disc of number ones (Elvis: 30 #1 Hits) and one of number twos (2nd to None), but Michael Jackson bent the rules so far that calling his disc Number Ones is tantamount to consumer fraud. Additionally, a collection of number one singles may not be the best representation of an artist's career; the Elvis volume included nothing from his Sun years, and the Beatles' set skipped "Strawberry Fields Forever." The #1's, Motown's collection of chart-toppers by Diana Ross & the Supremes, fares much better. It benefits from two Supremes characteristics: as a pop group through and through, their biggest hits were often their best songs, and, with the help of the solo Diana Ross, they spent a long time on the charts (nearly 20 years separates the Supremes' debut at the top from Ross' last number one single). While Motown's separate volumes on Diana Ross and the Supremes (in the Ultimate Collection series) remain the best source for a single-disc picture of either act, The #1's works remarkably well. It includes 19 number one pop singles (13 from the group, six from the solo Ross), plus various number ones on the R&B and dance charts, and there aren't any glaring omissions. Granted, fans of early Motown can't live without the girl-group chestnuts "Buttered Popcorn" and "Your Heart Belongs to Me," while those who enjoy latter-day Ross won't find "One More Chance" or "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" -- but of course, this collection wasn't created with them in mind. For the group who recorded more hit singles during the '60s than any other act except the Beatles, and for one of the reigning solo artists of the '70s, The #1's is a worthy tribute.© John Bush /TiVo
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Rameau : Les Indes Galantes

György Vashegyi

Full Operas - Released March 1, 2019 | Glossa

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason - 4F de Télérama
With Les Indes galantes by Jean-Philippe Rameau, György Vashegyi – along with his Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir – makes a further dazzling addition to their Glossa series of French dramatic masterpieces from the Baroque, and in the company of a luxurious line-up of vocal soloists. The version of this “ballet heroïque” – supplied with an anti-colonial, anti-clerical manifesto by librettist Louis Fuzelier – selected by Vashegyi is the 1761 revision, a mere decade or so before the irruption onto the Parisian musical scene of the likes of Gluck and Grétry. Rameau’s score had undergone frequent adjustments and improvements since its première a quarter of a century earlier, and the performing edition for this recording, prepared for the Rameau Opera Omnia by Sylvie Bouissou (who also provides a booklet essay here), offers a vision of this work which is more theatrical, fluid and concise than hitherto. Just in themselves, the names of Chantal Santon-Jeffery, Katherine Watson, Véronique Gens, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Jean-Sébastien Bou and Thomas Dolié (sharing out the dozen solo roles) augur well for a glorious exploration of the prologue and three entrées ahead. Recently, they have also, in conjunction with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, been working on questions of tempo and how to perform Rameau’s sequences as the composer intended. Vashegyi brings a consummate understanding of Rameau’s galante style to the proceedings, following two previous Ramellian Glossa outings (Naïs and Les Fêtes de Polymnie). © Glossa
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Zappa In New York

Frank Zappa

Rock - Released March 3, 1978 | Frank Zappa Catalog

Booklet
Zappa in New York was recorded in December 1976 at the Palladium and originally intended for release in 1977. It was held up due to arguments between Frank Zappa and his then-record label, Warner Bros. When the two-LP set finally appeared in March 1978, Warner had deleted "Punky's Whips," a song about drummer Terry Bozzio's attraction to Punky Meadows of Angel. The Zappa band, which includes bassist Patrick O'Hearn, percussionist Ruth Underwood, and keyboard player Eddie Jobson, along with a horn section including the two Brecker brothers, was one of the bandleader's most accomplished, which it had to be to play songs like "Black Page," even in the "easy" version presented here. Zappa also was at the height of his comic stagecraft, notably on songs like "Titties & Beer," which is essentially a comedy routine between Zappa and Bozzio, and "The Illinois Enema Bandit," which features TV announcer Don Pardo.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
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L'Amour n'a jamais tort (Hi-Res)

Salvatore Adamo

French Music - Released February 5, 2016 | Universal Music Division Label Panthéon

Hi-Res Booklet
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Un jour tu verras

Mouloudji

French Music - Released June 2, 2014 | Jacques Canetti Productions

Distinctions The Qobuz Ideal Discography
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Ce soir... ensemble (Tour 2019-2020)

Patrick Bruel

French Music - Released December 4, 2020 | Columbia

Hi-Res Booklet
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Inferno (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Hans Zimmer

Film Soundtracks - Released October 14, 2016 | Sony Classical

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King Bee

Muddy Waters

Blues - Released January 1, 1981 | Epic - Legacy

This 1981 recording found Waters being produced by rocker Johnny Winter, who had brought Muddy back to form on the Hard Again album. Winter was smart enough to surround the great one with musicians who knew his music intimately -- regular band members like Calvin Jones, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, and Bob Margolin dot the lineup -- and Johnny keeps his own excesses in check on a nice brace of tunes. While most of the tunes here are recuts of older Chess material, Muddy's versions of Slim Harpo's title track and his own "Champagne & Reefer" are worth checking out. Not the place to start a Muddy Waters collection, but a good one to add to the collection after you've absorbed the classics on Chess.© Cub Koda /TiVo
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Le corps de mon ennemi (Bande originale du film)

Francis Lai

Film Soundtracks - Released September 3, 1976 | Playtime

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Verdi: Don Carlos

Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano

Classical - Released January 1, 2013 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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Sous inspi

Jacques

Ambient - Released May 7, 2018 | Recherche & Développement - R&D

Comme prévu

Ninho

Hip-Hop/Rap - Released September 8, 2017 | Rec. 118 - Mal Luné Music

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L'ovni

Jul

Hip-Hop/Rap - Released December 2, 2016 | D'Or et de Platine

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Nemir

Nemir

Hip-Hop/Rap - Released September 6, 2019 | Universal Music Division Capitol Music France

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Le voyageur

Georges Moustaki

Pop - Released January 27, 2004 | Universal Music Division Label Panthéon

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Caméléon

Shy'm

R&B - Released June 25, 2012 | Warner (France)

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Capitalizing on her victory in Danse Avec les Stars, French-Caribbean chanteuse Tamara Marthe, aka Shy'm, scored her first chart-topper with her fourth studio album, Caméléon. Featuring songs written by the likes of Canadian urban star K-Maro and French production duo SoFLY & Nius (M. Pokora), the follow-up to 2010's Prendre l'Air also includes the number one lead single "Et Alors!"© Jon O'Brien /TiVo

Mise à jour

M. Pokora

Pop - Released August 31, 2010 | Parlophone (France)

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Produced by the likes of Gee Futuristic, Astroboyz, and the Bionix, Mise à Jour sees M. Pokora, France's answer to Justin Timberlake, revert back to his native tongue following 2008's English-language Timbaland-featuring effort MP3. The former Popstars contestant and Linkup boy band member's fourth solo album, which maintains the urban pop sound of its predecessor, includes the singles "Juste une Photo de Toi" and "Mirage" alongside a collaboration with Dutch dance-pop vocalist Eva Simons ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith").© Jon O'Brien /TiVo
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There It Is

James Brown

R&B - Released June 9, 1972 | Universal Records

Brown's Polydor debut, Hot Pants, was nothing more than an inferior remake of the title track baited with a batch of half-baked vamps. There It Is, his second Polydor studio album, was a marked improvement. Not that he put much into it, either. This 1972 effort collected five of his best early-'70s tracks and mixed in minimal filler. "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" and "There It Is (Pts. 1 & 2)," with its bebop-style horns, were both innovative and hard driving to a fault. The hilarious "I'm a Greedy Man," with its hypnotic bass and help from Bobby Byrd, has Brown firing off such witticisms as "I'm a greedy man/yes I are" and "Taking care of my business/now run tell that." Brown wasn't all fun and games on this one. "King Heroin," an eerie, laid-back jazz offering, has him reciting chilling poetry about the ills of the drug. "Public Enemy #1 (Pt. 1)" attempts to re-create the same message. By "Public Enemy #2 (Pt. 2)" he is doing nothing but connecting the same dots and screaming himself hoarse to little effect. Although by this point Brown was best known for his dance tracks, he still had a way with a ballad. "Who Am I," a song that had been kicking around his oeuvre for aeons, gets a strong arrangement and has Brown giving an impassioned performance. It's well worth picking up.© Jason Elias /TiVo