The Rough Guide to the Music of France

Amazon.com Review
The Rough Guide To The Music Of France embraces a bewildering array of styles. This excellent introduction typically fulfils the stereotypes of spidering accordions and husky, ear-licking vocals, but there are also representatives from every corner of the country, sometimes sung in languages or dialects that you've never heard before. These diverse folk forms from within France are mingled with relatively recent cultural imports from North Africa and beyond. The selection's authoritatively compiled by radio producer and journalist Guillaume Veillet, from Grenoble. Les Ogres De Barback manage to take traditional elements and upset them with a dynamic punk spirit, while Lo'Jo do the same by creating a catchy-chorus pop sensibility. The Massilia Sound System fuses hip-hop scratching with Occitan (southern) folk traditions and La Talvera retain a determinedly grainy, authentic feel. Meanwhile, Les Primitifs Du Futur feature a fruitful meeting between cartoonist R. Crumb and two North African guests, and Bagad Men Ha Tan and Doudou N'Diaye Rose combine Breton small piping with Senegalese drumming. If that's not enough already, there's also Corsican choral polyphony, some hurdy gurdy introspection, gypsy jazz guitars and vintage material from the more obvious Edith Piaf and Ferre. --Martin Longley

Tracks:

J'Ai Un Trou Dans Ma Tete - Ramses
Coudes A Coudes - Jean Corti
C'est Un Rital - Michele Bernard
Lo Mometto - Didier Pauvert
Portrait D'un 78 Tard - Les Primitifs Du Futur
Mado - Emil Vacher
Avec Entrain - Le Denecheau Jase Musette
Vas-Y Mimile - Marc Perrone
La Der Des Der - Frehel
La Der Des Der - Les Hurlements D'Leo
Minor Swing - New Quintette Du Hot Club De France
La Roulotte - Louis Corchia
Paris, Oct. 61 - La Tordue
La Godasse - Michel Macias
Au Comptoir - Debout Sur Le Zinc
Petit Poucet - Garard Pierron
Joseph, Jospeh - Jo Privat
Je Ne Suis Qui'Un Attarde - Bell Ceil
Afro-Musette - Richard Galliano
Rue De Paname - Les Ogres De Barback
Para Lo Lop - Antonin Bouscatel
Mandlinette - Charles Peguri
L'Accordeoniste - Edith Piaf
Jeannette - Gus Viseur Et Son Ensemble
L'Orphelin De La Java - Francis Lemarque

Amazon.com

Cap at a rakish angle, Gitane hanging from the lip... as Guillaume Veillet's liner note points out, Paris's most indigenous music may seem a trifle cozy, but The Rough Guide to Paris Café Music shows the inaccuracies of that prejudice. The origins of French café music may lie in the Auvergne, whose musicians played the smallpipes, but the biggest influence that fed into the music came from Italy, with an organetto tradition traced to Nascente's Bar Italia (the other big influence came from the gypsy world). The Bal Musette café ballroom was the melting pot in which the smallpipes gave way to the accordion and stars began to emerge. Emile Vacher and Charles Peguri were the founding fathers of this tradition, and they're both present on this entrancing new Rough Guide installment. We also hear Jean Corti, who played in a military brothel in the 1940s, and the drug-addicted Fréhel, whose smoky tones are the authentic sound of the 1920s. The variety of styles in these 25 tracks is dazzling, as hot jazz alternates with modern cool. Django Reinhardt's son Babik beats up a lovely storm with the New Quintette du Hot Club de France; meanwhile, Edith Piaf sings a song called "L'Accordeoniste." And if you're hooked on this instrument, get a copy of Wergo's Global Accordion: Early Recordings, a marvelous cornucopia of vanished sounds. --Michael Church

Album Description

The Rough Guide To Paris Café Music conjures up the romantic image of accordion music floating through wisps of smoke from a Gitane, the voice of Edith Piaf and a moonlit Eiffel Tower. This style of music is known as bal-musette and grew from the music of the immigrant communities in Paris at the turn of the last century. This unique and comprehensive collection traces the music from its lowly roots in the café-charbons to its modern incarnations in modern jazz and rock-musette with tracks from its seminal artists.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful French Music.......2003-12-19

I picked this CD up because of a then upcoming trip to Paris and boy am I glad I did. It opened up a new world of beautiful music from beautful noir inducing waltzes to high spirited fist pumpers to slick jazz, this disc has all you need.
The music is mostly accordian driven with varios tempos and moods. Some of the tracks are older more traditional French musette and chansons that evoke images of wartime Paris and some of the tracks are more rock oriented not unlike a French version of the Pogues or Flogging Molly. This CD has something for everyone who enjoys new adventures in music and if youre a fan of world beat, cajun, french music or jazz, youre sure to enjoy this.
The standouts here for me ar Hulements D'Leo,Les Ogres Du Barback and Debouts Sur Le Zinc who mix punk spirit with this new style...

Okay, but I'm not impressed.......2002-07-26

Don't get me wrong-I love Paris Cafe music, mainly because I'm an accordionist myself. I also love Rough Guide music because they are usually able to get the most music from the best artists that represent the region well-and all on ONE cd! However, this one slips through, in my opinion. This CD is merely a hogpoge of any tune with an accordion and singing in the french language, and has no real direction or purpose. Another qualm I have about this album is that it really isn't that great for listening casualy too. To be able to just pop in a CD to create an atmosphere for a dinner or chatting with friends is one of the great aspects of REAL parisian cafe music-it serves as a background, yet it still is noticible and interesting to listen to with out taking all your attention. This CD on the other hand demands that you concentrate on it-it's more of a musical text book on all the different types of french music than a CD that is enjoyable to listen to. But if a musical text book is what you want, then go ahead and buy it, just remember that I told you so.