Nouveau Riche's Pink Trash

Another swedish album for tonight, bought on www.cdon.com again, and found in the same parcel as Magnus Carlsson : the long awaited Nouveau Riche duet's first album Pink Trash.

When I first wrote about them here (see in my blog's archives on 10/02/07), their album was supposed to be called Matters of the heart... It's finally made it to Pink Trash and the cover is fabulous with these two mannequins close-up face to face. My version of the CD is not the digipack but the simple crystal box so as for Magnus' there's no lyrics included here, nor lots of photos but what is impressive is the tracklisting : 16 tracks!
But your CD player will indicate 18 as there's an introduction at 17 to the bonus Dusty Springfield cover version of the Pet Shop Boys written song In private as track 18 as well as new single apparently... There's a Soundfactory remix of it floating on the net...

Nouveau Riche's male part, Ulrich Bermsjö, looks here like the mastermind behind the project because he co-wrote some songs when Camilla none. Army Of Lovers' heritage proof lies here in the contributors : Magnus Frykberg, Mattias Lindblom & Anders Wollbeck (aka Vacuum), Jeanette Olsson, Emil Hellman and... Mister Alexander Bard himself it seems!

The album is much darker electro cold pop than Magnus' campy disco cheese so I would say it's a cross between Vacuum and BWO, although at some moments, there is some AoL extravaganzza too (Psychosexuality makes me think of an electro remix of Heterosexuality from Army Of Lovers' Gods of Earth & Heaven album). Included are Nouveau Riche's previous songs with Dominika, Oh Lord, Hardcore life & It's my party, but resung by Camilla, latest single, Angels, and more potential single material like the evident choice of the Vacuum written Wounds of love, Stay (where Camilla takes the lead), the fabulous anthem It's my party, the camp cover Calling all boys or Atomic love.
Their cover of In private is a good revival of the Dusty Springfield classic of 1989 and I suspected that Camilla, who sang backing vocals on the album of Pet Shop Boys cover versions of swedish West End Girls, wanted to do her part in the PSB Tribute... So it came as a surprise to hear Ulrich sing it all (or it seems). I don't know what it is with the Pet Shop Boys and Sweden but swedish people tend to like to sing their songs more than anyone (remember Alcazar sang Lovelife too!) and I won't complain at all! I'm a PSB addict !

The only plus they could have made would have been to include at the end the Soundfactory radio mix of Angels 'cos it transformes the ballad song in a club anthem and I like it maybe more than the original but I'm still satisfied with the original tracklisting : I will only add this one to my mp3 player's version of this album that will stay for long in my favourites ...for sure!

Magnus Carlsson's first post Alcazar english album

After a self-named solo album in swedish in 2006 and a swedish/english christmas album the same year, Spår I Snön, ex Alcazar (and former Barbados) singer Magnus Carlsson has finally released his first album in english. Named after his entry of this year MelodiFestivalen, Live Forever, it includes the A-Ha inspired single version as well as an accoustic one and 11 other disco pop gemms. THIS song should have gone to Eurovision's night instead of The Ark's one and sure 2008's party would then have been in Stockholm! This tune was Take on me Part II, vamped up for 2007 and with some Magnus' incredible vocal performance. Magnus even recorded this song in french (and spanish) on the CD single and although it suffered of some translation (its title J'ai vivrai is ungrammatical and should have been Je vivrai), like previous Alcazar's french version of Here I am, his french singing is charming and I'd be ready, more than willing & able to help him with his french accent with some tutoring anytime he wants .


The new single Waves of love is a summer anthem in the making but the album is full of pure pop dance hits. Crazy summer nights, I won't cry, Another rainbow, Give a little love, Don't you worry, You, Boogie time should ALL become singles as they're catchy as hell!
Magnus has worked with 3 different swedish songwriting/producing teams (HitVision, Thomas Thörnholm & Michael Clauss and Figge Bogström) but they've managed to create a full on disco pop anthem party from track 1 to 12, just before Magnus calms it down with his piano led acoustic version of Live forever. Track 7's midtempo, Never walk away, was right at the middle to slow it down a little too.
Live Forever - The Album is so much the follower of Alcazar's Alcazarized album that I now nearly can bear with the lack in my heart this missing quatuor have created. Andres, Magnus, Tess & Annikafiore were such a fabulous group I still hope they reunite someday. Till then, and with Andres' career not as sparkling as his ex boyfriend's, we only have this CD to help us forgive them for parting away...

I had waited for this CD to come in my post for long (it is an import from Sweden you know, thank you www.cdon.com!) and I was hoping for a great surprise maybe with the booklet or hidden tracks... I was deceived : no printed lyrics nor bonus included! I was so harder deceived that the iTunes version of the album includes some bonus material and I can't understand why Warner Music gave bonuses for digital downloads and none for CD buyers.
THAT will only lead to the die of the CD format! And I still like having that piece of plastic in my hands, opening it up feverishly to read the notes, discover who wrote what, who produce what, which guests have been invited, sing along to it with the help of the lyrics...

Instead, I've been to iTunes and have bought the bonus tracks to complete the tracklisting and the added part is GREAT!
Nothing less than 3 other new songs plus a demo version of one of the songs that made it to the CD version plus some remixes, and the newbies What about love, I found love & I belong to you could all have fitted in the original tracklisting. The space was enough to include them too so that makes me hate it a little more when the music industry takes us CD buyers for fools : that can only lead to peer-to-peer files trade and make consumers take over the market.

Till then I hope there'll still be plenty of releases of that quality on CD and I will sure buy them all ! I'm so proud to have this new CD in my personal discothèque.
I also hope Magnus will release plenty of singles off it just to get them with fabulous remixes as we've been used to with its Alcazar & former releases... Bring Emil Hellman & his Soundfactory's mixes in! There's never enough of a good song and there ain't a bad one here!

www.magnusonline.se

From under Her to His Umbrella...

Sometimes nowadays, R&B charts unleash a tune that is poppy enough to appeal to me and make me want to dance to its beat.
There haven't been loads in the last past years but, to name a few, I'd admit I've liked Beyoncé's Crazy in love original or all her recent Freemasons remixes, Rihanna's S.O.S. or Umbrella, and not only remixed, even in its original flavour...
The point must be that when a song is good, whatever the arrangements, dance, R&B or acoustic, the song will reach you straight to the heart!

And that leads me to where I'm going tonight : just before going to sleep (I still have to wake up early tomorrow morning 'cos it's one more saturday morning of work...), I wanted to share with you a link that I just came up to tonight and it's so good I want to share it with everyone :

Just go to this MySpace page : http://www.myspace.com/scottsimonsmusic and click on the music player to listen to this man's own rendition of Rihanna's last hit Umbrella...
It's AMAZING!
He's made a haunting mid-tempo sticky version of the syncopated R&B track and it's pure genius... His rendition must become a HIT very soon or the whole music industry doesn't deserve to be saved...

It may be a shame for an artist that apparently is a songwriter first to break it with a cover maybe but it must be because of his songwriter & arranger talents that he's magnified this already instant song and made a true musical pearl of it.
Add to this that his version will still sound fresh in a decade as its sounds are untemporal and you've got a hit! A shame it is not him that have released Umbrella first...

David Guetta's third studio offering : POP LIFE

After 2002 Just A Little More Love and 2004 Guetta Blaster, David Guetta released on 18th of June his third album Pop Life and I naturally added this nice piece of electro pop dance to my CDtheque.

Not that I liked all tracks from his previous releases, I have always been mixed up between high standards like Just a little more love, Love don't let me go, You, Give me something, People come people go, Money, Stay, Get up, Time, and less poppy tracks like Distortion, Atomic food or Last train but as you see there has always been enough (and more) good songs to win in my heart against the other ones...
This time I ain't disappointed at all!
David Guetta and his partner in crime Joachim Garraud deliver good electro in pure pop format, what is to say for me songs that do not last over 4'30, are radio friendly, and with bonus cuts, this album extend to 16 tracks !

Once again, favourite vocalist Chris Willis is back on board and for the better, for 8 tracks, just half of the album. He's lead on the new single Love is gone, that is featured in its original edit version and in the radio remix, by Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud. His other performances are ALL great and I wish this man could have his own moment of glory with a full album under his name very soon... Check Everytime we touch, Tomorrow can wait, Don't be afraid & Take me away. The 7th song is the original version of his Ghostbuster's sampled radio mix (Never take away) My Freedom and the 8th the The Egg confrontation on Love don't let me go (Walking away).

From 2nd album has stayed other vocalist JD Davis who, this time, still sounds like Dave Gahan on Winner of the game but like Roland Orzabal on future single potential Always. His last collaboration This is not a love song has his voice so filtered that it's awful and maybe the only track of the album I skip each time!

But David invited new team mates too and what a team!
Ex pop star & now awarded worldwide hits songwriter Cathy Dennis wrote the lyrics to the first track and for sure next single Baby when the light, which features unknown vocalist Cozi on a production collaboration with swedish star Steve Angello. This one teams up with David & Joachim again and with fellow Sebastian Ingrooso on Everytime we touch and it looks like Ibiza's F**ck Me I'm Famous! star David Guetta is now a big name enough around the planet to get their partnership on a record... Fine for him and for our ears too.
Tocadisco, whose remix version was the radio one for The Egg single, is their partner on Tomorrow can wait and it sounds just like the previous hit...
Another unknown Thailand sings on the very Benassi influenced trashy electro cut Joan of Arc which closes the tracklisting at #12 before the bonus and Avalon's Juliet offered her vocal on the angry & repetitive Do something love. But it's from the other female vocalist invited, Tara Mc Donald, that comes the latest jewels : Delirious (a sure hit single again!) & You're not alone... There ain't no skipping on these ones!

So to conclude this new offering from Mr Guetta, there are still sounds that made him famous with his first hits but he has added the latest ones that got him back high in the charts a la Tocadisco and when some will say it's auto plagia, I'd say it's just declension : David is offering us what he is made of today and it appeals to me a lot.
I have to add to that that I can't thank him enough not to make albums full of epic 7' and over tracks that bore before gettin' to your heart like other DJ star release. The extended & remix versions are reserved for the club/CDmaxis and I like that!

A last word to say that Mr Jean-Baptiste Mondino himself shot the cover & booklet photos and Mr Guetta must have felt praised cos the booklet is nearly only made of that... lyrics would have been fine too!

Ultra Naté, 5th studio album : exception to the rules for a dance diva

When so many dance/house divas release a couple of singles and one single hit among them, and no album at all (or in certain successful cases, one collection of fillers around the hit and a remix package soon after), one of the finest house divas from America has just released her 5th (!) CD and there's never even been some best of or remixes collection in between studio albums.

Her name sounds already full of promises : Ultra Naté.
The Name she chose for her new album too.
It's called "Grime / Silk / Thunder" from a comment some music reviewer made of Nirvana's "Nevermind" CD saying it included all this and that was what a great record should be made of. So Miss Naté intended to match perfection with this long awaited new album (her last one is from 2001!) and, let's face the truth, she quite succeed!

With its 14 tracks, including two re-recordings of old 1989/90 tracks "Scandal" & "It's over now", a cover of the Pointer Sisters' hit "Automatic", her previous collaboration single with swedish Top producer Stonebridge (who mixed all the tracks here) "Freak on", a featuring from David Guetta's favourite vocalist Chris Willis and another one from previous B-Crew partner Dajae, a previous single produced by house wizzard Eric Kupper and inspired by Moroder/Summer's "I feel love", "Love's the only drug" and loads of other fellas and, to name a few, Quentin Harris, Lati Kronlund, Craig C., Louie Balo, Bill Coleman, Andres Levin or her past collaborators Mood II Swing, Ultra Naté couln't do wrong. She co-wrote and co-produced the whole package so you see she ain't no singin' puppet standing in front of the microphone for some studio masters and this album is all HERS.

Not that this was a change for the miss...
From the beginning, she took part of the making process and was already involved in her lyrics on her 1991 first album "Blue Notes in the Basement", which was produced by The Basement Boys.
Same recipe for her second offereing "One woman's insanity" from 1993 but D-Influence, Nellee Hooper and Soulshock, Cutfather & Karlin were added to the team. I can't help but remind you that Boy George's "I specialize in loneliness" were there magnified by Ultra Naté in an epic 7 minutes version of pure bliss.
But that wasn't until 1997 and her worldwide anthem "Free" - not to mistake with Rozalla's raver "Everybody's free (to feel good)", Ultra's song was going like 'Cos you're free... to do what you want to do... You've got to live your life, do what you want to do!" - that the whole planet knew her name. She sang with Amber & Jocelyn Enriquez the single from the discoïd movie Studio 54, "If you could read my mind" and charted again.
Her third album "Situation : critical" followed the year after with the same team as for the single, Mood II Swing, but still with D-Influence and Al Mack & Masters At Work for the sublime "Divine love". More single hits followed with "Found a cure" and "A new kind of medicine" and her fourth album in 2001, "Stranger than fiction" kept the pace but with less chart success, though still high quality, with singles "Desire" & "Get it up (the feeling)".

She got us entertained with various collaborations since then :
"There is" with germans of Tiefschwartz in 2001, "Music came to save my life" with D-Influence's D-Vas project in 2002, "Brass in my pocket" in 2003, "A wonderful place" on Blaze's United For Dance 2004 album, along the same year with "Bittersweet melody", "Feel love" (which is included on this album) or "Time of our lives" with Gerry DeVeaux as Ultra Devoted.
But it was Stonebridge and her vocals on "Freak on" for his first artist album "Can't get enough" that led her back in the worldwide charts as their song was released as third single off his album.
Her collaboration with Def Mix ex keyboard player Eric Kupper "Love's the only drug" announced at the end of 2006 her BIG come back and now it's on.
The new single is "Automatic", a perfect disco housed anthem that has a sexxxy video to promote it as well (see it on my major MySpace profil page), and I can't see why "Falling", "Getaway" or "Give it all you got" wouldn't become the following singles as they're catchy as hell, while the rest of the album takes dance/house standards to a new level.

It'll be hard to top this release for the rest of 2007... Beware! Ultra's back for good .

http://www.ultranate.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ultranatemusic

Nouvelle Star 2007 : Tigane ou Julien?

Hier soir, j'ai passé ma soirée devant M6, comme chaque jeudi ou mercredi soir de diffusion de la saison 2007 de la Nouvelle Star (ou Pop Idol à la française).
A mesure que les primes se sont écoulés, j'ai vu l'étau se resserrer dangereusement autour de Julien et hier, il a gagné sa place en finale contre Tigane. Julien paraît être le favori de tous, ses prestations déchainent applaudissements, hurlements, hululements, cris déchainés et extatiques dans le public de Baltard. Notre jury préféré l'encense quasiment à chaque fois mais du côté de mon salon...

Vous pouvez répéter la question?
Ah pardon, j'avais oublié le coton que je m'étais mis dans les oreilles hier soir pour ne pas écouter Julien hurler de sa voix déglingée...

Si certaines prestations n'ont pas manqué d'originalité et se sont révélées être à mes oreilles réussies ("Like a virgin", "Moi... Lolita", et même le "Tainted love" d'hier soir), la plupart du temps, je dois avouer que non seulement il me passe totalement à côté, mais en plus, ses prestations m'insupportent et ne me laissent d'autre choix que de :
[TAPER 1] couper le son!
Merci Katerine, mais je ne veux pas remettre le son tant que le mec à la barrette est toujours à l'image, nan, nan!
[TAPER 2] zapper, mais entre le match de foot et le téléfilm des autres chaînes, j'aurais encore préféré la pub...
[TAPER 3] éteindre ma télé... comme de toute façon, il chante toujours en dernier quasiment depuis le début (ne me dites pas qu'il y a tirage au sort!) et que l'on sait qu'il sera repêché lors du supplice de l'enveloppe, y'a plus de suspense...

C'est vrai que je n'ai pas la fibre rock. A la base, moi, c'est la pop dance, bien cheesy, camp et disco, ou la house, la soul, l'eurodance, les ballades ou la variét' qui filent la gerbe à Manu Katché mais de temps en temps, je m'écoute ma dose de guitares (pas saturées quand même, j'ai le coeur fragile!) mais le problème est que Julien tient son inspiration de ces rockers ovniesques voire éthyliques (Iggy Pop, Joe Cocker, Jim Morrison, etc.) et que je ne vois pas l'intérêt :

Pourquoi infliger aux téléspectateurs (ou auditeurs) une chanson massacrée, à la mélodie oubliée, aux paroles revisitées (pour ne pas dire oubliées et donc improvisées), à l'accent anglais digne d'un niveau CM2 (formidable "Wizor Wizaut You" hier!), et aux effets de voix exaspérants... Vous voyez sûrement ce que je veux dire, quand il arrondit sa bouche comme s'il voulait sucer son micro et prend un accent autrichien, suédois ou de quelque contrée que ce puisse être avant d'éructer la fin de sa tirade et se déchirant les cordes vocales, tel un cerf en rut en train de bramer.
Ce doit être ce qui met Dédé Manoukian dans tous ses états (à moins que ce ne soit les mini-jupes et le minois de Gaëtane). ce qui plaît à Manu le teigneux, c'est bien évidemment qu'il fait du rock même avec les pires "daubes" variétoches et que c'est donc plus crédible pour l'image de l'émission que le grand public de la Star Ac'. c'est ce que se tue à répéter la divine Marianne d'ailleurs, qu'ils sont fiers d'être sur la 6 plutôt que sur la 1 (Benji, t'as compris le message?) même si c'est elle qu'il énerve aussi de temps en temps en singeant les grimaces d'Iggy. Quant à Dove, lui, tant qu'il y a du show, ça lui plaît. C'est vendeur et, que ce soit pour du savon, de la comédie musicale ou de l'audience, faut qu'ça plaise au public. Faut que les appels téléphoniques surtaxés pour défendre le chouchou des minettes prépubères qui le trouvent "Troooooooop biens" et dépassent le forfait SMS illimités de papa maman toute la soirée. Lui-même l'a dit : Julien ne laisse personne indifférent : il y a ceux qui adorent et ceux qui détestent...
Je suis encore étonné que les premiers soient toujours plus nombreux que les seconds et j'ai donc peur pour la semaine prochaine...

D'un côté, gagner la finale de la nouvelle star n'est pas gage de réussite pour autant (Jonathan Cerrada?). Ou en tout cas, ne pas la gagner ne veut pas dire non plus que c'est foutu. Amel Bent était troisième de sa saison qui a vu le rockeur Steeve Estatof gagner (mais un rockeur est moins vendeur qu'une diva de banlieue...) et qui se souvient encore du N°2, le beau et peu sûr de lui Julien Chagnon à part moi? Et Thierry Amiel s'en sort plutôt bien aussi. Pour rester sur Amel, elle a interprété hier soir en exclu son nouveau single extrait de son 2° album, "Nouveau français". La chanson, signée Lionel Florence / Pascal Obispo, la déporte sur le créneau de Nâdiya, plus pop R&B que pop soul mais surtout, on se demande ou Lionel avait la tête pour écrire un refrain aussi ininspiré (Nouveau français, français nouveau, nouveau français, sous le même drapeau... même Barbelivien aurait pu faire mieux et moins répétitif!). Quant à Obispo, c'est un peu mieux mais quand la chanson tourne à moitié en marseillaise, ça devient gonflant! Y'a un conseiller artistique chez BMG qui a du souci à se faire pour sa place vu le single qui va lancer l'album...

De l'autre côté, Julien, qui avoue ne s'être présenté aux castings que pour faire de la pub pour ses groupes, ne veut sans doute pas gagner et subir la pression de la maison de disques. Il préfèrerait garder sa liberté artistique tout ensurfant sur sa notoriété acquise lors de l'émission. Avis aux SMSeuses!

Reste Tigane alors... Si mon favori du début était la gueule d'ange Soma (pour son "Ain't no sunshine" magnifique des castings), ses déraillements vocaux des primes m'ont fait retomber l'intérêt aussi vite qu'une douche froide, d'autant que j'ai découvert au premier show le talentueux et vocalement impressionnant Pierre avec sa reprise de Michel Jonasz. Mais il était finalement trop lisse pour attirer les SMS, et ses performances à chaque prime n'y ont rien changé. Il aurait peut-être dû faire un coming out à Baltard, ou violer Marianne en coulisses, ou montrer son cul à Jérôme Pitorin, ou... Enfin, j'espère franchement qu'il saura tirer son épingle du jeu. J'achèterai son album les yeux fermés.
Tigane, donc, s'il a la voix un peu grave à mon goût, sait distiller en tout cas un magnétisme lors de ses prestations qui capte l'attention et, avec les bonnes chansons ("Love's divine", "On s'attache"), il pourrait trouver son public. Il manque un interprète soul comme lui à la scène français.

Résultat la semaine prochaine mais on fera le point dans un an pour voir les débuts sur CD des participants de cette année.

“L’album de l’année” ou en tout cas le millesime 2007 de Christophe Willem

Puisque le thème cher à Christophe est la grande distribution, je vais détourner une célèbre pub de chocolat pour vanter son premier album en une phrase : Christophe Willem, c'est une peu de délicatesse dans un monde de brutes...
Une seule écoute suffit à s'en rendre compte;
Alors, fermez les yeux, détendez-vous, bienvenue sur Turtle Airlines, le vol durera moins d'une heure... PLAY!

1/ Jacques a dit (Zazie / Jean-Pierre Pilot / Olivier Schulteis) 3:49
L'album commence par une délicatesse sonore où l'on reconnaît la patte de Miss Zazie, tout en douceur et beauté avec nappes de cordes, notes de piano égrenées rythmant le refrain, et Christophe jouant de son organe jusqu'à prendre son envol final : beau départ...
Un remix ferme l'album en plage 15/ avec force rajouts de scratches vinyls pour une ambiance un peu plus moite mais finalement pas si dissemblable.

2/ Quelle chance (Zazie / Jean-Pierre Pilot / Olivier Schulteis) 4:15
"Quelle chance" commence tout en délicate continuité avec le titre précédent mais le refrain arrive sur un riff de synthés salué par une foule lointaine et le pied bat la mesure d'une morceau qui vous file la pêche et vous donne envie de taper des mains en rythme avec Christophe, ambiance soirée happy friends.

3/ Elu produit de l'année (Matthias Debureaux / Bertrand Burgalat) 3:16
Cordes et caisses enregistreuses commencent le 3ème titre et premier extrait avant qu'une ambiance swingin' disco ne décolle et n'accompagne Christophe sur des paroles 3° degré, avec jingle promo Monoprix, et choeurs sucrés sans l'être trop non plus. Bertrand Burgalat s'est surpassé et s'est fait plus grand public que d'habitude.

4/ Double je (remix) (Zazie / Jean-Pierre Pilot / Olivier Schulteis) 3:18
"Quand je s'rai grand, je s'rai Bee Gees..." entame Christophe en voix de tête en guise d'intro sur une melodie très rythmée aux arrangements synthés electros qui paraît dès la première écoute être un futur single obligatoire ! (EDIT : Quand est-ce qu'on m'embauche comme conseiller artistique? J'avais raison!) Comme sur "Quelle chance", on reconnaît Zazie dans les choeurs soufflés loin derrière la voix planante de Christophe et l'on se dit décidément que c'est une bien belle collaboration... !
La version originale moins electro est inclue en plage 14/ mais ma version préférée reste le remix.

5/ Chambre avec vue (Natacha Le Jeune / Christophe Willem) 4:31
Premier et seul titre composé par Christophe présent sur le CD, "Chambre avec vue" est une ballade symphonique interprétée au piano par Christophe lui-même, qui vous enveloppe de ouate et vous berce tout en douceur comme un intermède de calme et de paix... Encore! Encore!

6/ Le lycée (Philippe Katerine) 3:22
Rythmique syncopée plaquée et gimmicks acids psychés démarrent ce premier titre de notre grand échalat aux sous-pulls collants roses flashies préférés et le couplet passe doucement jusqu'à ce que le refrain sautillant nous emmène avec lui et je baisse les armes pour dodeliner de la tête en rythme en même temps que Christophe chante "Billy Jean de Michael..." Même si le titre me paraissait moins immédiat, j'ai été conquis dès le premier refrain!

7/ Intemporel (Benjamin Kerber / Bertrand Burgalat) 3:59
Départ tout doux au piano voix pour Christophe avant que les cordes à nouveau et les percus ne mènent finalement la danse pour un titre intemporel (ça tombe bien), entre funky et disco, qui cette fois laisse les effets de voix de côté et constitue un bon titre, sans plus.

8/ Safe text (Zazie / Jean-Pierre Pilot / Olivier Schulteis) 3:59
Rythmique sautillante et appuyée très en avant par rapport à sa voix tout en douceur, "Safe text" se la joue emblème de notre génération portable avec un refrain plus enlevé niveau voix et des paroles judicieuses sur ce thème, et où, encore, l'empreinte Zazie se fait sentir sans être pour autant pesante pour Christophe qui se l'approprie et la conclue tout en douceur encore une fois.

9/ Kiss the bride (Remy Lacroix / Pierre Demarty) 3:53
Electroïsant façon années 80's, ce premier et seul titre interprété dans la langue de Shakespeare, cette scie rythmique et presque dance-rock (avec même un pont vocoder façon Daft Punk) nous donne envie de remuer du popotin, de lever les bras au ciel et de chanter à tue-tête avec Christophe qui, faut-il le préciser, manie l'anglais avec un parfait accent.

10/ Pourquoi tu t'en vas? (Valérie Lemercier / Bertrand Burgalat) 3:26
Bertrand Burgalat est de retour aux manettes sur cette Xème plage et cette fois l'inspiration est à la ballade aux sonoritées seventies chères à son label Tricatel et pour le coup, sa copine Valérie Lemercier s'est invitée aux paroles et aux voix pour un duo plein de charme où leurs voix se répondent en alternance. Faut-il rappeler qu'en 1996, Valérie avait publiée sur le label du sieur Burgalat un album de 10 petites perles kitschisantes aux savoureuses paroles et qu'elle s'était ensuite déjà offert un beau duo avec Mister Neil Hannon de The Divine Comedy. Cette fois, les paroles sont plus sages et l'ambiance même plus aérienne, presque, comment dire, oserais-je?, ennuyeuse... Heureusement, la fin chuchotée nous fait retrouver une Valérie Lemercier capricieuse face à un Christophe à la voix toute émoustillée .

11/ Demain (Pap Dezlel / Benoit De Villeneuve) 3:18
On reste dans une ambiance seventies, voire même sixties, je ne sais pas, j'étais pas né . Bertrand Burgalat est toujours aux manettes et comme pour le titre précédent, ça s'entend. Les cuivres ont la place belle et cette chanson se termine par un Christophe en impro presque swing & jazzy mais ce n'est vraiment pas ma préférée... Elle semble être d'une autre époque mais sonne vieillotte. Comme quoi on peut parfois paraître moderne en s'inspirant du passé mais... parfois, on est pris à son propre jeu!

12/ La tortue (Philippe Katerine) 2:52
Second titre de Katerine qui l'ouvre de ses choeurs reconnaissables présentant comme un Monsieur Loyal du pauvre "la tortue". Les paroles ont été écrites sur mesure, bien évidemment, et accompagnées d'une ritournelle mélodique plaisante et rythmée, permettent à Christophe de décrypter ce surnom en n'en gardant qu'une explication de texte à son avantage, avec assez d'humour pour que ce titre n'embarrasse cependant pas son répertoire d'ici quelques années comme un boulet.

13/ Bombe anatomique (Zazie / Jean-Pierre Pilot / Philippe Paradis) 3:07
Syncopée et une fois n'est pas coutume avec Christophe, pleine d'humour, ce dernier titre flirte avec le R&B, avec une human beat box digne des castings de la Nouvelle Star 2007.

Bonus Internet / OpenDisc : Des nues (version piano / voix)
Autre titre de monsieur Willem apparemment, malheureusement non inclu sur le CD mais disponible via la plage OpenDisc du CD ou en téléchargement légal en titre bonus (EDIT : ainsi qu'en face B sur le CD single N°1 des ventes "Double Jeu"). Ce piano voix tout en délicatesse nous fait témoin, lorsque survient le refrain, de l'envolée presque lyrique de l'organe cristallin de Christophe et vous file la chair de poule des pieds à la tête... Quel dommage qu'il n'y ait pas eu plus de moments d'intimités comme celui-là sur son CD.

- Euh, dis Christophe, sur le prochain, tu pourras inclure un CD bonus avec des titres piano voix uniquement, des titres que tu auras composés ou des reprises de tes chansons préférées, pour que l'on retrouve un peu aussi le Christophe des primes à Baltard ? S'il-te-plaît! 15 titres c'est déjà pas si mal, je sais, mais c'est trop court... Allez, hop! J'appuie sur la touche REPLAY!

Pour conclure donc, je crois que cette album,
- même s'il oublie d'inclure "Sunny" (mais tout le monde avait acheté le single, non? et puis, une page s'est tournée),
- même s'il n'y a pas assez de chansons intimistes où Christophe nous la joue solo au piano,
- même si je pense que Christophe s'est laissé aller à inclure des chansons écrites sur mesure pour lui par des personnes qu'il admirait (ça fait toujours plaisir, c'est sûr, et elles sont plutôt bonnes aussi) et en a oublié de se battre pour ses propres titres ou même a fait son Laurent Voulzy en prétextant le manque de temps pour s'y mettre vraiment,
- même si vers la fin, il y a quelques chansons moins immédiates ou moins accessibles (EDIT : mais qui à la fin de la course, soit au bout d'une dizaine d'écoute, sont devenues aussi indissociables du reste de l'album dans mon coeur!),

je crois néanmoins qu'il est bien partie pour être, à l'unanimité dans la Hotlist de ma chaine hi-fi (et de toutes celles de mon quartier et peut-être même de plus loin encore), et pour rendre justice à son premier extrait bien sûr, élu produit de l'année 2007...

- Parce qu'il est rare qu'un premier album soit aussi abouti et que collaborations rîment avec perfection,
- Parce qu'il est bien parti pour continuer à nous épater longtemps avec sa voix d'ange tombé sur terre et cherchant, quoiqu'un peu désabusé, à remonter au ciel, même qu'à travers le chant,
- Parce qu'il est difficile de débuter dans un petit rôle sur grand écran et sur une simple plage de bande originale (Ah, ce "Pourquoi j'ai mal"!), puis de se faire connaître via une émission de télé-réalité, de conquérir un public tout en restant sincère, de prendre son temps dans ce métier difficile, de se faire plaisir et de faire plaisir au public en même temps tout en restant soi, humble et sans grosse tête,
- Parce que j'ai acheté l'album ce soir en rentrant du boulôt, le jour de la sortie, et qu'en l'espace d'une soirée, je l'ai déjà écouté 3 fois... (Faudra que je pense à m'en acheter un deuxième, au cas où le mien soit usé avant le mois prochain...)
- Parce que rares sont ces artistes ou ces albums inter-générationnels qui plaisent aux grand-mères, aux mères, à leurs enfants et aux enfants de ces derniers...
- Parce que...

ET BIEN PARCE QUE!

ET P'IS C'EST TOUT!

ACHETEZ-LE VITE, Y'EN AURA BIENTÔT PLUS DANS LES BACS et vous n'aurez que vos larmes pour pleurer d'être passé à côté de la révélation de l'année dernière, de cette année, de l'année prochaine et de la suivante sûrement, la révélation du siècle à n'en pas douter... La chanson française a une nouvelle star, qui va briller de plus en plus au firmament des interprètes, entre Brel, Piaf et Aznavour, regardez bien, cette étoile là va briller longtemps !

Lisa Scott-Lee's long overdue album finally gets a release ...in South Africa

It's been exactly 4 years that ex-STEPS star Lisa Scott-Lee started her solo career with her fantastic single "Lately".
In STEPS, there's always been 3 respected vocalists, Faye Tozier, Claire Richards & Ian 'H' Watkins, who were given the biggest vocal performances on records. For poor Lee Latchford-Evans, it has always been a BIG question to know whether he could sing a note or not... till he got his "Turn around" song on their third and last studio album "Buzz" or sang some Lou Bega sound-a-like party song on tour.
Lisa's case was more sensible as she got her part in vocal duties, both in studio and on tour, but some always complained that she was less talented than the other two girls and that her voice sounded very nasal. Sure she ain't got the voice of a diva (think Jocelyn Brown, Claire took this job in the group with her roaring parts in the songs) but her voice was the sexiest and fitted best in the sensuous songs. It was an obvious choice then, to launch her solo career, to use this skill on sexy disco housed tracks with a full on sophisticated kitten dance diva image. If you wonder how this could sound, think of Kylie's Fever re-invention and you'll get it .

With "Lately", She got to #6 in the UK Charts on the 19th of May, 2003. The following single was 4 months later with "Too far gone" and a #11. She was working at the time with the production team Point4 that includes ex PWL mix engineer Peter Day and there was an album in the making with some of its tracks gettin' leaked from the "Unleashed" promo sampler : The rumoured following single, the sweet ballad "I'll wait for you", "Sleazy", "Obscenely delicious", "Boy on the dance floor" and the Poptastic "Back in time" (on which another ex PWL master of the mix, Pete Hammond, worked with his actual partner Bruce Elliot-Smith).
Both singles were remixed by Top of the cream remixers : Soda Club (aka Love To Infinity/Andy & Pete Lee), Stella Browne, Almighty Associates or Bimbo Jones. Although they could be named as hits, it seems that these chart placings were not enough for her record label, Fontana, and her album was shelved... Another rumoured track, a cover of Strike's 1995 #4 Hit, "U sure do" was recorded too, completed with an Almighty remix, but then again, it was never released.

Instead, "Back in time" was recorded by another dance act, Angel City, fronted by vocally equally talented Lara McAllen, on their album and it's a damn SHAME neither of these versions have been released as a single 'cos this song is really an instant HIT!

Over a year passed by till we get to see Lisa back in the charts, as a featured vocalist this time, on Intenso Project's third single, "Get it on". This was a real dance labelled single release, with a sexy video clip and full disco house arrangements but it only reached #23 in the UK charts at the end of November 2004. It is interesting to note that this one was released in France the following year and entered at #38 before sinking down the charts.



Then, there was another featuring on "Sunshine after the rain", a Berri cover version by Bel Air, but it remained unreleased, so Lisa's latest single was her UK comeback #13 "Electric", that charted in October 2005, but failed to make it to Top Ten and was then rumoured to be her goodbye release...
Written by Robbie Williams' ex writing partner Guy Chambers with ex boysband A1 babyfaced Ben Adams, this one added some guitars to the dance orientation and should have been bigger in the charts. The CD single includes two more unreleased songs, "Make it last forever" and "Don't U want my number?", as if Lisa already knew it was the only way to release to her public all the new songs she recorded for her always rumoured album...

Having failed to succeed in getting at least some UK Top 5 Hit after gettin' exposed on TV in shows like MTV's Totally Scott-Lee or Dancing On Ice, Lisa Scott-Lee disappeared from the UK music scene and it looks like her UK music career is over now.
So it came as a real good surprise to see her long awaited album "Never or now" finally gettin' a release ...at least, in South Africa!



The tracklisting doesn't look that promising as there are 9 old well known recordings among the 13 tracks but HEY! you better think of it as some sort of a Could've been-Greatest Hits :
1/ Lately
2/ Too far gone
3/ Electric
4/ Back in time
5/ Obsenely delicious
6/ Boy on the dance floor
7/ Give you my love *
8/ Make it last forever
9/ Sleazy
10/ I'll wait for you
11/ You're no good for me *
12/ Rush *
13/ Never or now *

The cover artwork recycles the "Unleashed" cover too but it is only fair as all its material is included here.

So there are only 4 tracks (marked with *) that I didn't know and I don't like them so much as her old tracks. "You're no good for me", "Rush" and "Never or now" are pop-rock songs and that must be why they've been put at the end as it is a departure from the style of the rest of the album. "Give you my love" though must have been recorded at the same time as the "Electric" single tracks as it still is dance .

Yes, I know, this album could have been so much better with a 17 or 18 tracks list including all old tracks ("U sure do", "Get it on", and some other rumoured tracks like "Bad girl" or B-sides "That's that" and "I'm burning") and more new recordings and maybe some of her best remixes, Soda Club's remix of "Lately" and the Almighty remixes of "Too far gone" & "U sure do". THAT would have been heaven on earth.
Now seeing Lisa's album finally gettin' a release and laying in my personal disco is already some nice piece of heaven .

So if you want to purchase a copy of her CD album like me, go to this south african site : http://www.kalahari.net/mus/product.asp?sku=30543775 where you can get it at a good price but with equally expensive p&p charges (for Europe at least) . Or you can choose to wait as it is said it will get released in belgium AND a UK download only release, both on 18th of June...

www.lisascottlee.com
www.myspace.com/lisascottleeaus
www.myspace.com/point4

L'eau à la bouche : macarons faits maison

Je ne peux résister à l'autosatisfaction culinaire, après plusieurs heures passées dans ma cuisine ce week-end, et vous présente sur mon blog (ça change des critiques musicales) la photo de mes macarons faits maison, aux couleurs aussi diverses que leurs parfums (de gauche à droite et de haut en bas : pistache, framboise, chocolat, citron, pain d'épices, choco/coco, clémentine, fraise tagada). C'était mon premier essai et même si j'ai hésité encore sur la taille ou le temps de cuisson parfois, le résultat est globalement réussi :



Je ne saurais que trop vous conseiller, pour peu que vous sachiez manier la poche à douille et la spatule à blancs en neige, d'aller jeter un coup d'oeil sur le site où je me suis procuré la recette de ces délicates gourmandises : www.puregourmandise.com
Clair, précis, aux multiples parfums et aux alléchantes photos, ce site dédié aux macarons mais pas seulement, vaut le détour !

Falling in love with Mike Rizzo's new mix of Kenne's unreleased song

What's in common between the following people :
- ex PWL Mixmaster & british pop hits producer Phil Harding,
- UK G-A-Y favourite remixers Almighty,
- US latin club act Roc Project,
- US Circuit God Jonathan Peters,
- german Culture Beat producer Doug Laurent,
- London based club remixers Sharp Boys and
- US Top10 remixer Mike Rizzo ?

you don't know?
let me help you out...

He debuted in 2004 with the best sing-along feelgood pop-dance song of the year ("Everybody Happy"), remixed at Almighty for the clubby crowds, and then released a following single covering one of New Order's best song ever ("True Faith").
He recorded further songs nowhere else than at PWL ex star Phil Harding's own recording studios and although these jewels stay commercially unreleased, they have been unleashed in various mix combinations on his own MySpace page and have pleased our ears with perfect dance-pop style, sometimes disco-housed, sometimes more tribal house, always fun and energetic.
There have been years since these songs were talked about on some PWL fans forums and then we finally get to hear them there so I couldn't be less thankful to that special underground (but sooner or later going to rise to global club stardom) friendly singer of ours than to dedicate him a page in my pop & dance music reviews pages...

His name is KENNE and you must remember his first video clip where is blondie head emerged from the ground singing "everybody happy, everybody feel fine..." between the legs of people dancing in the discotheque, walking on the beach or on the grass...
The clip was hilarious (thankfully, Kenne changed back his color of hair into black!) and the song, released with its leading Almighty radio version, an instant hit on the floor at the G-A-Y Astoria, London, moving hands up in the air and bimbo boys showing off their bodies with T-shirts all away... mmmm, good old memories .

Then there was the True Faith dance cover version (promoted under another alias Jukka) that was a radio Top20 in France where Kenne filmed his video and although New Order songs are never easy songs to adapt, Kenne's version is one of my favourite ones (with dutch Sita's accoustic version of "Bizarre love triangle").

After these tracks were recorded with german producer Doug Laurent (who worked for eurodance superstars Culture Beat) and both remixed by Almighty team, Kenne chose to make his dream come true and flew up to London to meet and work with Phil Harding, the never forgotten first and only Mixmaster at PWL studios, home of star producers Stock Aitken & Waterman and hundreds of worldwide hits in the 80's & 90's.
He recorded 4 new tracks with him, the two firsts of which he co-wrote, "Take Me Back", "Touched By Love", "Falling In Love" and "I Still Love You" (a song the dutch boyband Get Ready previously recorded on their Harding & Curnow produced album "The Mission" in 1999) but the record companies were becoming more relunctant in signing new "pop" artists and it got tougher and tougher from then on so the only place where we can listen to these songs (from now on) is here :
http://www.myspace.com/kennesongs

It is interesting to note that since they were created with Phil harding, they have inspired some US star producers and we can listen to a fantastic storming mix by Mike Rizzo of "Falling in love" which could never sound better and up-to-date than in this edit : the perfect track to re-launch Kenne's career in US clubs. A featuring on some independant film soundtrack a la Circuit or Queer As Folk would certainly be enough for that as this song is an instant gemm you can't help but fall in love to in a second... the least for a song named "Falling in love" .

But there's more chocolates in Kenne's music box to pick up and treasure : the Sharp Boys mix of "You are a star (this is your night)" would not sound out of place in today's european clubs & radios, mixing electro disco sounds & pop appeal and I would love to see an animated videoclip to promote it heavily on music channels for example. An Almighty remix of "Be your lover", another Doug Laurent song, is so catchy I can't understand why (oh why!?) it hasn't been released nor promoted... And I have to admit my personal guilty pleasure is to listen to "Everybody happy", the Almighty radio edit, over and over again .

From the names that have decided to work with him without big record companies to invite them, it seems clear Kenne's pop appeal and instant music seduction is inviting so all I can do is to advise you to go to his MySpace page, listen to the numerous tracks airplayed to the visitors' delight and as you'll undoubtly like them, become a new Kenne's friend and leave him comments and show him your love for his music, talk about him to your friends of same tastes and make his MySpace page such a hit his music can get noticed by some record company that will finally got his stuff released so that we can, at last, get a real CD album by Kenne in our hands.
THAT would really make me happy!
"Everybody happy... Everybody feel fine..."