Les Négresses Vertes

I first heard this CD from a friend while studying abroad in France. I loved the compilation so much, that I actually purchased it from Starbucks when I returned to the States. If you are buying this CD only for Pink Martini, then move on as they only perform one song on here, (which I love, track 2 - Sympathique). Apparently the other reviewer did not know this before purchase! However, if you are looking for an intro to French music that moves beyond Edith Piaf, this is a good choice.

From the booklet, "We wanted to capture France's musical diversity with paris Combo's succulent jazz, Django Rinhardt's guitar miracles and Autour de Lucie's French alterna-rock in order to show a continuum of the traditional meeting the modern." I'm not a music aficianado, so I may incorrectly describe the music types, but here goes:

Most of the songs on this album have their roots in varying styles of jazz. The first track's rolicking melody will have you bouncing along while the next track will have you singing along in your best torchy cabaret impression. Track 3 comes from Les Negresses Vertes and features a more traditional "world music" flair. From here, the CD progresses through to what more people would consider "French" with an accordian track to songs from Yves Montand and Brigitte Bardot. The second half of the album introduces audiences to more modern pop rock musicians such as Autour de Lucie, Les Nubians and starts entering the territory of down-tempo with St. Germain.

My stand-out favorite on this album is track 13 - Garcon Glacon by April March. Her sweet and playful vocals pop against the brittle drum and strong organ-styled synths..

Track Listing:
1) Living Room - Paris Combo
2) Sympathique - Pink Martini
3) Leila - Les Negresses Vertes
4) Nuages - Django Reinhardt
5) Ca gaze - Baguette Quartette
6) Le jazz et la java - Yves montand
7) A la fin de l'ete - Brigitte Bardot
8) Le coeur qui jazze - France Gall
9) L'accord parfait - Autour de Lucie
10) Les portes du souvenir - Les Nubians
11) Qui reste-t-il de nos amours? - Jacky Terrasson
12) Tous les garcons et les filles - Francoise Hardy
13) Garcon Glacon - April March
14) What you think about - St. Germain

If you are familiar with other CD's from Pink Martini, this one isn't anything like it. Boring and unflattering. Would NOT recommend it!

"A l'affiche" provides a wonderful overview of this excellent band from France. If you don't have a CD by Les Negresses Vertes, this will get you hooked on their great cafe sound. Included are a few remixes and cuts from their most excellent "Acoustic Clubbing."

Trabendo is very different from the classic LNV cds. But that doesn't make it bad. It's a very dark and brooding recording but great in it's electronica.

When I saw the average customer review was 1 star I had to chime in. The other reviewer is correct that Trabendo is a shift for LNV from French to electronic, but it's also such an effective transition that stands as one of the best international albums of the 90s. The sound is dense and deep, with hard, assured rhythms counterpointed with crude, clever lyrics that create a brilliant juxtaposition throughout. Standouts include tracks 1,5,8, and especially the masterpiece Ce Pays.

Confirming my review of Zig Zague, and seeing that they could no longer keep the show running without drug-addict suicide Helno (by now putrified beneath the soil of Cimetière de Pantin) LNV changed their sound to reflect an incoming trend to which I credit and commend the French for taking the lead and making great improvements: Electronica. However this is a first effort, and although a more digestible album than Zig Zague, not destined to be played in your car or home more than a couple of times. A couple of salvageable tracks here: Easy Girls among them, but no classic CD. For collectors mainly. I just wish they would have released this album under a new band name rather than to keep the old one. it is misleading to fools like me who expected a better album than Zig Zague and thought that at last, another Mlah! - after they got the toxic tracks out of their system. Listenable, but disposable.

At first listen I was a bit skeptical of the zany group, but Les Negresses Vertes have slowly but surely rocked their way to the front of my CD collection -- whether I want to dance or clean my apartment, the fun rhythms and unique blend of voices and instruments hit the spot every time. Of course being a bit well-versed in the French language adds an extra layer to the spectrum, but even non-Francophones will have a blast with these guys. My favorite album is Zigue-Zague, and Mlah comes in at a close second. Après La Pluie (track 3 on Zigue-Zague) gets me parading and singing around my apartment every time. Les Negresses Vertes' sound really WORKS because they include just enough "French" sound (accordions, etc.) to assuage that need for the romantic French sound and throw in the perfect dash of brash lyrics and strong rhythms to cater to the crazy banshees in us all. Vive le rock de France!

Esther Perel, the therapist who wrote Mating in Captivity, has a radical explanation for marital bed death. The problem, she says, is not that couples need to communicate more --- it's that they communicate too much. What they need is less chat and more distance, the better to generate some fantasies about their partner. If they must talk about their relationship, she writes, they should each get a hotmail account and use it only to write their lover. Oh, and only to talk about romance.

Interesting ideas. And ones you might think about the next time it's "date night" and there you are, Barry White CD in hand.

Ah, dear Barry. The maestro of love. Swirling violins, that butterfat voice, the rock-me lyrics. His is a formula that never fails: You melt into one another. Velvet ensues....

On the other hand, in the spirit of Dr. Perel, you might think: Barry White....been there, done that. A lot.

And you might have a treasonous thought: Is there anything else?

Not that there is anything wrong with Barry White, I hasten to say: He's in the rotation here as well, in keeping with my philosophy that cliches are not to be avoided, they're to be kissed on the mouth.

There's a recent addition to my collection of music for late night: remixes of some of the greater hits of Les Negresses Vertes. Remixes, as you know, are generally done to make music more suitable for dancing. That means the songs will be heavy on percussion, light on subtle lyrics. If you are a delicate soul --- or if your partner is a sensitive creature, prone to headaches --- read no further: This stuff is not for you.

Okay, so who are Les Négresses Vertes? In the 1980s, these French musicians were clowns and acrobats in the Cirque Zingaro. They got their name in 1987, when they dyed their hair green and went out clubbing. A bouncer threw them out, shouting "Sortez d'ici, les négresses vertes" ("Get out of here, you green n----s"). It was an amusing insult; why not elevate it to the band's name?

There was also a kind of sense in the name; this group had astonishing range. Spanish and gypsy rhythms, a splash of reggae and rai, a spoonful of medieval harmonies that melted into a hora --- add inconsequential lyrics and you had quite the show. The band was hot in Paris, huge in Beirut.

These remixes from their golden years --- 1987 to 1993 --- are destined for nights when you've had a tequila too many, nights when animal instinct trumps the spiritual connection. Oh, there are quiet moments and subtle effects, but they're just for texture. Fundamentally, this is about pile-driver percussion. I could go on, but surely you get the drift.

I have field-tested this music and pressed it on friends. Reaction is fairly uniform: In the morning, neither partner can quite look at the other. But that is not to say that Les Negresses Vertes have made anyone unhappy.

Sometimes when one drops with this kind of stuff, just wonders why does bland mainstream music dares to exist? One of the best from all times, really I mean it!

I heard this CD in a store in London, and quite honestly, it kept me shopping. The songs are upbeat and fun, especially tracks 5, 6, and 7. This CD is for the seasoned taste who truly love music. Although I don't speak French, this CD is in heavy rotation on my stereo.

I first heard this album back in late '94 or early '95, when a friend brought it back from Paris. I've been listening to it ever since, have never tired of it. It also became a staple during my college DJ days. After begging a visiting French friend to come bearing LNV discs, I became a dedicated fan. Truly great stuff.

Ce CD est une merveille! Écoutez les paroles, et vous tomberez amoureux de ce groupe!

La musique est intense, les paroles, le rythme, laissez vous charmer!

These CD's (it's a set of 2) are THE best music I have EVER heard. The quality is top notch and the selections are amazing. I have it in my car and have not been able to change to any other CD's. I play it louder and louder and louder. I am not a fan of loud music but this music BEGS to be loud. The variety is amazing. Every song becomes my favorite until I hear the next cut. I believe this set captures the true sense of countries best musicians both vocal and instrumental. As each song progresses you actually get carried away with the rhythms.
The way the cuts are placed in the CD's flow and you're on your way into the world of worldly music. I cannot recommend it highly enough, it needs more than 5 stars! Not to be missed!

I really do like this CD sampler a lot. The music is a broad distribution of music from around the world exemplified by excellent musicianship.

I have discovered some new types of music that I now would like to explore further. My only complaint is that the music track selections do not always show the best offerings of a particular musician or group, even from a single album or year. Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable album.

What a waste of time and money in my opinion! Do you really want to hear songs from Cuba, Spain, Italy, France , Mexico? Don't search anymore; Listen to "fuerza". Manu Chao, Carotone, Macaco and plenty more give an excellent introduction. Mixing reggae, ska, rock will satisfy everybody. Feel the "fuerza" Joanna!

I love these Narada sampler albums of New Age and World music because I discover so many new and interesting artists. "World 2002" a compilation of World music is no exception. I discovered several artists whose work I would have had trouble finding if these samplers didn't present them. This album goes all over the globe, every continent except Australia (which is too bad, as they have some great World artists.)

In particular, the first cut on CD #1 by Mariza is a fine introduction to Fado, the traditional singing of Portugal. This was my first exposure to Fado, and I will be back for more, probably from Mariza's "Fado em Mim" album, that's for sure.

I also really liked the cut "Hulum" by Amal Murkus, a Palestinian singer. Sainkho Namtchylak, from the Tuva in Central Asia sings alluringly, with examples of what sounds like overtone singing here and there in "Dance of the Eagles." It's mysterious and exotic, but entirely listenable. It's one of my favorites on the set.

One disappointment; I did not think the cut by the well-known Ladysmith Black Mambazo was particularly good. I like this group (made famous by Paul Simon on his "Graceland" album) but this cut did not do them justice. I found it somewhat flat and fragmented.

All in all, if you want an intro to World Music or a good sampler collection, this is an excellent 2-CD set. I can't wait to hear next year's collection.

Great CDs with all the classic tunes of the negresses vertes. If you like french music with an international touch, you will love this CD. I listened to it so much that the CD got used up!

the les negresses vertes in concert- very shagadelic... the energy this guys create on stage is one of a kind... pure joy and laugh.this 2 cd set includes all the mood one needs. buy it or live to regret it. smell, hear and touch paris from your american comfort chair. europe is not that bad...

Everybody loves this music the instant you put it on. If you want to get your place hoppin', crank it up, cause Mlah is a party in an album sleeve. Happy times!

It took me a while to track this one down -- in fact, I finally found it in Buenos Aires, while on vacation -- but the search was worth it. I'm now addicted, and I can see why it was so highly recommended. This opening blast from Les Negresses Vertes is simply as good as it gets, regardless of the genre. Not only that, it's timeless.

I am listening to this album right now and thought I'd peek and see what others have said about it. It is one of my favorites. I bought it when it was released and saw this band live in San Francisco in 1990. They were the best live band I have ever seen and they were great guys. (I helped a friend interview them.) I listen to it regularly still 13 years later... What a great album.

This was one of the first cd's I ever bought and I still listen to it frequentally. This CD has a mixture of songs, some very danceable and optimistic (Zoby la Mouche, La valse), others full of melodrama. A CD to play in the summer and to dance on in the open air when the evening falls.

I wish I had discovered this earlier, but I'd bought MLAH months ago on a whim and never listened to it. One day, I had nothing to listen as I walked home along the river to the ferry and "L'homme des marais" filled my ears. I have not been able to stop listening to this album. Noel Rota's voice is exuberant and ragged, perfectly suited to the music. Tragic about his death a few years later. "Viola l'ete"; "Zobi la mouche"--a lovely, slightly sad album. One of the best in my collection.

I really love LVN and their earlier works and I was hesitant about Acoustic Clubbing but geez, they're definitely better with less. This cd is quickly becoming one of my favorites and they're all neck to neck for different reasons but this one sticks out a mile. Can't wait to hit the sheets with this in the background, a little candle light, some rain might be nice.

As a NV fan, I concur with earlier reviews that each of their CDs goes in a completely different direction. I really enjoy Acoustic Clubbing - it's cool, calm, and collected. I wish I was at a small hip cafe in Paris listening to them play live. From the opening track til "Hasta Llegar", they give a great spin on all their former tracks plus giving us some new ones to enjoy. Definitely a great CD to put on with my Sunday coffee.

once again - a successful voyage into somewhat new terrain. LNV are always fun,
and continue to showcase their talent in a way that even those of us who aren't fluent in french can readily enjoy.

First, I have to confess that I have always been a Négresses Vertes fan. I have all their records. I went to their concerts. I once disgraced myself singing "Zobi la mouche" in the metro ("elle a de jolies fesses, etc.") without realising that I was actually singing aloud (I noticed when people started staring at me). I was angry at Helno for weeks when he OD'd (who did he think he was, Jimi Hendrix ?) So, I have no pretence of objectivity.

One of the most enduring qualities of this band, at least in my eyes, is that they have their own "sound" and that at the same time, each album is totally different from the others. For instance, LNV dabbled in electronic music for "Trabendo", and successfully at that, however strange it may sound (for a comparison, imagine the Pogues doing a trip hop album). This album, their latest, is in a sense a continuation of that idea, but ... with acoustic instruments (why make it simple when it can be complicated ?) That's why the album is called "Acoustic Clubbing" (why make it complicated when it can be simple ?)

There are only three new songs on this album, including a cover (their first ever on record, if I'm not mistaken) of the disco classic "Spank", but the new versions of old favorites such as "c'est pas la mer à boire" and "les mégots" are so different from the original versions that you don't feel cheated: it's a real rediscovery.

A final word for our English-speaking friends: don't worry if you don't understand the songs, the Négresses' trademark are silly, almost nonsensical lyrics with lots of hilariously bad puns.