Vanessa Paradis - Live

1994 live album for the vocalist. 16 tracks including her first hit 'Joe Le Taxi' and her Lenny Kravitz penned hit 'Be My Baby'. Additional tracks include covers of 'As Tears Go By' (Jagger/Richards), 'La Vague A' Lames' (Gainsbourg) and 'I'm Waiting For The Man' (Reed). Standard jewel case. Album Description

Her First Live Album : And Still the Best

While Vanessa Paradis "Au Zenith" album from 2000 would go on to become a legendary success in her native France (indeed, the DVD of the show is one of the highest selling music DVDs of all time in France and Belgium), most listeners tend to forget this cute debut live CD from a singer who is often unfairly criticized.

Biased as I am as a huge Paradis supporter, its hard not to be won over by the contents of this CD. Its old - an artifact from the early 1990s, but its' warm intimate setting and perfect song choice will make you a new fan. This is the perfect CD for a rainy day when you decide to spend time indoors. Also, the fantastic flip-flop between French songs and English songs make this a disc that will be accessible to even non-French speakers.

This concert was recorded after the release of Paradis' 1992 English language debut, and contains versions of songs from her first three albums ("M&J" from 1987, "Variations Sur Le Meme T'Aime" from 1990, and "Vanessa Paradis" from 1992). I would say that she sings her earlier material with a maturity that elevates some of the weaker songs into scores that can be reckoned with. Prime example would be "Maxou", which was an infantile singalong track on her debut CD. With the gift of time, Paradis transforms it into an acoustic set that really works.

Perennial crowd favorite "Joe Le Taxi" sounds good as ever, but its on underrated classic "Marilyn and John" (one of the Top 20 Pop songs in History, in my book) that Vanessa really comes into her own. People tend to forget that this woman knows how to choose good tunes, regardless of whether she's writing them or not.

She fares slightly better on certain English songs as well. "Be My Baby", the most famous song from her 1992 album actually sounds much, much better live (its drowned in production on disc), and "Sunday Mondays" remains that fun slice of 1960s-influenced pop that us fans of Paradis have come to know and love. On the Gainsbourg-written songs from her second album, Vanessa sings "Tandem", and the simply gorgeous "Dis Lui Toi" (try scouring the web for a live version of this that she sang with Etienne Daho - its to die for).

All in all, an excellent concert. The sound quality is impeccable, and this is one of those rare discs that actually let the singers' voice breathe and give it center stage - Vanessa's songs are very dependent on the lyrics, especially those from her cryptic 1990 album, and its great to listen to her enunciate every word to the max. Just beautiful.

Despite this albums' lesser popularity, I consider it a vital addition to Vanessa's small discography. It may not win over huge audiences now or in the future, but you appreciate good, soulful French music with heart, look no further. The album closer, "Just as Long as you are There", alone, is worth the price of this import.

Also check out her 1990 album, and her stellar 2007 release "Divinidylle" April 23, 2008

Better than Au Zenith!!

A very good sampling of her material, and she can sing onstage without any help!! You'll enjoy this album much more than the overproducd "Au Zenith". April 7, 2007

album

Wow, an artist that actually sounds better live. This album is wonderful and upbeat. October 28, 2004

SO MUCH FUN!

This ablum is so much fun! I swear sometimes when I listen to it I feel like I am at one of her concerts. If you don't know who Vanesssa is, she is like the Britney Spears of France & Europe. Her songs are amazing becuase they're so simple and sweet. Very basic rhythems and tunes. I would like to congradulate Vanessa for using her talent to it's fullest, and making song without profanity, for writing alot of her own songs, and for always taking the right path, not the easy one. She doesn't realease an ablum every year to stay popular, so when you get one of her ablums you know it's the highest quality music availible. Don't buy this ablum as your first Vanessa ablum, you won't appreciate it until you get some of her other ablums first. I would recommend getting "M&J" and "Vanessa Paradis" first. If you're already a fan, this is one of her greatest ablums. Like I said before, it's just fun. It's a must-have for fans. Incredible. Theres not much more I can say about this. July 9, 2004

Brilliant...just brilliant...

i do not own this cd, but i have a copy of the concert live on tape, so i got to see the whole thing, as well as hear it. let me just say, it was great. vanessa has so much fun with her audience, and the way she sings most of the songs on the albums is upbeat and makes you want to get up and dance with her. my favorite song on this album was "les cactus". her best live album to boot. :) January 12, 2003

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