PATRICIA KAAS
Piano Bar (Columbia)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Because Patricia Kaas' style of music is so far afield from anything I'd normally listen to unless at gunpoint, I didn't even know she existed until a few months ago when a DVD of one of her concerts arrived here. Mellow on mellow with strings and things that go shhhhh, and every word this pretty blonde sang was in French anyway, so why should I care? But care I did, because there was something about her voice that moved me. She might have been singing "God, don't you hate those annoying American idiots?" I didn't care. I was too mesmerized to be paranoid.

Now she's done her first album in English (after many in French) and the spell holds. The producer/arranger is Michel Legrand, known to have a knack for making easy listening easier, and though he pours gallons of syrup on Kaas she still delivers some real emotion, especially with the Brel/McKuen classic "If You Go Away" and the oft performed but rarely so graced "Autumn Leaves."

The reason for an English language album at this late date can be found in the final track, "And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...," which is also the title of her first feature film in which she co-stars with Jeremy Irons and Claudia Cardinale. Every now and then I find myself enjoying a CD from a genre that typically drives me bats. I should hate this one, but there's something about the voice of Patricia Kaas and the way she delivers a song, in any language.

Track List:

My Man (Mon Homme) * If You Go Away (Ne Me Quitte Pas) * What Now My Love (Et Maintenant) * Un Homme et une Femme * The Summer Knows (Un Été 42) * I Wish You Love (Que Reste-T-Il de Nos Amours? * Yesterday When I Was Young (Hier Encore) * Les Moulins de Mon Coeur (The Windmills of Your Mind * Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes) * Where Do I Begin (Love Story) * Syracuse * La Mer * If You Go Away (Remix) * And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...

© 2002 - DJ Johnson