Fresh and Timeless
Paris is here with Putumayo’s “Vintage France.”
Putumayo’s Vintage France Offers a New Spin on the Best of French chanson
Can’t afford that trip to Paris right now? No worries – just pop Putumayo’s “Vintage France” in your player, throw on your beret, light some candles and uncork a bottle of your favorite vin de pays and you’re practically there.
Despite the fact that I remember almost nothing – presque rien? – from my high school French, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Putumayo’s “Vintage France.” These classic French songs are great fun to listen to. The melodies are distinctly French and the vocals evoke Edith Piaf, scenes from cabarets seen in so many movies, and 1960’s black and white French films I used to watch. They’re nostalgic without being hokey, some jazzy, some sweetly sad, almost all of them made me alternately want to either run out and jump on my Vespa or get up and dance. But then I remembered – merdre! – I don’t own a Vespa and I’m a terrible dancer. So all that’s left for me is to sit back, adjust my beret and enjoy the music.
Though echoing the past, “Vintage France” proves how alive and hip classic French chanson remains. Several generations of musicians continue to find inspiration in tunes that were first popularized in the early to mid-1900s. On “Vintage France,” sultry songstresses demonstrate the connection between Paris of the 1940s and the vibrant French music scene of today. “Vintage France” is available at select music, book, gift, and specialty stores and for download at select online stores and on www.putumayo.com.
Category: Entertainment
