Operette [1CD plus bonus CD]

In this wonderful homage to the genre s creators, Moussu T e lei Jovents are seizing on tunes from the Marseille Operetta and making them their own in a delightfully greedy and mischievous manner! Here we have a collection of twelve songs dating from the genre s golden years (1932-1939), proudly entitled « Opérette » (Operetta)! Steeped as they are in blues, reggae, rock and rhythms and harmonies from the entire world, they are equally versed in the musical tradition of songs from Marseille and have long been borrowing from this folklore, as we should not be afraid to call it. It inspires many of their themes. The bright and breezy lyrics of René Sarvil Crescenzo, Raymond Vinci, Henri Alibert, Vincent Telly, Léo Lelièvre and Fernand Nazereau trip lightly through our wistful memories, along with the unforgettable melodies of Georges Sellers, Germain Blanc, Sylvère Caffot, Charles Borel-Clerc and the inimitable Vincent Scotto. The album comes with a bonus slipcase CD containing 18 original versions of the songs on Operette (as performed by Alibert, Darcelys and Rellys).
A celebration of Marseille operetta has to be the ultimate niche project, surely? Normally, yes. But anyone familiar with the freewheeling blues-meets-reggae-meets-chanson band will expect the unexpected. There s a touch of Paolo Conte in the jaunty, two-beat arrangements and gravelly vocals that are occasionally spiced with Latin American rhythms. A homage, in part, to the Harlem Renaissance novelist Claude McKay, who set his novel Banjo in the vieux port, the music goes for a bright-eyed stroll along the quayside. –The Sunday Times