Search - Charles Trenet :: Douce France

Who are these people?

J. C Clark | Overland Park, KS United States | 11/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What are they writing about? This is splendid stuff.



Charles Trenet was a master, an amazing singer who wrote his own material. A huge star for decades. And these 2 CDs give a generous collection of his life's work. If you enjoy the male voice, and find 1940s-style vocals to your taste, then this is for you. Even if you don't speak French (which I don't.)



These are the most cheerful and uplifting secular CDs I own. I cannot help but smile as they play. The music and the vocalizations more than make up for the fact that I don't know what he's saying. Doesn't matter; these songs are nearly uniformly great. CD 2 would get 6 or 7 stars if I could give it; it is just one glorious sequence of humor, good cheer, and joy. CD 1 starts with La Mer, which his silky voice makes as lovely as a chocolate fountain. The rest is not quite as good, but that is an amazing standard with which to measure. You can find CD 2 by itself as another ASW CD called Boum! But you won't get La Mer on that one.



Amazon has jillions of Trenet compilations. I have these two and no more, so cannot tell you if other collections offer better value. But these two, the single CD or double, will provide much pleasure. I often listen to these in the morning while making breakfast, and they never fail to put a smile on my face."

Some Interesting Titles

R E Nelson | San Francisco, CA United States | 11/25/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this primarily for La Mer, which is one of the few songs I listen to repeatedly. (Another is Boum.) Material is dated and could do with better digital remastering, but not a bad collection."