Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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French singer and model Vanessa Paradis first hit the charts in 1987 at the tender age of 14. Her single "Joe le Taxi" spent 11 weeks at the top of the French charts, and proved an international success as well. She recorded two albums in Paris before traveling to New York in 1992 to record her self-titled English-language debut, with one-time boyfriend Lenny Kravitz as producer. The album's "Be My Baby" was also a hit, but Paradis' popularity waned a bit. Among the various film, television, and modeling engagements she was involved with (Chanel's Coco ad campaign for one), Paradis found time to release Live in 1994. More film and modelling work followed throughout the next several years, largely replacing her music career for a time. In early 2000 she returned to the music scene with the French-released Bliss, followed by another live album, Au Zénith, in 2001. After that, it was back to yet more film and modelling work (and quality time with the two-child family she built with actor Johnny Depp). Paradis returned to music once again in 2007 with the release of her fifth full-length album, Divinidylle. The following few years saw the release of two live albums - Divinidylle Tour (2008) followed by Une nuit à Versailles (2010) - both of which available as CD/DVD packages. In the summer 2012, Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp seperated.

by John Bush, AMG

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Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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Having scored a pan-European smash three years earlier with her debut single, "Joe le Taxi," including nearly three months at the top of the charts in her native France, Vanessa Paradis reunited with producer Franck Langolff for this follow-up album. The legendary Serge Gainsbourg provided lyrics, but the results are hardly up to the treatments given his material by Jane Birkin. Paradis' vocals are wispy and pleasant enough, but the music is strictly pedestrian, slick dance-pop on tracks such as "Au Charme Non Plus" and "Amour Jamais." There's even a bit of grinding guitar bolstering "L'Amour en Soi," which seems blandly aimed at replicating Janet Jackson's "Black Cat." Her reading of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" has a quirky charm to it; although hardly making anyone forget the original, it wisely eschews the processed feel of the rest of the album and therefore stands out.

by Tom Demalon, AMG

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Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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Best known as the 13 year old fresh-faced teen fidgeting her way through a live rendition of her first single on French National Television way back in the 80s, Vanessa Paradis has come full circle with what is possibly the finest moment of her tumultuous career.

Unfortunately for her, shes always going to be remembered as the little girl who sang her way to the top of the French charts with 'Joe le Taxi'. While nothing on this CD remotely compares to the girlish innocence of that single, it does have its' childlike moments, best embodied on 'La ballade de Lily Rose', which Vanessa wrote for her daughter.

This is Vanessa's first studio album in a decade, and the time away has apparently changed her sound. American listeners who remember her from the infamous 1992 CD with Lenny Kravitz will notice the same jazz-lounge feel of this album. Vanessa's voice has never been a strong instrument, yet she has managed to tone down the Mickey Mouse squeak that so often ruined some of her earlier work, resulting in a suprisingly effective compilation of bluesey harmonies.

The first single from this album 'Commando' is markedly different from the other songs on here. There are no rock ballads, and no silly pop ditties. There is, however, an emphasis on eclectic influences. 'L'eau et le vin', the first song, is heavily saturated in Middle Eastern instruments, and sets the tone for the whole album. Another track, 'Pourtant' was recently voted by the singer's fan community as the best song on the CD, though that title most deservedly goes to 'St. Germain', a Billie Holiday-style lounge track that is simply stunning.

As a body of work 'Bliss' is strong and flawless.

All in all, 'Bliss' has been the shock of the summer. Critics who once passed Vanessa over as another … kitten without talent will have to eat their words now that this record is out. Coupled with the release of the seemingly classy 'La Fille sur le pont', Vanessa Paradis is definitely THE french chanteuse of the moment, and rightfully so.

By Marc Cabir Davis, amazon

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Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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Vanessa Paradis - Variations Sur Le Même T'Aime (1990) & Bliss (2000)

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