Search - Saint Germain Des Pres Cafe :: Vol. 5-Saint Germain Des Pres Cafe

Back to the Drawing Board...

bordersj2 | Boston | 12/08/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First and foremost... no, this is NOT a St. Germain aka Ludovic Navarre CD. This series is released on Wagram, same label as Hotel Costes, Paris Lounge, Buddha Bar and several other compilation series that feature music from all over the world. Usually, the St. Germain Des Pres Cafe series has a sort of swing mixed in with some electronica and nu-jazz. Good stuff... usually. But I'm having a hard time disagreeing with the previous review. This cd is really missing energy and originality. Remember the way the third one started? A little Nuspirit Helsinki followed up with some sweet Conte remixes, and then it had that flow in the end of the cd?



This one doesn't have that. It starts out with "Inner City Woman" by Slow Train (remix), and from there you get an idea of the tempo of this cd. That is, after you're briefly deceived by the cool & jazzy Conte remix to "take Off" by soul man Nathan Haines and Marco Di Marco. Afterwords you have Conte's labelmate with a seemingly Milano 2000 (Ishtar's other label) sounding cut "The Time". Reminds me of S-Tone Inc's old tunes, and it was IMO one of the weaker tracks on Soulstance's cd last year. But that song symbolises the album - although I did like the Astor Piazzolla remix and Meitz duet and cool beat. Also.. what in the world is up with the song "Round About Midnight"? Yes, it was a good song, but it seems like every single compilation is using some version of it. What's worse... Wagram had the song on Paris Lounge 3 already. You go down the list of tracks and it's much the same thing. Most of the cuts were pre-2004, and the tracks that are decent (Conte's remixes, DJ Cam's cut, etc.) can be found on better comps (Break & Bossa, etc.) There were loads of good nu-jazz artists that could've been added to make this a better compilation. What's Buscemi been up to these days? What about the Irma label - loads of artists are coming out with tunes there? And how can a nu-jazz cd be released without a tune off of Rosalia De Souza's remix project? That could fix some of the energy problems - same with Nicola Conte's new cut "Kind of Sunshine"! And hey - not all of Re:Jazz's remix project have been utilized. Or what about a little Jazzinho for some spice or taking a track off of Wagon Cookin's "Appetizers" or their newest, "Everyday Life"?



I'm having a tough time recommending this one. It's a nice more 'chilled out' cd, but the energy isn't there and to be honest even if they were looking for a more mellow vibe, all this succeeded in doing was making me yawn. I'll call this one a hiccup in an otherwise fantastic series. I recommend the previous four (especially the last two) instead of this one. ALSO... note that the first four volumes of this series are now available as double disc sets. So you can get vol 1&2 or vol 3&4 together. But if you did get this cd and liked it, you might also enjoy "Jazz Lounge vol II"."

Not the same intensity as the previous four compilations

Jose L. Rodriguez | Riverdale, NY United States | 11/28/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I wonder if this will be the last of the series! Once you place this CD on the player you will begin to wonder where has all the intensity of the other four compilations gone...!

Unlike the previous works in the series, this one is to be played way after a dinner party...the energy is not the same and it makes you yawn at times. I picked it up this afternoon at a local records store expecting much more than this...Instead, buy the second installment of the Bajofondo Tango Club.

"