This turned out to be exactly the sort of French music I had been looking for to help me develop my French auditory processing skills. The lyrics are as crisp as can be, the simple instrumental support does not get in the way of hearing the words, and the pacing of the language is slow enough that the words don't get all jumbled together. That's true on every song. The accompanying liner notes booklet contains about one page in English and one page in French about each of the songs. The one drawback is that the lyrics are not included. As another reviewer reported, most of the lyrics can be found at paroles.net as long as you have the dedication to search out one song at a time. Just pasting in the title of a song from Amazon's listing does not always yield the song immediately. There are some spelling variations. Sometimes you will need to browse an alphabetical title list or search on the name of the artist first in order to find a title.

Putumayo always puts out good, eclectic collections, and this one is no exception. The title conjures up images of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dancing on the Seine, Edith Piaf ripping her heart out with "La Vie en Rose" and a hot demitasse with a couple of madeleines. Listening to this album will not provide such a complete throwback, but it will make you appreciate the different textures of popular French musical styles - genres like chanson (French song), musette (traditional style influenced by immigrants) and manouche (gypsy jazz). The eclecticism is enhanced by the wide variety of performers presented here from contemporary artists to legendary stylists since WWII.

The old guard is represented by the likes of Serge Gainsbourg, a controversial figure and notorious womanizer, whose song here, "Marilou Sous la Neige", a rather tame pop ballad, sounds a bit like Gordon Lightfoot. Two of his lovers are represented as well - Jane Birkin, who provides an updated version of Gainsbourg's "Elaeudanla Téïtéïa" swimming through what sounds like a Wurlitzer organ, and sex kitten Brigitte Bardot showing surprising jazz vocal chops on "Un Jour Comme un Autre". A charming-sounding chanteuse named simply Barbara contributes a musical tribute to a criminal in "Si la Photo est Bonne", and George Brassens' guitar-plucked "Je M'Suis Fait Tout Petit" is café chanson at its most heavily Gallic.

The newer tracks hold up well to their predecessors with Paris Combo proving two manouche songs with style, the mood-setting opener "Fibre de Verre" and "On N'a Pas Besoin" with exemplary guitar by Potzi and trumpet by David Lewis. Sanseverino provides a bouncy track with a Stephane Grapelli-like jazz violin that reminds me quite a bit of Manhattan Transfer. Matthieu Boogaerts' "Ondulé" sounds like a Gallic version of a Jason Mraz song with an unearthly calliope-like instrument. Coralie Clément contributes a breathy performance complete with undulating seashore sounds on "La Mer Opale", and Enzo Enzo's "Juste Quelqu'un de Bien" is a smoky chanson with a compelling jazz guitar. The CD comes with an informative booklet which gives mini-biographies on all the performers and the genesis of their songs. This is a genuine musical treat for Francophiles. C'est si bon.

This cd was playing in a beautiful little shop in the Detroit Radisson Hotel recently. It caught my attention the second that I walked through the door and I ended up "keeping busy" in the store just so that I could listen to it. I listened to several songs and fell in love with it! I went through a long process to figure out what it was that was playing, as the hotel had different cds on automatic rotate throughout the complex and no one had any idea how to find out which one was playing. lol. I finally got the answer and was able to purchase it at one of the hotel shops! :) I am very pleased! It is such a relaxing dreamy cd. If I would have seen the case of it first, I would not have been drawn to it as it looks very "high pace, hustle and bustle" (I know I know, you can't judge a book by its cover!:)But the music on this cd isn't what I would have expected from seeing the cover. I love it! I am looking into the other cds in this series because it is so great! So far, the Brazillian one is also fabulous!