Vanessa Paradis - M & J

1987 debut album for baby voiced French chanteuse. Includes the hit 'Joe Le Taxi'. Album Description

A Bubbly French Debut with Minor Flaws

Paradis is my favorite French singer, but even I have issues with this album since it obviously wasn't her own creative vision here. At best, it was as if she was given a bunch of songs and told to sing (which is pretty much the truth, as Vanessa would later reveal).

Opening track "Marilyn and John" is the best thing here. A slow burning ballad on the doomed love affair between JFK and Monroe, this is by far the most musically mature thing here. The same cannot be said of a slew of infantile numbers - 'Chat Ananas', 'Mosquito', and 'Maxou' - all of which sound pretty much like you'd expect second-rate French pop music from 1987 to sound like.

Hidden gems do abound though. Prime candidate would be the lead single "Joe Le Taxi, but the Beatles-influenced "Scarabee" is extremely affecting and melodious. A triumph of sorts, to be sure. Unfortunately, the number of mediocre tracks far outnumber the good ones, so if you are not a huge Vanessa fan, you probably would be quite disappointed with this recording. The English version of "Marilyn & John" as the last track does little to salvage the damage.

However, take this for what it is. A Fine slice of 1980s French frothy pop that is meant to be fun, nothing serious. On the positive side, all of these songs are 'singalong' so if you're into that, this would work for you. As an introduction to Paradis, this is obviously an essential recording to see how she started off.

September 21, 2007

If you like pretty, cute pop...

sung in French, this album is excellent. I do not, however, like any of what Ms. Paradis did after this album.

Even if neither speak nor understand French, the songs are beautiful and easy--definitely worth having on hand.

Although pure pop, the arrangements, instruments, and vocals on this album bear no resemblance to pop produced by other beautiful, young women of the time (e.g., Kylie, Spice Girls). April 28, 2006

Not a product of cookie-cutter marketing, Paradis is my favorite singer/actress

The late 1980s saw another trio of young female singers dominate the European charts. Yes almost two decades ago and long before Spears, Duff and Lohan the pop charts were dominated by Debbie Gibson, Tiffany and ... Paradis.
I grew up in the United Kingdom where French music gets a little more airplay than it seems to in the United States. So whereas people in the U.S. had the (apparently nonexistent) rivarly between Debbie and Tiffany as a hot topic in 1987, for those of us in Europe and Canada another female singer was the hot topic among schoolboys everywhere - Vanessa Paradis.
I first saw Vanessa perform on the now-defunct British show "The Roxy" in 1987 (think a more raunchier European version of `American Bandstand'). Here was this incredible looking (and very young) girl singing the song "Joe Le Taxi" on a stage alongside a full-size real yellow taxi cab. I was so entranced by her striking looks that it was only later that I heard the song.
Since that fateful night I have collected everything I could get my hands on connected to this French singer/actress (who is perhaps best known in the US more for her relationship with Johnny Depp rather than her career). From this album to her movies like "Noce Blanche" and "Une Chance Sur Deux" she has developed a large following and it's easy to see why.
Some criticize the tracks on this album as sounding child-like, but what do they expect? Vanessa was 14 when she sang "Joe le Taxi," certainly she deserves credit for not falling into the cookie-cutter marketing product trap that her contemporary Tiffany fell into. Over the years she has shown that she is willing to take some risks. And after all the venom that was slung her way by female admirers of Johnny Depp, jealous that she was his partner, she has maintained a mature posture that underlies the fact that she is more than just a pretty face. January 21, 2006

M & J Vanessa Paradis CD. Excellent!

Bonjour, I just aquired this CD. I love it! It is so charming. Vanessa is so young but talented. It is kind of a pleasant 1980's bubblegum pop. Very cool! Excellent CD. I hope to aquire all of her CD's. May 31, 2005

She ain't Celine Dion, but a thousand times more charming

I became acquainted with Vanessa Paradis when hearing "Joe le Taxi" (not on this CD) at a party sometime in '89-90; I instantly fell in love with that song, although, her childish voice sounded strange at first. Then, I saw Vanessa one evening, while watching the Cesar movie awards on satellite TV (French equivalent of Oscar and AT LEAST as prestigeous in the world of art cinema). She called the wrong name while awarding the Best Actrice. Her reaction to her own mistake was so genuine and endearing that everyone ended up loving her for the blooper. I thought then: "here's a genuine ingenue". Usually I cannot stand the "ingenue" type, it always appears fake or at least forced; but Vanessa Paradis seems to have the perfect combination of simplicity, innocence, honesty and passion to make her songs come alive. I've listened to her songs since and I wasn't dissapointed. Although she has so many great songs, sentimentally, "Joe le Taxi" remains my favorite.
Vanessa Paradis doesn't have the "American Idol" winner type of voice. Thank goodness for that -going by those standards, singers like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen and many others would never have existed. November 10, 2004

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