Moussu T e lei Jovents
Opérette
Le Chant du Monde/Manivette Records (2CD, 98 mins)
Well, if you need cheering up in these winter months, here’s a record for you!
The only major wave of Opérette Marseillaise lasted for just 20 years, from 1930 to 1950, but its influence is still felt in France, both within the arts and the romanticised images of Marseille and Provence. The music of these operettas was very distinct, taking as much influence from French folk styles as vaudeville jazz and opera. With Opérette, Moussu T e Lei Jovents cover twelve of the style’s classic tracks (with nine taken from the songbook of the Sarvil-Alibert-Scotto triumvirate).
Even before this venture, the band has had a varied repertoire: they perform and mix many styles, from psychedelic rock and reggae to trad jazz and country blues. In this album, they use influences from all over their past work – with 'Entre Marseille et Toulou' evoking an image of a Tom Waits nursery rhyme in French, and some lovely slide guitar giving 'Deux Grandes Yeux Noirs' a pseudo-country feel – yet somehow manage to stay very true to the original pieces. These originals are actually included here, on a bonus disc, performed by the legends of the 1930s. The band doesn’t suffer from the comparison though, the older pieces just serving to highlight the innovations of the new.
The album’s standout sound really comes from the mix of banjo and double bass (occasionally sousaphone), which together keep everything bouncing along and provide a base for Tatu to add his vocals – with which he achieves a brilliant era-specific quality. The result of all of this is a really fun and light-hearted album. It’s campy and it doesn’t take itself seriously, but at no expense to the musicianship that is clearly on show. Get this album (and its bonus disc) to be taken on a history of Opérette Marseillaise that will leave you with a big smile on your face.