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Post by ocelot on May 27, 2006 17:38:23 GMT -5
My "9" review
La Lettre
I love the melody combined with Lara's voice on this song. Lara sings this song with so much emotion. I find this song absolutely beautiful. (10/10)
Un Ave Maria
I love the message in this song (which I interpret to being a search for harmony and peace in the world through a faith that is not an obligation but something that comes out of you, comes from your heart). This is actually one of my favourite songs on the album for that reason. I love the rhythm that the song takes. Beautiful. (10/10)
Si Tu N'As Pas d'Amour
As much as I enjoy the upbeatness of this song some of the time. Most of the time I just can't get into it. It has a great message of not being able to buy love. I prefer songs that make me think or make me feel and this song does neither. In my mind it's a great song but not a fantastic song. (7/10)
Il Ne Manquait Que Toi
I love this song. I love how it flows and the lyrics have such a range of what they can be related to (can refer to a mother, a lover, a child, even a dog). I think it's one of the most beautiful songs that Lara has written. (10/10)
Ne Lui Parlez Plus d'Elle
I love how this song shows off Lara's range but yet feels so fluid. It just feels so smooth. (10/10)
Rien Qu'une Seule Larme
I love the simple arrangement of this song, it goes so well with the lyrics. I love the emotion that Lara sings with on this song. (9/10)
Les Homericains
This is probably my least favourite song on the album. Though I think it has a great message. It's just missing something for me. (5/10)
Speranza
I love the beauty in this song and how Lara lets the sensitivity into her voice. (9/10)
Le Tour du Monde
This song is up there with "Les Homericains" as my least favourites tracks on the album. I just can't get into this song and somehow it feels incomplete and a bit jumpy. (4/10)
L'Homme Qui N'Avait Pas de Maison
I love this song's rhythm and flow and it has such a beautiful story. I really enjoy listening to this song. (10/10)
Je Me Souviens
Lara's tribute to Quebec. I love the poetry in this song. It's such a beautiful tribute that Montreal should be proud. It's like I can feel her remembering Montreal through her vocals on this song. (10/10)
Overall Review
I think overall all the album is quite jumpy and has some down moments but there are a few amazing songs on this album that should not be forgotten. As a whole the album does not blow me away like some of her other albums but it's a great album none the less. (8/10)
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Post by ocelot on May 27, 2006 17:44:24 GMT -5
cppgenius, I loved reading your review. It's just shows how one person's reactions to a song can be totally different from another's. I also loved reading the story you wrote about your journey to "9". Thanks alot for sharing.
Okay Mark, now it's your turn. When you have time to post it, I'd love to read your review of "9" seeing that cppgenius and I had some fairly different views on some of the songs.
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Post by achebeautiful on May 27, 2006 17:51:38 GMT -5
Coenraad,
Wow! That is an incredible review! You really put a lot into this! I appreciate the effort, Coenraad. Before I take the time the do my own review of the album (which I for certain will do this weekend) I want to make some observations about your comments. I will post more on this very shortly. But again, thanks for sharing so many of your thoughts about this album! Very thoughtful and intelligent!
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Post by achebeautiful on May 27, 2006 18:23:24 GMT -5
Leona,
When I posted my remarks to Coenraad I hadn't noticed that you had also posted your review as well! I have to compliment you also for a very smart job of reviewing the album. Both of you brought some observations to light that help me to gain a greater perspective of the songs. You're to be commended for sharing such well thought out and wisely stated observations.
And it was my suggestion to do this review, and I have yet to do it! I guess I better toss my ideas in here too!
I will do so tonight I promise!
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Post by achebeautiful on May 28, 2006 2:59:22 GMT -5
Review of “9”
I have mixed feelings about this album, and I can say that about almost every aspect of it. Rating the packaging and design, I think it is exceptional in appearance, and yet not convenient for usage. It’s an awful lot of work to get to the cd and dvd inside! And while fancy, the plastic sleeve can be a bit of a bother. Having said that, the design for this album is worthy of an award. The polished , high quality glossy photos are a real compliment to Lara’s amazing beauty, and the black and gray coloring make for a very attractive background to her hair and skin.
I have mixed feelings about the cd and dvd as well. Neither the cd or the dvd work in all audio and video players. I had to go buy a PAL-compatible dvd player to see the videos! And the SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) didn’t play in my car stereo, so I had to burn a copy of it so that I could play it there. But as far as sound quality on the cd and effectiveness of the music videos to compliment the songs, I have to say that both are superior!
I too have mixed feelings about the listening experience of “9.” It’s a beautiful album, and has some wonderful songs for sure. But it lacks continuity and comes across a little too “jumpy” from song to song for my liking. I like to be able to shut the world out sometimes when I’m listening to an album. I’ll turn off the lights, lay down and close my eyes, and just absorb everything that I can from the experience of listening. I can do this with an all out hard rock album as well as soft rock or pop music, as long as there is a certain continuity. This album lacks it. Still, the songs alone and by themselves without taken as a whole in my opinion are a completely different matter. I find that these songs are more favorable and have greater strength when taken by themselves, and lose something and weaken when taken as a whole. Also, having seen a copy of a homemade concert performance of Lara at the Paris Olympia during her “9” tour (where she sang all but one song from the album!) I have to say that these songs reach a new level when performed live.
La lettre The strength of this song makes this album worth every penny spent on it. It is this song perhaps more than any other on the album that will continue to be played in concerts for years to come. Absolutely beautiful. 10/10
Un ave Maria I love the uniqueness of this song! It’s this kind of creativity in style that comes like a breath of fresh air to Lara’s music. Her conviction to a strong message in her music to love, harmony and peace in this world is found in this one. In my opinion, this is a highlight of the album. 10/10
Si tu n’as pas d’amour I like this song quite a bit, but cannot say that I love it. It’s one that I think I would absolutely love and find memorable if performed live in concert. On this album, and amongst so many more beautiful arrangements, I think this one loses something. 6/10 Il ne manquait que toi This is such a beautiful song! I think Lara is nothing short of perfect in singing this one. The gentle beauty with which she sings it gives me chills! 10/10
Ne lui parlez plus d’elle Another highlight of the album for me. There’s a quiet, soaring quality in her vocals and a passion in her voice that comes from deep within. The piano is very beautiful on this song, and the music alone without any vocals at all would make this a great song. 10/10
Rien qu’une seule larme My favorite song on the album. The beautifully simple acoustic arrangement and style of this song and Lara’s gentle voice make this a song I often listen to repeatedly 10/10
Les homericains My least favorite song on the album. I like the message of the song, and I even like the style. But I think this song least fits in with the rest of the album and most contributes to its lack of continuity. I also think that if you take this song out, “9” is a much stronger body of work. I’m not very impressed with Melissa Mars’ contribution to the song, and think the song would have been better served with Lara flying solo on it. 5/10 Speranza Beautifully sung. I really love the cultural ‘feel’ of this one. It gives it an atmosphere about it that sweeps you away. 9/10 Le tour du monde I like the feel of this one. There are so many really slow songs on this album, and this one refreshingly picks it up a little ever so slightly without losing any of the gentleness of the others. 8/10 L’homme qui n’avait pas de maison Another favorite and highlight of the album for me. The video continues to bring tears to my eyes and soften my heart every time I watch it. 10/10 Je me souviens If there are two songs that will remain in Lara’s rotation at concerts for years to come from this album, one will be La lettre. The other will be this one. In my opinion, it is a classic. 10/10
Top Five Songs:
1. La lettre 2. Ne lui parlez plus d’elle 3. Rien qu’une seule larme 4. L’homme qui navies maison 5. Je me souviens
Overall I think that “9” is a very strong album with a lot of great songs. While not her best album, I do however think that these songs are a nice addition to her catalog of music. However, from a listening experience I do think as an album it lacks continuity. 7/10
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Post by ocelot on May 28, 2006 11:12:13 GMT -5
Great review Mark! It was great to read it because you picked up on things that I didn't.
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Post by achebeautiful on May 28, 2006 11:26:29 GMT -5
Thank you Leona. Coenraad and you did the same thing for me with yours. As a matter of fact, I think it would be great to do more of this very thing for that reason. We would have to agree on which album and artist to review, and certainly give plenty of time to do so. Maybe one a month would be doable. Is this something that you feel would be a good exercise?
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Post by S.C. on May 28, 2006 13:19:41 GMT -5
Wow! Thanks for the reviews! So detailed and well thought out!
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cppgenius
Full Member
The C++ Genius, Loyal Fan of Lara Fabian[Mo0:0]
Posts: 245
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Post by cppgenius on May 29, 2006 14:52:17 GMT -5
I have to say again that this forum really has the potential to become a great one. It is nice to be apart of it. If there is something that I certainly missed in my review but did pick up in the other reviews was the fact that there is inconsistency in the album. I think one contributing factor was the fact that this was even for Lara a new experience. I get the idea she was experimenting a lot and that is why we found inconsistencies in the album. I still stick to my opinion that Lara's abilities as a composer and songwriter was pushed to greater lengths on this album as previous ones. It did not have the flamboyant personality the every other album had and I think that is where Lara has made a mistake. This was the one thing in each of her previous albums that made me love them so much. On the note of doing it again I agree, I enjoyed it very much and I thank Mark for the great idea, but I have to confess about something... I really can't write as passionate about any other artist, because I am totally addicted to this woman's music. I don't know if there is something wrong with me, but I have tried many other artists' music, like Tina Arena, Roch Voicine, Chimene Badi, Il Divo, Laura Pausini and I am also interested in getting Russell Watson's music, but every time I fell back to Lara's music. It is something that Lara does that is superior, in my opinion, to other artists, I can't lay my finger on it or explain it, it is just... like that. Not that they are bad, on the contrary I like someone like Chimene Badi a lot because of her extremely strong and beautiful voice (and boy does Lara and Chimene sound good together), see there I go again, "Lara and Chimene". If you look at my music collection (I have a very wide taste of music) you will find many artists: Abba, Anastacia, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Atomic Kitten, Evanescence (yes even them), Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Sarah Brightman, Shanaia Twain, Stacie Orrico, Lucie Silvas, Phil Collins, etc, I’m not going to mention them all, but if you go through my music, you will find that 18.23% (almost 1/5) of all my music consists of Lara's music (by far the highest percentage if you compare it to the amount of songs I have of other artists) and my total collection consists of round about 58 artists (this may not sound too much, because I am very selective about my music, even if I have a very wide taste). If you take a look at my music videos, it’s even worse. A total of 2.64 GB of music videos of various artists (excluding Lara). All Lara's video's I've collected so far is a total of 3.83 GB on her own. So it is clear that I am totally gaga about Lara's music. But I think it may be a lot of factors contributing to this "obsession": - Her voice - Her beauty (and wow isn't she a beautiful woman? ) - Her wonderful and bubbly personality - Her way of putting words together - The melodies she composes - Her heart - Her smile - Her eyes (the windows of the soul) Are there any psychologists in this forum, can you maybe help me?
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Post by achebeautiful on May 29, 2006 15:23:57 GMT -5
Well, Coenraad, there is nothing that can help you! The problem is you are simply stricken with love for a very beautiful woman for which there is yet to be a cure! It's okay, though, because it also means that all your faculties are in good working order!
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cppgenius
Full Member
The C++ Genius, Loyal Fan of Lara Fabian[Mo0:0]
Posts: 245
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Post by cppgenius on May 29, 2006 15:29:13 GMT -5
LOL ;D
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Post by lapayin on May 29, 2006 16:30:49 GMT -5
I am new to this forum and hope it’s OK to add my thoughts. I do visit once in a while and think there is a lot of good conversation here. I enjoy it very much. I found out about this forum from visiting the lara-fabian.com.
I do not speak or understand French. I have learned some French through listening to different French singers. As such, I typically quickly read the translations, to get an idea of the song, and just appreciate the music and vocals. By doing this exercise I have come to appreciate Lara in a new way – as a poet. Is there no end to her talents? LOL
Personally I find that you can not compare 9 to any other of Lara albums. It is unique and a stand alone. I won’t review this, song by song (apart from the album as a whole) because I believe as a whole, it’s themed – HOPE. It needs to be considered as a total album and that includes the videos. So I will review it a little differently, why I think it is themed. It is not a commercial PR album but an artistic piece of work. The lyrics are poetic, deep and philosophical. The style and personality of it is REFLECTIVE. It deals with people’s good traits. It sends a message of passion, not power. Thus the lack of power ballads (although my favorite) are not needed here. I believe it’s a reflection of society, as it exits today, and covers many aspects.
I also won’t give a rating for each song. For me they constantly change with my moods and feelings. That is the Lara thing – her songs are so full of depth that one day a song, I like but not love, can become a favorite another day. And I will concentrate on the lyrics since I just found Lara to be such a good poet.
OK. I read an interview where Lara stated songs should be very simple. And pertaining to Neuf she said don’t read into the words. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. How can one not???
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Post by lapayin on May 29, 2006 16:33:37 GMT -5
The following is my opinion based on translations and interviews. I’m not sure this is answers the five questions you asked but here goes.
La Lettre - Honesty The important thing is a draft of a letter, the honest feelings. Think carefully before you write the words and take time before you say goodbye. I won’t hold them against you but will appreciate what you say as long as they are not lies.
The hope - even in breaking up there can be caring and love.
Un Ave Maria – Faith We are all born the same. Good and evil are learned traits. As such, the children of the world still have time to change it for the good, perhaps by learning the evils of the past.
The hope – children are our future.
Si Tu N’as Pas D’amour – Love The material things will come and go but love is all that matters. This song is simple and to the point – down to the basics.
The hope – true love
Il Ne Manquait Que Toi - Dreams This song is the hardest to understand, but the most beautiful song on this album. I really like the other interpretations, especially the one where you can experience something and wish to share it with someone special.
I believe this song is along the lines of Adagio. I think it is about the perfect love, who has not appeared yet. And how fragile love is - Une etole de verre (a shawl made of glass). Very poetic. In the video the mirror scene was very interesting. She is reflecting about herself (she is standing beside herself), then he appears and then he vanishes.
The hope – anticipation (of a perfect love).
Ne Lui Manquait Toi – Courage The obvious message in this song is betrayal and cheating. But underling is courage to move on and to trust again. Pour sortir d’un tout qui n’est rien ( to leave one entirely is nothing) Il prend son courage par la main (it takes courage by the hand) En decouvrant le mal (in discovering evil) Qu’elle lui faisait pour son bien (that she did it for his own good).
The hope – one day there will be trust again.
Rien Qu’une Suele Larme – Strength After a breakup and the pain has subsided one needs the strength to continue. Not to be afraid of love but to learn and move on to a new love.
The hope – forgiveness.
Les Homericains – Responsibility OK The meaning of this song has been beaten to death. According to an interview (to paraphrase), this song was not against Americans but Lara used America instead of “mankind” to personalize it. She was sick and tired of people “bad mouthing” America. Her point was, there is good and evil on both sides of the ocean. Yes there is a vast difference in America (from Fred Astaire to Jim Morrison – loved that) as is in all of mankind. I liked the symbolism in the video and I believe it is honest and true.
The Hope – change Look at all the controversy this song has spurred. That is a good thing not a bad thing. Change begins with conversation.
Speranza – Destiny This is a beautiful story about Lara’s parents. It was destiny for her mother to leave a place she never did before (Sicily) and for both to overcome language differences. Their journey had problems along the way but united them more.
The Hope - hope. Ma plus belle histoire (My very beautiful history) Je suis Nee dans leurs regards (I am born in their looks) Repli d’espoir (Filled with hope). What a great tribute,
Le Tour Du Monde - Promise Again in an interview I read the interviewer called this the new Pas Sans Toi. Interestingly Pas Sans Toi is my all time favorite Lara song, but Le Tour Du Monde is my least favorite song of this album. I do love the lines: I believe that the sun will rise If you sleep in my arms One will not grow old
The hope – promise of a life together and family
L’homme Qui N’avait Pas De Masion – Compassion Through the eyes of a child is compassion and caring. A little goes a long way. But the compassion and caring comes from the homeless man too.
The hope – kindness of mankind
Je Me Souviens – Peace Lara is very descriptive in this song. It is calm, soothing and very poetic. I like the way the video brings in the old (feather pen) and the new (computer). It’s kind of the way Canada is. She talks about the beauty of the land, the people and the culture. It is easy to see Lara’s love for Canada. This has to be highest tribute of all.
The hope – A loving retreat in crazy world.
My overall assessment is this album is a wonderful album. As in all Lara’s previous ones there are genius moments and also human moments. (Do you think I am biased?) LOL I believe the videos do justice as an accompaniment.
My favorite songs:
1 Il Ne Manquait Que Toi – the combination of Lara’s music and voice are stunning. 2. L’homme Qui N’avait Pas De Maison – I love the upbeat gospel music. 3. La Lettre – What’s better than a song that starts soft and builds. 4. Je Me Souviens – Simply beautiful 5. Si Tu N’as Pas D’amour – Catchy tune. Great to see yet another side of Lara, humor.
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cppgenius
Full Member
The C++ Genius, Loyal Fan of Lara Fabian[Mo0:0]
Posts: 245
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Post by cppgenius on May 29, 2006 16:39:39 GMT -5
Since this is a rather hot topic I would like to make use of the opportunity to compliment Shavon on a very great forum (Mark told me your name, it is clear he has high regard for the work you do).
I am a very dedicated and hardcore fan of Lara and I really enjoy this forum so much because this is where I can show my appreciation for the great music Lara makes and share it with other fans (sharing is the important part because it is hard to keep Lara's music for yourself). If there were one place Lara definitely should visit, then it would be this forum.
Mark also introduced me to your new Tina Arena forum. I'm really amazed about all the nice avatars and art you make of these artists. How about a nice Lara signature?
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Post by S.C. on May 29, 2006 16:42:56 GMT -5
Awwwwwwww! Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it here and I'm happy to know that you're a die-hard Lara fan as well! And you will most certainly get a Lara signature from me. I am in the process right now re-vamping the site, so, right after I finish that I will start on your signature. I try very hard to portray Lara and Tina in the art creations how I see them, which is pure class and sophistication. They deserve nothing but the best, so, I give it to them. Welcome to both forums!
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