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Post by davidhr on Nov 18, 2010 20:00:40 GMT -5
I'm suggesting this thread for the review of Lara's "Best of" CD release along with the DVD of TLFM font leur show". Ocelot, please move this if you think it appropriate.
David
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Post by davidhr on Nov 18, 2010 20:01:09 GMT -5
...and here's my review...
Review of : Best of Lara Fabian + 'Toutes les femmes en moi font leur show DVD
This whole idea (or at least the CD portion of it) was greeted with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm by fans when it was first announced a few months ago. However, now that the package is here, one has to say that it is impressive. Following are some impressions about both the CDs and the DVD.
The package containing both CDs and the DVD is very substantive, with an attractive 'book-like' hard cardboard binding. The cover picture looks good - hard to know what people were complaining about. Inside there are numerous pictures on heavy stock, from various photo shoots. The pictures are attractive and sexy! On the spine of the package it lists Universal Records and Polydor in small print. Otherwise there is no indication that Universal had anything to do with it - the CDs themselves list '9 Productions", as does the DVD. The individual songs - including the two new ones - are all attributed to either '9 Productions" or "Les Productions Clandestine" for songs prior to 2005. The exceptions are 'Requiem pour un fou', the duet with Johnny Hallyday, which is via the Mercury label, a division of Universal; the two newly recorded songs, which are both Universal; and - notably - the 6 English songs from the 2 albums Lara made for Sony, which still list Sony Music Entertainment as their source. We had heard Lara had bought out the rights to those songs, and given that they appear on this Universal album, that may well be true, but as she used the actual songs from the Sony CDs, that may take precedence.
There are some minor flaws - the song from "A Wonderful Life" is called "I Guess I Love You" (rather than "I Guess I Loved You"). And the title on the DVD itself is "Best of Lara Fabian DVD" which would be highly misleading if one bought the disc on that basis. Fortunately, the back of the package lists it appropriately as 'TLFM font leur show'.
As for the CDs themselves, except for the two new songs we could have put this package together ourselves some years ago. Nevertheless, it is nice to hear these songs together in an official way. The first CD, covering the 1990s, is extremely powerful, as would be expected given that time period in Lara's life and musical approach. And very nice to hear the three English songs at the end of it, which fit right in.
The second CD is more eclectic, and somewhat softer, exemplified by the version of 'Je t'aime' taken from the ETI live concert. It seemed an odd choice when first announced, but now it memorializes the transition Lara herself went through with her singing (in contrast to the powerful version of this song on the first CD). The version of 'Un cuore malato' used is the one released in France, so it has Lara singing partly in French (you may remember they tried calling it by a different name, but apparently that has been abandoned in favor of the Italian). Another seemingly questionable choice was the inclusion of 'Ne lui parlez plus d'elle' from 'Neuf' - but it actually fits right in, with the softer - but still quite expressive - tone of CD #2. And it is extremely odd to hear the three songs from 'A Wonderful Life' (especially the first two, 'No Big Deal' and 'The Last Goodbye') which end the record, helping now bring that album out of the wilderness. 'The Last Goodbye' is a wonderful song, and does for this disc what 'I Will Love Again' did for the first. Another thing they have in common - Lara doesn't like either one of them, but I think Sony was right in annointing them as singles (and Universal was right in apparently demanding their inclusion). The two new songs both showcase Lara's great singing, and are fine additions.
All in all this is a surprisingly effective set of 2 CDs. If there is anyone you'd want to introduce Lara to, this would be a great (and, actually, overwhelming) way to do it.
As for the DVD: it is magnificent! - humorous, touching, powerful and interesting - the holograms really work, perhaps even better in the DVD than they did for the live audiences during the tour. Given that Gerard is a TV director, perhaps his visual image of them was meant for TV all along, because they are quite effective. It would be hard to imagine a better filmed show than this one.
Of course, if you didn't like the reprises that Lara did for TLFM, they do make up the majority of this video, so that might affect your judgment of it. But I think even the most hard-hearted skeptics would conclude that this could not have been done better. One sees how Lara's timing had to be letter perfect as the holograms/computer program can broach no delays, but she pulls it off. She looks very pretty, she's very emotive, and her singing is strong, ending with a fine version of Adagio.
There are plenty of shots of the enthusiastic audience, and close-ups of fans that I'm sure made many of them happy. And this aspect, including the little surprises they had for Lara, emphasizes how much her career is a joint venture with the fans, each supporting the other. Lara of course dedicates "Wind Beneath My Wings" to them, and they respond (as they did with Humana). That also illustrates that EWIM gets some advertisement, which is nice to see.
Given that the filming was just this one day, Lara's team put all their chips into the pot, but it paid off. I'm sure she and her team are very proud of this accomplishment!
So, in summary, this is a very impressive release, properly mirroring Lara's great career to this point, and (as shown very clearly in the DVD) her wonderful personality. I highly recommend it!
David
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Post by ocelot on Nov 19, 2010 8:04:48 GMT -5
Thank you David for the great review! It's good to see that the whole project ended up being so well done, after all the discouragement from the fans.
I am keeping this review here for now (till it's no longer news), because I don't want it to be lost in the "Les Autres" category (I don't think the release needs it's own board).
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Post by haddie0172 on Nov 19, 2010 14:31:30 GMT -5
hello, thanks for the review! I have recieved both the ukraine version of zhivago and the best of package with the tlfm concert. I already knew that the movie dvd was not included when i ordered the ukraine version. Still i ordered it because i didn't wanted to wait any longer. When the total package is ready for order i will order that one too. I visited the tlfm concert 3 times. 1 in paris and 2 times brussel. I already discovered myself on the dvd in the crowd. But it is hard to see me and a friend standing next to me on the outside of the middle row from the stage. But because i knew our position on that evening i could discover us.
On an other toppic i wanted to say that the album 9 is my favorit. I have many favorit songs from her but as an album 9 impressed me a lot. The dvd with clips is great and full of emotion and mystery. The sound is great too. I invest a lot in my audio system for stereo and 5.1 and the orchestred pieces nok me from my feet! Wow. How beautiful she sings je me souviens ,ave maria, la lettre and speranza or il ne manqait que toi. when the dvd movie started with je me souviens my mother said what a beautiful voice this i like even more than sarah brightman. I have no cd from lary that is less than the other. (i have them all) I can't pick a favorite song. A lot of songs for me score 100%. Je taime is of a legendary kind. The emotion that is there is special. adagio and then the italian version even more is almost not to sing for another artist the way she sings it. For always she goes again very high in notes that she sings near the end of the song. and there are much more examples of singing acrobatics that she does. All albums have special quality in it. I mist a lot because 3 years ago i did not know lara. but thanks to you tube i discovered a lot of her songs and performances. Because in the netherlands she is unknown it was for me a surprise to discover such a talent that is not populair in my country. From lara with love was the first thing i discovered. I liked it righ away and remembered her name. My family find it strange to see me becoming a fan of an artist they don't know. It is a sort of lonely existance as an lara fan in the netherlands, but on the other hand makes it even a lot more special. Greetings to you all!
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Post by lapayin on Nov 19, 2010 18:12:07 GMT -5
Nice review David.
I have not received my dvd yet but I did get a message that it has shipped. I can't wait.
haddie0172 -WOW you got to see the concert three times. You not only have great memories but you are also on the DVD. I also was introduce to Lara because of the From Lara With Love PBS special. That was in 2001. I have been following her career ever since.
Dans L'univers De Lara Fabian is now on You Tube. There are many videos of the songs, but you can get the whole show. There are 8 parts. Also NABBOX has it in 4 parts.
Most of the Moscow Mlle Zhivago concert is now on You Tube thanks to AvriHa. According to David's previous post, listing all the songs, I believe the only thing missing is Igor's piano solo.
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Post by smoothlara on Nov 23, 2010 20:45:23 GMT -5
i got my copy of the "Best of" cd and the TLFM dvd last week and i loved the dvd.
the concert was amazing, Lara looks and sounds so beautiful! wish i could have been there! i think the holograms were cool and i kinda like that she didn't really need to move around that much, just sometimes dance/jump left & right of the stage while singing. i can see how an acoustic version would have been even more intimately wonderful. that would have been really something.
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Post by lapayin on Nov 23, 2010 21:23:15 GMT -5
I recieved my "Best of Lara Fabian" today.
I watched "Toutes Les Femmes En Moi Font Leur Show" and thought it was great. The holograms were really something. It was very theatrical and a nice tribute to toutes les femmes.
One special part of the DVD was the blast from the past - the appearance of Rejean Lachance (guitarist)and Dorian Sherwood (percussion and singing). I noticed them right away. If only Pierre Grimard and Kim Richardson were there. Those were the days!!!
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Post by lapayin on Nov 26, 2010 20:12:34 GMT -5
I have listened to the" Best Of" CDs. The songs choosen were good in my opinion
I would have liked to have seen one song from Lara's first album. I would have chosen "Je M'arreterai Pas De T'aimer" or "Le Jour Ou Tu Partiras". And since TLFM was included perhaps one song from EWIM so all albums would be represented. They could have replaced "Ne Lui Parlez Plus D'elle" and "Bambina".
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Post by haddie0172 on Nov 27, 2010 10:50:38 GMT -5
Hello, i just downloaded the kremlin concert that was broadcast on russian television. On larafabiannews is a link to a russian site were the torrent is for download. You must have u torrent. I am not very good with it but i did succeed!
I am verry impressed. The concert was great! Sometimes when i already was 100% sure that a song was live and not lipsync i saw something that looked lipsync. But it looked. It was live for 100%. And that can mean that everything was live but sometimes looked lypsync. I am not sure for 100% that realy everything was live but it can be because of the songs that are live but sometimes looked on a moment lypsinc. Than that song must completly be lypsinc. And that is not the case. Because some breathing and other little things were clearly not on the studio version and realy appeared there because she was moving and singing and then some sounds apear that it makes it impossible to be an recorded thing. But still i saw her mouth doing things that looked a little different from what i hear. It is possible and some people are earning money to let puppets talk even without you seeing any movement from their lips. Very technical singers have that sometimes. I am not trying to convince here that everything was live but to give something to think about before judging too soon. The orchestra have to play presisely with the recorded voice from lara, otherwise it becomes a mess! Verry risky is it not? Than it is best to sync everything, and nobody plays live.
Well i enjoyed it very much and it was nice to see lara's parents on the front row with lou! There were russian artist in the audience who adore her. She sang mama for her mother and for her daughter she sang lou (her name yep) Now here daddy was not honered by a song for him. That is a shame! (lol) I hope everyone succeeds downloading it. It is a must have!
Greetings from martin.
nederland, holland, the netherlands, pays bays (the frence name for my country do maybe spelled incorrectly)
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Post by lapayin on Nov 28, 2010 12:39:12 GMT -5
I agree the concert was fantastic. The song selection was great and Lara sang with a power and passion I haven't seen in a while. Bravo!!!
As usual Lara starts off slow and really picks it up in the middle of the concert. The audience seemed to reflect that in their expression. There were lots of Bravos and some standing ovations too. What a strong way to end the concert with a very energetic Love Like A Dream. Perfect!!!
I believe most of it was live because Lara actually messed up the words in "Mlle Hyde". And some songs were a liitle different from the CD.
Lara was very elegant in attire and manner. Her dresses were beautiful. Her excitement about being in the Kremlin keeps reminding us about the free spirit in this magical performer.
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Post by bward on Dec 3, 2010 17:47:45 GMT -5
Thanks to the kind generosity of Pam Francis I was able to watch the DVD for "Toutes Les Femmes En Moi Font Leur Show"! Excellent concert, since I haven't seen Lara perform in person in years! She sounded wonderful, looked amazing and I agree with Lapayin, the holograms were excellent! Gerard Pullicino is quite the producer!! Was so good to see past members of her band and I was impressed with the vocals on Dorian Sherwood!!
I'm starting to listen to Mlle Zhivago and will post my review when done!
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angiee3
New Member
[Mo0:0]
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Post by angiee3 on Jul 23, 2011 22:50:50 GMT -5
I just found this Forum and I'm really happy.. I am a new fan of Lara and I have been trying to gather as much of her music as I can. I just found out that there is that Dvd for TLFM and I'm trying to find it, so I can purchase it! I bout the Best of Cd from Amazon. Is the Dvd still in the market? Where can I buy it?
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Post by lapayin on Jul 24, 2011 8:43:07 GMT -5
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angiee3
New Member
[Mo0:0]
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Post by angiee3 on Jul 24, 2011 13:54:37 GMT -5
Thank you so much!!! I live in the USA so some of Lara's things are harder to get here....
Angelica
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Post by lapayin on Jul 24, 2011 15:29:27 GMT -5
Angelica,
I live in the Boston area.
I've ordered from Amazon.fr many times and have always been happy with them.
I know what you mean. If it wasn't for fans putting videos on YouTube, this forum with David's wonderful updates and translations and other contributors I would never have learned much about Lara. I have also been introduced to many other international singers who are wonderful, all because of Lara and her fans.
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