Word: frenchness
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Zone may abandon the pure a cappella of earlier albums, but Zap Mama still have voices to contend with. Founded by Marie Daulne, a native of Zaire raised in Europe, this Brussels quintet reflects the eclectic cosmopolitanism of both Daulne's upbringing and their home city, with lyrics in French, various African languages and English. Elements of African tribal chants and Pygmy song blend seamlessly with Daulne's incredible lead vocals, which flow easily from breathless pixie to soul sister. But A Ma Zone should not be consigned to the world music section of record stores...
...that hang out at Buckeroo's Mercantile on Mass. Avenue who know cool things, throw cooler parties, and are the guardians of a trove of local treasures. Last week, when I dropped in, Diane was going about her merry way dusting feathers and listening to the faintest, scantest little French fairy-voice. I live for moments like that: walking into a room and being hit in the heart by a most unexpected, most dreamed-of sound. That was the beginning of my controlled adoration of Suzi Lee, Slide bandmember, who has just released her solo and French album, Blue...
...incredibly well-preserved picture greets the viewer, and the opening scenes appear both surreal and promising. The film is set in 1916, before war-weariness had begun to be epidemic among troops and their homelands. The Germans shoot down a French reconnaissance plane that holds two of the movie's main characters, Lieutenant Marechal (Jean Gabin) and Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay). The film almost prompts laughter, for Erich von Stroheim's Captain von Rauffenstein invites the captured parties for a meal before sending them off to a prison camp...
...However, because we are used to blood and gore as our guides to human character, Grand Illusion appears to be only a dated and trite war movie with French subtitles...
...DUNCAN A. FRENCH...