Big Dog 92-7 Music Guide

Duos

RELEASE
December 08, 2008
LABEL
EMI Music Distribution
GENRES
Vocal Music, Vocal Pop, French Pop, Cabaret

Album Review

Charles Aznavour's double-disc Duos album boasts a lot of starpower and a bunch of his greatest hits, but there's less than initially meets the eye here. Sure, a quick glance at the track listing shows a long list of international superstars who team up with Aznavour to sing duets on the album, including Céline Dion, Julio Iglesias, Placido Domingo, Laura Pausini, Elton John, Johnny Hallyday, Nana Mouskouri, Sting, Josh Groban, Carole King, Paul Anka, Herbert Gronemeyer, Liza Minnelli, and Bryan Ferry. Even the late Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin show up for duets. Moreover, the track listing reads like a greatest-hits collection, compiling the classics "Toi et Moi," "Hier Encore," and "La Bohème," among many others. Yet a more careful study of the track listing reveals that the featured superstars show up not once but twice -- once on each disc, in general -- and that the songs are likewise duplicated -- once on the French-language first disc and then, with some exceptions, again on the English-language second disc. Essentially, Aznavour and the guest vocalists cut a French- and English-language version of each song, one for each disc. So there's less than meets the eye here on Duos, as the second disc mostly repeats the first disc, albeit in a secondary language (English in most cases, but also Spanish, Italian, and German in the case of the respective Domingo, Pausini, and Gronemeyer duets). This repetition is one thing, but the duets sound almost as canned as the musical backing tracks, as if this were an Aznavour karaoke session. Granted, Aznavour is in fine form, but the duet vocals sound terribly overdubbed and often half-hearted, and worst of all is the music, which couldn't be blander. With little more than novelty appeal going for it, Duos is for Aznavour fanatics only.
Jason Birchmeier, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Toi et Moi
  2. Que C'est Triste Venise
  3. Les Bateaux Sont Partis
  4. Paris au Mois d'Août
  5. Hier Encore
  6. Il Faut Savoir
  7. Mourir d'Aimer
  8. L' Amour C'est Comme un Jour
  9. La Bohème
  10. Ton Nom
  11. Je N'Ai Pas Vu le Temps Passer
  12. Mes Emmerdes
  13. C'est un Gars
  14. Yesterday When I Was Young
  15. Quiet Love
  16. Love Is New Everyday
  17. Young at Heart
  18. To Die of Love
  19. She
  20. I Didn't See the Time Go By
  21. You and I
  22. La Bohème (English Version)
  23. El Barco Ya Se Fue
  24. The Sound of Your Name
  25. You've Got to Learn
  26. Parigi in Agosto
  27. Als Es Mir Beschissen Ging
  28. Everybody Loves Somebody