Paris
Many Putumayo compilations fail to capture the essence of a specific region by focusing on music that is simply too polite for its own good.  When it comes to the languid charms of Frenchchanson, however, the label has always excelled.  An indispensable companion to the previously releasedFrench Café Parisfocuses on the renaissance of French popular music in the hands of artists such as the raspy voiced Thomas Fersen, supermodel-turned-songwriter Carla Bruni and the ineffable Paris Combo--  arguably, the one group that started the smoky cabaret song revival in the mid-'90s.  An air of luxury and languor defines the 12 tracks here, from the breezy bossa nova of Coralie Clément's "Samba de Mon Coeur Qui Bat" ("Samba of my Beating Heart") to the accordion laced atmospherics of Amelie-Les-Crayons and the wistful "Ta P'tite Flamme" ("Your Little Flame").  Judging by this disc, contemporary French pop may very well be one of the most exciting musical movements in the world right now.--Ernesto Lechner