Cinema
"It'd be a pretty lame idea in the hands of, say, Rod Stewart, but the Cafe Accordion Orchestra puts a fun twist on movie music with its new CD, "Cinema." Led by squeeze-box maestro Dan Newton, the French-styled combo stuck to its strengths in songs such as "Moon River" ("Breakfast at Tiffany's") and "Charade" ("Charade"), and it picked some unconventional tracks such as "It Had Better Be Tonight" ("The Pink Panther" -- but not the over-tread Henry Mancini theme) and "Urami Bushi (from "Kill Bill 2")." --CHRIS REIMENSCHNEIDER, Minneapolis Star Tribune"There's a certain joie de vivre that's crucial to the romantic gypsy music known as musette, an insouciant revelry with a titch of kitsch. Café Accordion Orchestra don't just understand this, they embody it. Cinema, the quintet's sixth CD, is a particularly impressive sleight of hand, a heavily themed affair that isn't bogged down by its premise. Taking songs from film soundtracks ranging from the Marx Brothers to Quentin Tarantino and revising them to evoke a Parisian sidewalk during that gilded era between the two world wars, they never flag in their enthusiasm, veer into pigeonholed parody, or otherwise insult the listener's intelligence. Founder Dan Newton's accordion remains the obvious signature, but the nimble string-pickers Eric Mohring on mandolin and violin, Brian Barnes on guitars and banjo are a worthy foil." --BRITT ROBSON, City Pages