Bonne Chance

Monsieur Mo Rio—Bonne Chance
Retro French pop, with a whimsical 70s orchestral sound—flutes, strings, brass, glockenspiel, with happy Beatles eccentricity. Mostly male vocals, with some ooohhs and aahhs and choral harmonies. Some of it sounds like 70’s children’s music, unabashedly pretty and happy. This CD makes me SOOO happy. All the tracks sound different and I like them ALL.

1. (2:19) starts with a fanfare; then exuberant march, with childlike singing/lyrics. Trumpet, flute, plucky banjo, xylophone. Fades into next track.
2. (4:20) transitions into a sitar-infused tune reminiscent of Norwegian Wood but happier
*3. (2:13) breezy upbeat 5/4 tune, with smooth vocal harmonies and “ba da ba da”s
4. (1:57) groovy bouncing tune, with oooo’s and guitars, tambourines, and gospel organ
*5. (2:26) upbeat, rolling merrily along with soaring strings and choral harmonies and some banjo
*6. (1:51) children’s song-esque, bouncing, strong beat, xylophones, some sitar with pauses for harmony
7. (3:05) strolling, intricate acoustic guitar, simple folksy vocals and flute solos, some electric twangy guitar interludes
8. (2:09) very 60s French—upbeat boom-chick, boom-chick tempo, full horn-heavy orchestrations
9. (3:34) called “de l’ivresse,” On Drunkenness, slower, swaying, slightly out of tune, slightly sentimental waltz tempo dance band
*10. (1:34) acoustic guitar and (clarinets?) folksy tune with simple structure and melody
11. (2:11) fast and energetic, like a zydeco video game soundtrack with some screws loose. Wacky sounds, echoing vocals, sirens
12. (2:34) midtempo, poppy, with gospel organ and wow-wow guitars—kinda funky
13. (2:35) cool midtempo carefree romp through the green hills, flute and clarinet and vibes, “da ba dum”s
14. (1:34) andante orchestral instr. Vibes, xylophones, lovely flute solos, oodles of strings. A lovely end.
--reviewed by mandy (la chanteuse)