Recto Verso

I am fairly new to Zaz’s music, having only been listening to her on CD for a twelve couple of weeks now at the time of writing this review, but after listening to her first album – her eponymous album “Zaz”, I very quickly ordered her next two albums from Amazon and have now received her album “Recto Verso”.I’ve played it five or six times now and with the first listening to of it, I found that for me, there were so many stand out tracks, such as: “J’ai Tant Escamoté”, “Déterre”, “Si”, “Cette Journée”, “La Lune” and more music to get feet-tapping and body moving to, more feel good music from Zaz – wonderful! “Recto Verso” has a fantastic mix of songs and as one song plays I think “yes this could be my favourite” – at least until the next track starts and I realise that it is difficult to pick a favourite as the songs are all so very good! And with a little over 52 minutes of music, there’s plenty to listen to (those 52 minutes also includes eleven minutes of extra music with three extra tracks on the deluxe version CD).The “Recto Verso” deluxe version ((Play On, Sony Music, Jo & Co 8888372072) is beautifully presented in a cardboard 6 panel digipak arrangement. It comes with a 14 track CD (52 minutes), a 34 minute documentary DVD, and a 24 page booklet, which has song lyrics as well as beautiful artwork and photographs.Everything is in French, and so no English translations of lyrics or subtitles on the DVD are given (or should be expected to be there necessarily).As I don’t speak much French beyond ordering a couple of coffees or beers, I have been looking the lyrics up online and then googletransating them into English which is very helpful, and whilst that helps me to understand the songs better, the album (as with any song in any language) the album can still be enjoyed plenty without knowing the specifics of the lyrics as the music is so good and Zaz’s voice is so beautiful and full of sincere-ness (unlike much of the manufactured music of today)..

Now that her busking days in the Place du Tertre are long past and she has become animportant part of the French music scene, I note a slight change.In this new album there is a distinctive recall of the nostalgic jazz influence of thosepost war days in Paris.This is French music taken back to its roots by a very modern singer, and in a totallymodern style.There is still that earthy tone and phrasing, recalling the heyday of Piaff.But, Zaz is unique, she is not a Pop musician but something unique and a new genre onthe stage of French chanteuse.

Zaz's music is the kind that instantly grabs me and has me hooked, and wanting to hear more. Ranging from the slightly quirky to the utterly beautiful, this is an album that brings me joy on every listen. I completely love it.

Another brilliant CD from Zaz. I saw her on a BBC 4 documentary about French singers and now we can't get enough of her.

The girl can do no wrong

It has been a three-year wait since her first album, back in 2010 - but this second effort is well worth the wait. Zaz has so much talent, so much energy, and she is a total standout/one-of-a-kind artist - that is, when compared to the current crop of pop/jazz singers. It's not that she is better than everyone else, just different, and right up there with the best of them!

Happy music I listen every day

Superb singing by a woman who really seems to enjoy what she does.