1957 At Carnegie Hall (Frn)

In 1977, Phillips International Records, a division of EMI, released a two-disc vinyl album entitled "Edith Piaf at Carnegie Hall, January 13, 1957." It contained a complete recital, 22 tracks, a few of which were slightly marred by "dropouts" or momentary losses of volume. I barely noticed it and, as a then-budding fan of Ms. Piaf, I enjoyed the album immensely.

For many years, I looked forward to a CD release of this important musical document.

Just a few years ago, I acquired the EMI Records Release, "Piaf au Carnegie Hall" which consists of most (but not all) of the 1957 tracks and several tracks from Piaf's 1956 concert. After listening to it, I was greatly disappointed; it turns out that in reissuing the 1957 concert, EMI had made a major blunder. They removed several tracks from the 1957 concert and replaced them with inferior tracks from the 1956 recital. Those recordings were not just inferior artistically, but technically as well. The earlier 1956 tracks, by and large, suffer from the worst case of tape flutter I have ever heard, effectively ruining the listening experience for me. I was not the only one to think so; please feel free to search out the Amazon entry for "Piaf au Carnegie Hall" and you will find that many, if not most, of the reviewers of that set agree that it was an insult to Piaf to release it. I believe that the people at EMI who re-mastered the 1956 tracks couldn't have even listened to them, and several others agreed.

Last month, I suddenly noticed this set, marketed by a CD company called, Fantastic Voyage. While I cannot comment on their legal rights to the material (EMI owns most of Piaf's later recordings) I have to say that Fantastic Voyage has certainly done right by this reissue. The set is complete and contains a booklet with liner notes on Piaf's career, as well as individual comments on each and every track.

As for the music, it is sublime. Certainly no English speaking American Piaf fan who is not fluent in French could ask for more. On many of the tracks, Miss Piaf sings in English; sometimes she sings in French and English and sometimes only in French. On many of the French-only tracks, she introduces the songs in broken English, and the effect is far more charming than one might guess. While she is never quite as powerful in English as she is, say, on the many live tracks she recorded at the Paris Olympia, that is to be expected. But from this important recording, it is clear that the sold out American audience at Carnegie Hall hung on her every word and the applause is abundant, heartfelt and frequent. Of particular charm to American audiences is her flawless interpretation of Autumn Leaves, which she assails first in French, then in English; her signature song (which she wrote) La Vie en Rose, which is done in the same manner, and her 1946 French hit, Un Pettit Homme (One Little Man), which she talk-sings completely in English in a most touching manner. For the song Heureuse ("Happy) she recites the poignant lyrics in English while a soprano softly sings the melody in the background; Piaf then gives it all she's got in French. The effect is stunning.

I wish I had come upon this set before I purchased EMI's release Au Carnegie Hall. This is what I was looking for in the first place.

Highly recommended.

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review  5.0 out of 5 stars