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RICHIE/GRACIA: THE OFFICIAL KM.COM SONG BY SONG CD REVIEW!
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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:10 pm    Post subject: RICHIE/GRACIA: THE OFFICIAL KM.COM SONG BY SONG CD REVIEW! Reply with quote Back to top

Here is the OFFICIAL KM.COM song by song breakdown of RICHIE & GRACIA'S NEW CD. PLEASE READ THE WHOLE REVIEW to get the whole point of our review.
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1) INTRO: Normally, I wouldn't even make a big deal about the intro on a cd, but this one was so original and nice, it had to be done. The element of surprise hits you as a big sudden noise scares the living daylights out of you, especially if you are blasting the cd with a loud volume. Then Richie says "Sorry" as if he did not mean to scare you. Of course he did. Anyway, he goes on about how Gracia Delva is a living legend, and then he says "I am going to show you".

The setting is supposedly backstage at a concert, so he moves to the stage with the listener (You guys) to see Gracia in action. The call and chant with the "crowd" is pure magic as the crowd responds to every single note by Gracia on point. Of course this is put together in the studio but IT'S PURE MAGIC. Richie went a bit too long in the TALK department of the intro but the whole concept is excellent.

2) YO REMELE: The INSTANT HIT off of the CD. This is the one that most fans had dreamed would happen when they imagined what would happen if Richie and Gracia got together. Richie and Gracia serve you the long awaited dish RIGHT FROM THE START just to get your hunger out of the way. This is the jam that will be rocking most hmi radio stations from Florida to Haiti in order to alert the people that RICHIE & GRACIA are back together again. INSTANT HIT...NO NEED TO TALK.

As soon as the keyboard intro comes in, YOU ALREADY FEEL that you are going to be taken for a ride. What a ride that song is indeed. PURE ZENGLEN AT THE PEAK OF THEIR POPULARITY. Plus VERY IMPORTANT...NICKENSON PRUDHOMME's keyboard and EL POZO's guitar complete the Zenglen sound that the fanatics of the group and hmi fans alike had been dreaming would happen. GRACIA (Ti Blada) at his DYOLE best...just the way most people like it.

3) MMS: I am going to be blunt and say it. I did not want the producer VENUS to go with this song as the first single because of the huge expectations that the public had for the RICHIE/GRACIA cd. I was afraid that there would be a letdown. Even though some complaints were made about this being the first single, NO ONE IS COMPLAINING now because the single DID IT'S JOB and that was to wet the appetites of the fans for the main course. Not only did the single do the job, a lot of people love that song now because it grew on them because of the catchy nature of the song. I think it's a hit as well.

4) PAPA: Here is a MASTERPIECE of a song with a beautiful and deep message about fathers and different situations that they find themselves in that can lead to them not having a relationship with their sons or daughters. YOU FEEL THE PAIN of the singer (RICHIE), perhaps because he might be going through a similar situation? Nevertheless the song tucks at your heartstrings and it will touch many people, especially those in similar situations. I hear people talking about this being a sleeper hit..heck, there's no sleeper here...THIS SONG WILL BE HUGE unless the radio people don't want to have anything to do with it. Richie did great on this one.

5) A LANVE: Here is the SLEEPER HIT on the record. After people get tired of the more popular songs on the cd, they will discover this one. A compas rocker with an insatiable groove led by EL POZO's guitar, but more importantly with a very important message about the current state of Haiti and how things are A LANVERS (In Reverse or Tet Anba). This is a song that can be used as some sort of anthem to better Haiti. Radio should rally behind this song because of the very important message, but also because RICHIE has commercialized the track to make it dancing friendly...it will be tough to ignore it.

GRACIA DELVA (Ti Blada) is at his best vocally and his voice shows an urgency that will make people stop, think and listen. I also think this is the song where a little bit of Mambo is inserted for a few secnds, all with perfect ease of course. BON MIZIK.

6) PRAN PLEZI NOU (DP EXPRESS): I don't recall this DP Express song, maybe because I was a SCORPIO fan, so I blocked everything that had to do with DP out of my mind. Having said that, the track is very well put together. Pardon me if I am a bit lukewarm towards the adaption songs on this cd. I will tell you why later in the review.

7) ST VALENTIN: The other INSTANT HIT of the cd. This could be their next "Our Love is Forever". EVERYTHING about this song hits the spot. Grcia Delva shows once again that he is not only good at hyping up the crowd, but also at belting compas love numbers. A song like that makes me reminisce of when Zenglen was the untouchable band in the business in all aspects. In some aspects, they still are....this song will sell a lot of copies of the cd just by itself. It's actually my favorite song on the cd.

8) QU'EST-CE QUE LA VIE? (FRERES DEJEAN): This Freres Dejean classic I DO REMEMBER vividly. RICHIE and GRACIA honored the song properly by doing an amazing job on this rendition. My favorite of the three adaption/interpretations on the cd. I also like the fact that Gracia and Richie make sure that they let everybody know WHO is the band responsible for the classic track. Bon Bagay.

9) SUK SALE: In every RICHIE/ZENGLEN project, there is usually that Richie compas love ballad that always makes noise. On "Happy 50", it was "Mwen Inmew". This song is supposed to be the one on this cd, but there is a little issue, it actually WILL get outshined by the other Richie track "Papa". People might actually sleep on this tune because it is the unfortunate recipient of being ON THE WRONG CD AT THE WRONG TIME with all those other great songs.

Apart from the beginning of the song when Richie started singing (The only time I ever recall having an issue with Richie's studio voice on a record), the song is extremely good. Richie begins the song and his vocals ONLY AT THE BEGINNING just does not meet the grade...only to amazingly pick up and get much much better towards the middle to the end of the song. As a matter of fact, he hits a note in that song that many VOCALISTS can only dream of reaching. MWEN SEZI when he did that...not sure if it's a voice effect...I doubt that it was.

As far as the song, it has a Zouk flavor to it..which can clearly be seen/felt in the bassline of the song, and then it changes to Compas at the drop of a dime. The keyboards on this song are off the hook. I am not sure if this song will be a hit...but all we can do is wait and see.might

10) MAP TAN OU (ROGER COLAS): Gracia Delva totally shocked me with what he did in this song. This is a song that when he gets older, he should look back on to have his children listen to to show them that "Daddy was a singer when he was younger". I remembered this song as soon as I heard the intro/chorus. This song is a CLASSIC (The Original that is), and Richie/Gracia did not do anything to make this generation think any less of this song. They did a great job on this tune.

11) PAPA REMIX: TOTALLY HONEST....As soon as I heard the ORIGINAL VERSION of "PAPA", the one at Number 5 on the CD, I simply did NOT want to hear this version because it was already at a huge disadvantage in my eyes because the version of song 5 is SO POWERFUL. I would have advised Richie NOT to put this twoubadou version on simply because of the POWER of the other version of "Papa". What's done is done.
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PROS: All in all...POINT BAR...BAR NONE, this cd is imply TECHNICALLY SUPERIOR than all the other cds that came out on the market. When I say technically...that's exactly what I mean. Another classic from the Superstarmaker...and if you had any doubts that RICHIE & GRACIA ARE MAGIC TOGETHER....this cd should ersa any doubts. If Gracia had lost some clout after leaving Zenglen, even though he is very popular in Haiti with Mass Compas, HE HAS IT BACK and it's because of his excellent work on this cd. GRACIA and RICHIE have this chemistry that simply can't be explained. It's like water and a plant. Like Abbott and Costello, Like Bonny and Clyde...RICHIE & GRACIA....There is NO BETTER DUO in the HMI right now. As a matter of fact, this duo just might be the BEST EVER in the HMI in working together. IT'S AHIT CD NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

CONS: I would have told RICHIE to keep the renditions for a whole new different project, instead of putting them here. This cd should have been ALL ORIGINAL TRACKS. I would also have canned the REMIX of "Papa". Heck, I would have done a KREYOL LA move and put this cd out with 8 songs. I would have added 2 more original songs instead of the three classics.

Having said that RICHIE & GRACIA stand tall and this is the cd that the HMI has been craving for. THEY HAVE BEEN SERVED and the PLATE IS DAMN GOOD!

KM!
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kompamagazine
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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

How I wish I had the booklet for this cd as well to READ and SING ALONG to some of these tunes on this cd.

RICHARD URBAIN...Pale avem' Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing
KOB la fet wi nan bal TVICE/KREYOL LA samedi an? Laughing Laughing Laughing

BACK TO THE TOPIC!

KM!
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FANMKONESE



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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

YE WHAT'S GOING ON AK EMPTY CD SA YO.....THE SAME CRAP FOR CARIMI....KREOLE LA...AND T VICE........I WAS SO PIST LES MWEN OUVE CD SA YO AND NOTHING........PRODUCERS SA YO DO GET ON MY LAST FREAKING NERVE I SWEAR Twisted Evil REFUZE FAIS ON BAGAY PROPE ALL THE WAY Idea
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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

Very good review KM...

Although I now really like YO REMELE, it's still probably my least favorite on the album, WHICH ACTUALLY SPEAKS VOLUME in terms of the albums other great contents...

As far as Suk Sale, it is strong enough both musically and lyrically to not be overshadowed by the TERRIFIC message found in "Papa" or the smoothness of St. Valentin...BTW, I don't think the note you heard was effect...This is the same falsetto Richie used at the end of the song "YON TI BO."

"A L'envers" I agree, can definitely fill a dance floor with folks who are interested in good ole fashion dancing and not just ploger or pomper. My new favorite Very Happy

I love the remakes because they're not songs I grew up with, and more and more I'm starting to appreciate the older bands. These are great gateway songs into the past...

I would beg Richie or Fabrice to make a complete album of remakes to help my generation discover this vast buried musical treasure we have Wink
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kompekok



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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

Pat,

I agree with almost everything except for a couple of things:

1) I think Suk Sale will be a Hit, most people I know are stuck on that track. Also because of the fact that when one listens to this "masterpiece" no song is skipped, Suk Sale will be a Hit.

2) I don't mind the renditions, as they help bring out the "Back to the future" concept. Also I believe that the renditions are used to teach us the history of Konpa.
 
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SIROMYEL



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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 7:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

You guys are starting to make me think that there' something wrong with my ears.

jean, I went and listened and listened...

I am not saying this album is not good...musically it is very good.

But I still maintain that it does not have the commercial sound that will appeal to the mass of kompa listeners.
 
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jeanVALjean



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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 7:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

SIROMYEL wrote:
You guys are starting to make me think that there' something wrong with my ears.

jean, I went and listened and listened...

I am not saying this album is not good...musically it is very good.

But I still maintain that it does not have the commercial sound that will appeal to the mass of kompa listeners.


Syro "honey," take this word "commercial" out of your head and judge the album purely on its content. You seem to be stuck in the mindframe of how it might be received at a bal or to those who are quasi-kompa listeners...

You will discover that it is superior to anything else out there based on its maturity, arrangement, composition, lyrics, creativity, you name it... It is just different than anything else you've heard...No bouillon rechauffe accusations, no silly grooves to make you forget about the subpar lyrics, no BubbleYum Mr. Green Just Kompa Music in its purest form...

You're probably still trying to compare it to "Happy 50." Stop it Very Happy

Think of "Happy 50" as you would think of Michael Jordan in his first 3 championships and think of this project as you'd think of Jordan in his last 3 championships...Same man, different style/methods....

Same result! Wink Laughing Laughing Laughing
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Gromosso



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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

All I can say about this cd is that Richie has done it again. Can't wait to have my cd autographed by the man himself.

Vous Avez Richie!
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DJ Kreyol



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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

Pat,

Nice review...

Musically speaking, its OBVIOUS, that this CD is superior than the rest.

I like the CD. A Lanve is my song. I truly love it.

But as Pat said, TOO MANY remakes.

Richie, I advise you to make a REMAKE CD and invite all singers in the business and that right there would be a nice CHALLENGE.

All in all, thanks for the konpa!
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 PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 8:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote Back to top

Kreyol

What's up man?

What about your reviews of the cds?

A LANVE is the SLEEPER HIT on that CD Senly. STRONG MESSAGE and the GROOVE IS SICK!

KM!
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