Les Cappuccino - Ultra Kitsch (de luxe) vol 1 (Sawasdee SAW 030404)

French record label Sawasdee release a Les Cappuccino album. Richard Karström finds it diverse, but worth looking into.

If you've been visiting this site for a while you might have read our previous article on Japanese band Les Cappuccino. With the arrival of their new disc it's time to for us to feature them again.

Les Cappuccino played the Spanish Purple Weekend festival in 2002 and with this new record, "Ultra Kitsch (de luxe) vol 1", and a recent tour of France the word is starting to spread. One high-flying London mod who saw Les Cappuccino in Spain reported that "they were a success before actually playing a single note". So, what about this record then? It contains quite a few tracks from their previous Japan only release but as that album is quite scarce these days there's little point of going into that. Please read on…

There is something peculiar about Les Cappuccino. On one hand you get a bunch of sugary (dare I say cute?) jolly knees-up tunes with French lyrics, then on the other hand there's the more smoke-filled instrumental mod jazz club tunes. On some tracks the two worlds actually meet; 'Bande à Part' which is a French tune that sounds rather a bit like 'Green Onions'. Not to mention 'Les filles Madison' - French lyrics set to the 'Green Onions' blueprint.

The instrumental mod jazz club tunes
Speaking of 'Green Onions', as we were, there is indeed a cover of that Booker T & the MGs old staple on here. As a close friend of mine pointed out, it is a bit obvious, non-imaginative even, to choose to do both Jimmy Smith's 'The Cat' and 'Green Onions'. Sure, classic tunes both and carried out without any flaws but as said, obvious choices. To some extent that is balanced out as Les Cappuccino knock out a smashing take on the KPM music library gem 'Move Move Move' by Parker/Hawkshaw. All the members of Les Cappuccino are very skilled musicians – in a good way – and that becomes evident rather quickly. Listen to Marie's organ workouts on 'Madison d'Anna' for example. It's a shame that she manages to hit the "instant Klaus Wunderlich" button around the 2.20 mark… The 'Maman Ma Cherie' track is worth mentioning as it shows a slightly different side of the band, a jazzy thing that might be an acquired taste for some. There's also 'Marie's Madison', a finger-snappin' relaxed track with that basement club feel… Looking for full frontal dancefloor mayhem at neck-breakin' speed? Give 'Rosbeef Attack' a spin and hear the band letting rip. Frantic yet under control, just the way I like 'em.

The jolly knees-up tunes
I would be the first to admit that I'm not that keen on the Euro Ye-Ye sounds or whatever you might like to call it. Titles like 'Tamoure Hully Gully' or 'Ba Ba Ba… Boof' doesn't spark my interest so to speak. Saccarine and aspartame… Let's just say that I'm more Badtz Maru than Hello Kitty. All the same, there's some nice parts - for instance Tommy's guitar work on the aforementioned 'Tamoure Hully Gully'. To contradict myself all together - like the enigmatic person I am - I must however point out the album's finishing track 'Get On Board'. A tad silly for sure, but hey what a groove. Lend an ear to Swingo's drumming on this tune, nice! 'Get On Board' is the theme song of the 1970's tv series 'Here Comes The Double Deckers', starring a young Brinsley Forde, later a founder member of Aswad. "Ring the bell, toot the horn" indeed!

To wrap things up - get this album! Sure, it's a bit diverse in parts, but you can always program the cd player to skip the tracks you don't like. Let's all be grateful for a band on the mod scene that are really good musicians…

About the author

Richard lives in Stockholm, Sweden. He likes books, bowling, Hammond organs, pinball and Portello. You can catch him dj'ing at events and clubs every now and then.

Someday he will quit his job down at the carwash and leave his mama a goodbye note.

More info and other articles by this author

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Related info

FNAC Buy this record from FNAC in France (soundfiles available!)

FGL Productions Buy it from FGL Productions (credit cards welcome)

Les Cappuccino website Visit the band's official website

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Comments:
Sir Pempelem	apr 27 2003 5:09PM
If you are looking for their Japan released only debut CD go to http://www.copasetic.de It's a german mailorder and they still have it in stock for a reasonable price I think.
Karsten	apr 23 2003 12:03PM
Get on board! Get on board! Get on board the Concorde before it´s too late. It´s gonna be a great! summer. Believe you me.
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