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Avg: 3.5 (33 ratings)
- Date Released: January 1, 1979
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: ZE Records / The Orchard
The Downtown Scene filtered through a Frenchwoman's ears.
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We Say...
If you’ve ever heard Françoise Cactus exclaim and gasp her way through Stereo Total’s ironic Eurotrash indie-pop, then you’ve heard this French-born, Manhattan-based rocker’s inspired amateurism one degree removed. Typically playing single notes in imaginary, discordant scales rather than actual chords, Lizzy Mercier Descloux isn’t much of a guitarist, and less of a singer.
But there’s a compelling tension to her debut album that confirms the theory that one might get away with nearly every minimalist doodle and wrong note if your rhythm section’s tight. For her remake of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s “Fire,” she calls in some session pros for a Savarese-mixed confection that resembles KISS’ deliciously tacky disco-rock milestone “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” but with a nutty French lady on top.
This 2003 reissue combines her 1979 solo debut album with her 1978 French language Rosa Yemen EP. There’s either rudimentary drumming or none at all, yet the tracks are so Wire-tense and terse that they remain percussive. The capper is her 1995 reunion with former flat mate Patti Smith on a bilingual reading of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem "Matinée d'ivresse/Morning High" with Material’s Bill Laswell supplying background hum. -
They Say...
Lizzy Mercier Descloux made a significant splash in New York's underground music community with her first solo album for the ZE label, home to equally bent acts like Was (Not Was), Cristina, the Contortions, and Kid Creole & the Coconuts. The French transplant had already established herself as one half of Rosa Yemen, a short-lived no wave combo that released a hastily recorded six-song EP for the same label a year earlier. Along with Rosa Yemen partner DJ Barnes and Garçons' Eric Elliason, she recorded Press Color -- eight tense, terse tunes owing more to disco, funk, and film scores than punk rock -- within the span of two weeks. The lead single, a cover of Arthur Brown's "Fire," couldn't have ripped out Descloux's no wave roots any more violently, all the while changing the original's fire-and-brimstone theatrics into a zippy roller-rink wink. Covers of two Lalo Schifrin compositions -- "Mission: Impossible" and "Jim on the Move" -- are relatively faithful, though Descloux adds something of her own to the latter by repeatedly intoning the title ("Jim...Jim! Jim, Jim, Jim -- on...the move"). The original arrangement of the standard "Fever" is also kept intact, but Descloux replaces every instance of "fever" with "tumor" ("you give me tumor," "tumor when you hold me tight," etc.). The other half of the album is made up of originals, including "Wawa," a bobbing, disco-inspired instrumental full of the spindly guitars that would populate much of her brilliant follow-up, Mambo Nassau. Spirited, fun, and full of luscious basslines, the only thing that prevents Press Color from being as venerated as ESG's early releases is that no rap producer has been keen enough to sample from it.
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| 01. |  |
Fire |
5:15 |
|
| 02. | |
Torso Corso |
1:51 |
|
| 03. | |
Mission Impossible |
2:35 |
|
| 04. | |
No Golden Throat |
2:40 |
|
| 05. | |
Jim On The Move |
2:33 |
|
| 06. | |
Wawa |
2:24 |
|
| 07. | |
Tumour |
3:01 |
|
| 08. | |
Aya Mood |
2:51 |
|
| 09. | |
Mission Impossible 2.0 |
2:22 |
|
| 10. | |
Rosa Vertov
|
1:45 |
|
| 11. | |
Decryptated
|
1:21 |
|
| 12. | |
Herpes Simplex
|
2:05 |
|
| 13. | |
Larousse Baron Bic
|
1:38 |
|
| 14. | |
Tso Xin Yu Xin
|
1:23 |
|
| 15. | |
Nina Con Un Tercer Ojo
|
0:59 |
|
| 16. | |
Birdy Num0Num |
3:33 |
|
| 17. | |
Hard-Boiled Babe |
4:24 |
|
| 18. | |
Morning High |
3:03 |
|
18 Total Tracks, 45:43 Total Length
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Credits
- Chet Baker - Performer // Chet Baker - Performer // Chet Baker - Performer // Chet Baker - Performer // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Bass // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Guitar // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Percussion // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Vocals // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Producer // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Engineer // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Overdubs // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Main Performer // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Mixing // Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Selection // Joe Arlotta - Engineer // Bob Blank - Engineer // Jack Cavari - Guitar // Jack Cavari - Guest Appearance // Jody Harris - Guitar // Bill Perry - Drums // Savarese - Mixing // Allen Wentz - Synthesizer // Allen Wentz - Sequencing // Allen Wentz - Guest Appearance // Chris Wilshire - Vocals (Background) // Chris Wilshire - Guest Appearance // Jimmy Young - Percussion // Jimmy Young - Drums // Oliver Ray - Guitar // Edo - Photography // Edo - Photography // Michel Esteban - Producer // Michel Esteban - Executive Producer // Michel Esteban - Photography // Michel Esteban - Cover Design // Ramona Brooks - Vocals (Background) // Ramona Brooks - Guest Appearance // Kenny Smith - Bass // Kenny Smith - Guest Appearance // Joseph Beuys - Inspiration // Yves Castelain - Cover Design // D.J Banes - Bass // D.J Banes - Guitar // D.J Banes - Percussion // D.J Banes - Vocals (Background) // D.J Banes - Producer // D.J Banes - Mixing
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