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A review by saareman
Récital 1961 by David L. Looseley
4.0
Regret Nothing
Review of the Bloomsbury Academic 33 and 1/3 Global Europe paperback edition (December 15, 2022).
Painting of Édith Piaf by Doug Davis used as the cover image for "Récital 1961" album. Image sourced from Discogs.
Récital 1961 is the live concert recording of French chanteuse Édith Piaf's (1915-1963) comeback performance after a period of illness. It was actually recorded on December 29, 1960 but as she had an extended run at the Paris Olympia concert hall into the early months of 1961, the marketing released it as the concurrent show recording. Although there were further concerts and mini-tours into 1962, Piaf was in a weakened state and eventually passed in October 1963 from liver cancer.
Piaf authority David Looseley (also the author of [b:Édith Piaf: A Cultural History|26491181|Édith Piaf A Cultural History|David Looseley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450038673l/26491181._SX50_.jpg|46486033] (2015)) provides a thorough background to Piaf's early life, the lead up to the 1960 Olympia concert, the selection of songs & their context for Piaf and her audience and the aftermath in this in-depth survey. I was actually surprised to learn that what is now known as her signature song Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I Regret Nothing), was such a late addition to her repertoire.
The album itself featured only the latest songs and none of her previous hits such as "La vie en rose", "Milord", "L'Accordéoniste", etc. although several of them were likely included in the concert. There does not appear to be any recent issues which attempt to reconstruct a "The Complete Concert" version, which also seems odd for such an iconic event.
The cover of the 7" single of the studio recording of "Non, je ne regrette rien" which was released in advance of her December 1960 concert recording. Image sourced from Discogs.
This was a further excellent example of my newly discovered 33 1/3 Global series and I hope to investigate more of these books, although they are somewhat harder to find than the ones in the regular 33 1/3 pop music series. i.e. there are only a few of them at my local library for instance.
Soundtrack
Listen to the original album with 9 tracks on YouTube here. The separate album is not available on Spotify but you can hear it as part of the 218 tracks of the 13 CD box set issued as "Hymne à la môme*" (French: Hymn to the Waif*) where it is CD8 starting with the track "Les mots d'amour" (Live at the Olympia 1960) on the playlist here.
* Piaf's nickname, due to her short stature of 4'8", was "La Môme Piaf", French Parisian slang for "The Waif Sparrow" or "The Little Sparrow".
Trivia and Links
I have recently discovered that aside from 33 & 1/3's series on pop & rock music there is an entirely separate "Global" series which covers world music. Currently there are sub-series for Europe, Oceania, Japan, Brazil, South Asia and Africa. You can search through them at Bloomsbury Academic's website here.
The currently published selection for 33 1/3 Global Europe is available on a GR Listopia here.
Review of the Bloomsbury Academic 33 and 1/3 Global Europe paperback edition (December 15, 2022).
Young working-class women, sometimes sex workers or just down on their luck, longing for true love, are invariably crushed by 'misfortune' or 'destiny', though these abstract forces usually come down to a dominant, heartless male. Piaf's physical appearance and the circumstances of her young life slotted easily into this code, which would haunt her career even when she tried to break free of it. It's still explicit in the late portrait of her ... which appears on the cover of the album.
Painting of Édith Piaf by Doug Davis used as the cover image for "Récital 1961" album. Image sourced from Discogs.
Récital 1961 is the live concert recording of French chanteuse Édith Piaf's (1915-1963) comeback performance after a period of illness. It was actually recorded on December 29, 1960 but as she had an extended run at the Paris Olympia concert hall into the early months of 1961, the marketing released it as the concurrent show recording. Although there were further concerts and mini-tours into 1962, Piaf was in a weakened state and eventually passed in October 1963 from liver cancer.
Piaf authority David Looseley (also the author of [b:Édith Piaf: A Cultural History|26491181|Édith Piaf A Cultural History|David Looseley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450038673l/26491181._SX50_.jpg|46486033] (2015)) provides a thorough background to Piaf's early life, the lead up to the 1960 Olympia concert, the selection of songs & their context for Piaf and her audience and the aftermath in this in-depth survey. I was actually surprised to learn that what is now known as her signature song Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I Regret Nothing), was such a late addition to her repertoire.
The album itself featured only the latest songs and none of her previous hits such as "La vie en rose", "Milord", "L'Accordéoniste", etc. although several of them were likely included in the concert. There does not appear to be any recent issues which attempt to reconstruct a "The Complete Concert" version, which also seems odd for such an iconic event.
The cover of the 7" single of the studio recording of "Non, je ne regrette rien" which was released in advance of her December 1960 concert recording. Image sourced from Discogs.
This was a further excellent example of my newly discovered 33 1/3 Global series and I hope to investigate more of these books, although they are somewhat harder to find than the ones in the regular 33 1/3 pop music series. i.e. there are only a few of them at my local library for instance.
Soundtrack
Listen to the original album with 9 tracks on YouTube here. The separate album is not available on Spotify but you can hear it as part of the 218 tracks of the 13 CD box set issued as "Hymne à la môme*" (French: Hymn to the Waif*) where it is CD8 starting with the track "Les mots d'amour" (Live at the Olympia 1960) on the playlist here.
* Piaf's nickname, due to her short stature of 4'8", was "La Môme Piaf", French Parisian slang for "The Waif Sparrow" or "The Little Sparrow".
Trivia and Links
I have recently discovered that aside from 33 & 1/3's series on pop & rock music there is an entirely separate "Global" series which covers world music. Currently there are sub-series for Europe, Oceania, Japan, Brazil, South Asia and Africa. You can search through them at Bloomsbury Academic's website here.
The currently published selection for 33 1/3 Global Europe is available on a GR Listopia here.