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In early 2001, I heard a lot of people saying Alizée is "France's answer to Britney Spears". A cliché statement, perhaps, but 2001 has been a banner year for Alizée. Not only has she triumphed over the French charts, but the German, Dutch, Russian and Japanese ones too.

2002 looks to be even better for the pretty French 'chanteuse', with Alizée attacking the UK charts in February, and possibly the US after that. This album may be a year old, but it's as impressive as ever.

Being able to appreciate, or understand, French isn't a prerequisite for this album. Even if you've been studying French for a while, you'll find many of the lyrics rather cryptical. You'll enjoy a lot of wordplay and puns, especially in 'Moi Lolita'. Some English even creeps into the album on tracks such as 'J.B.G.' (James Bond Girl).

As with many French albums, there are a few incidents where the lyrics are too direct and blunt. 'Je sais que cette hymen durera longtemps' (I know that this hymen will last a long time), for example.

When you first put this CD on, you might be surprised by how deep her voice is. Don't worry, Alizée is simply demonstrating her impressive vocal range, and she leaps between sultry lows and dizzy highs throughout the album.

Unlike many pop albums, this album has a very interesting sound overall. Some songs are dark, some are very much 'pop', yet all have the 'traditional' broody creepy French mood in them. Yes, this is a pop album full of minor chords..

Alizée's promotional site... is one of the best musical promotion sites I've ever seen. It has ALL of her music videos for you to download, and you can even listen to samples of every track. The album comes with all the lyrics in the CD insert so you can also have lots of fun honing your French pronounciation skills.

So, in 2002 as in 2000 and 2001.. still an excellent effort all round! Alizée, and this CD, is an excellent package most people are sure to enjoy.


The Best French Debut Album Of The Last Ten Years   July 3, 2001
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

I hope there not too many mistakes in my review but I think you'll understand when I'm writing here.

This CD is really great. If you know Alizée and you love her music, you have to buy this album.

The first track on her CD is her famous single "Moi... Lolita". I think everybody knows this song, so I will tell some more about the other tracks. The second track "Lui ou Toi" is a very slow song with piano on the background, you really feal this song getting better each time you hear it. It has also a good structure. It's a real Alizée-song. The third song you may know also. It's "L'Alizé", her second single. A very good song also. Then you have "JBG" (James Bond Girl), almost a real James Bond-theme and you hear the tune of James Bond on the background. It sounds very good. The next song "Mon Maquis" is a very rare song, it's a completely different style. It sounds almost medieval. "Parler Tout Bas" is the third single of Alizée. It's another great song. "Veni Vidi Vici" is again a normal Alizée song. Especially the refrain is very good. "Abracadabra" sounds a little mysterious, on the background you hear a cat. "Gourmandises" is the also the title of the 9th song. It sounds a little housy. You have a beat on the background. It's not that good as the other songs. The last song is "À quoi rêve une jeune fille?" which is one of the best songs on the album.

All the texts are written by Mylene Farmer and the music was composed by Laurent Boutonnat who is also the producer.

I would say, if you really like Moi ... Lolita, and you also like another song of Alizée (L'Alizée or Parler Tous Bas) then you really have to buy this album.

I recommend this CD to everyone!


AMAZING...even if you don't speak French!   December 22, 2000
 9 out of 14 found this review helpful

I first heard about Alizee while travelling in France this past summer. Her new single "Moi...Lolita" had just been released and was being played everywhere in France. I'm so glad that I bought it because when I got back to the U.S. it wasn't beeing played on the radio at all. Instead, I was greeted by the same old boy bands and teen pops stars that had been popular three months earlier. "Moi...Lolita" is such a beautiful, unique, and mysterious song with such great quality. Alizee has a rare voice as she sings the bizarre but interesting lyrics to the song. Although I understand some French, I don't understand the majority of the song. Perhaps that contributes to why I like it so much. Nonetheless, I found the lyrics and now have them memorized. It would be good for the U.S. to be exposed to more songs of various cultures and languages such as "Moi...Lolita". I'm so glad I heard this song and am now an Alizee fan! Even though Alizee's songs may appeal more to teenagers, I definitely recommend this CD to everyone!


In the best Mylène Farmerys Tradition   January 20, 2001
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

Alizée is only 16 years old and already a star in her native France. Her debut single "Moi...Lolita" (Me... Lolita) sold more than one million copies, which is huge for a country as France (around 60 millions people overall).

Alizée's career started thanks to the TV show Graine de Star (Starseed - a kind of they will be famous show), when producer Laurent Boutonnat saw her singing and decided to make her pass an audition. Boutonnat is nothing less than Mylène Farmer's mentor, one of the most popular and venerated French artist. Together with Mylène, they wrote the first title for this young girl coming from the Island of Corsica. And the rest is history...

The video for her first release has been hardly criticised because it portraits beautiful Alizée walking through fields with a young man trying to stop her to talk. When he reaches her, he says "I love you. Do you love me?". She looks at him with a thin smile and "Do you have 50 francs?" she answers. Wow. Quite provocative for a debut.

Her second single, "L'alizé" (The trade-wind), also hit the top of the charts, so that the logical following step was achieving a whole album. And here you have "Gourmandises" (Greeds), an evocative title that says it all about ambitious Alizée.

Even though her first two singles are outstanding, the disc is not a masterpiece. It's a good debut album, pop and danceable, but we were expecting something more from the team Boutonnat/Farmer (who wrote all the tracks). Arrangements are electronic, simple, sometimes poor ("Veni Vidi Vici"), copying all the patterns that made Mylène famous. Some people call Alizée "Mini-Mylène", but this girl knows how to play about it, and she anticipates critics in the lyrics of "Moi... Lolita", when she sings "je suis mi-cotton, mi-laine" that is "I'm half-cotton and half-wool" (but in French, playing with words, it sounds like "I'm Mylène").

Best songs are "L'alizé" (probably best French song of the year), "Moi... Lolita", "Gourmandises" and "Parler tout bas" (Speaking low), the latter possibly being her new single. Remaining tracks are plan pop, with no honours, expect for "Mon Maquis" (My shelter) and "Lui ou toi" (He or you), which have very interesting lyrics.

A must for Mylène's fans and for people waiting for a real talented teen queen. Here comes Princess Alizée.


French Superstar with Real Talent   August 14, 2001
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I first heard Alizee while studying abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris France (summer 2000). While listening to French radio, I immediately fell in love with "Moi...Lolita" and for the entire summer, the lyrics and beat of the song were constantly in my mind. It was definitely the hit of the summer, making Alizee an international superstar! Upon my return to the US, a few months later, Alizee's first album Gourmandises was finally release and I ordered it without hesitation. The rest of the album proves that Alizee is more than just a pop icon. With each song, you can definitely sense the deep passion in her voice. I listen to the album practically everyday. I don't think I will ever outgrow Alizee. My absolute favorites from the album are "Moi, Lolita," "Lui ou Toi," "L'Alize," "JBG," "Mon Maquis," Veni Vedi Vici," and "Gourmandise." I am anticipating the follow up to Gourmandises. Hope you enjoy it too.