release date: (Nov.?) 1991
format: vinyl (gatefold) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Sodi & Clive (aka Clive Martin)
label: Delabel / Razzia Disques - nationality: France
Track highlights: 1. "Famille heureuse" - 2. "Perpétuellement vôtre" - 6. "Sous le soleil de Bodega" - 8. "Hou ! Mamma mia..." - 9. "Infidèle cervelle" - 10. "La France a ses dimanches" - 12. "Car c'est un blouze"
2nd studio album by French band Les Negresses Vertes, which here enlists eleven members, although the cover photos only counts ten members. Prior to this, the band featured on the international Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue from 1990 with their version of "I Love Paris".
Here, the band attempts to continue in the same style from Mlah (1989), but nevertheless with more polished arrangements, which lacks the rebellious streak that caused the band to be compared to Madness and The Pogues. However, the album does succeed in presenting a more common tone, where Mlah pointed in various directions and also reflected music from a sea of styles, and in that regard Familie nombreuse is an album that roughly stays on the same ground throughout. It's original, but in my mind it's missing that extra kick the debut contained. Having said that, the music here is by no means poor, but at times sticks out as slightly uninspired, although I personally find that the album actually improves in the latter half - perhaps simply because these songs share some of the traits from Mlah.
Familie nombreuse [meaning 'large family'] is the band's final with the its front figure, lead vocalist, and one of its major songwriters: Helno Rota, who died of an overdose in '93 (at the age of 29), after which the band's line-up changed considerably. The band continued to release albums up until around 2001, after which they have been less active. However, around 2018 and up to the 30th anniversary of this very album, Les Negresses Vertes (reformed with several of the original members) resumed their live performances, playing tracks from Mlah in particular (see here and here - and here a promotion spot for their tour).
[ 👎allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars, Popdose review ]
