Daft Punk Album: “My House in Montmartre”

MY HOUSE IN MONTMARTRE is a great collection of house songs and remixes by various DJ's. The set here is mostly uptempo and will keep your feet moving on the dancefloor. Its a nice collection of songs, we have Stardust, Daft Punk, We In Music, Dimitri From Paris, I Cube, Air, Cassius, Minos Pour Main Basse, Alan Braze/Fred Falke, Demon/Heartbreakers, Superfunk, and more. The CD is one of the best I've heard so far this year in the genre. It's just one of those cds you can put in when you're getting ready or when you want to freak out and party, this one will keep the party going for sure.

My House In Montmartre is not a disc that I return to frequently, but I am glad to have it as a part of my collection; I've found it to be a good cd for driving, though I don't hestitate to use the skip button when necessary. Regarding the misfire tracks, they are as follows: the remix of "If I Ever Feel Better" lifts only one line from the song, a fine song at that, and repeats incessantly to grating effect; there are many fine and varied mixes of Benjamin Diamond's "Little Scare," but this one is only average; and again with the final song, "Party People," it's another brainless, repetitve number that would be fine on the dancefloor, but doesn't cut it at home. None of these three tracks are awful, they're just not the cream of French house music.

That said, I consider all the other tracks solid entries to any dance playlist, whether for solo listening or for a group, so you could do shabbier as far as these types of compilations go. I was happy to discover a lot of songs that were new to me when I first listened to the album. Immediately I enjoyed "We In Music's" Benjamin-Diamond-lite approach, the souped-up early 90's Prince sound of "Intro," and the thumping groove of "You Are My High" (another case of incessant single verse repetition, but here is an example of when an irrepressible, giddy beat really is worth its weight in gold). Sure, you could formulate tighter, more personal compilations of you own, but My House In Montmartre has a nice overall feel to it (warts 'n all) and will put you in a happy mental place, if this music is your to taste.

"My House in Montmarte" is French house at its second-best. Its tracks are compulsively dance-able, but it simply paints a small picture of what the genre is truly about. While it does contain some great tracks, This could be imagined as a "Best of Late 90's/Early Millenium French House" appearing on paid programming 10 years from now. It seems as though the track selection method was to simply pick out the most popular French artists and songs, not just the most talented French HOUSE artists and songs. The tracks by Daft Punk, Cassius, We In Music, Demon, and Alan Braxe are shining stars on the album, but their quality is sadly diminished by the likes of Air's "Modulor Mix" (which cannot really be considered French house, just French) and the obvious choice of the overplayed #1 French house anthem--"Music Sounds Better With You".

Overall, this album is great for getting your feet wet in the French house scene, but don't be disillusioned by its quirky disco antics. A more fitting compilation to more accurately represent the scene is "Crydamoure Presents Waves" or any of the "Sourcelab" compilations.