Ima - Smile

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:49
Size: 97,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:19)  1. At last
(3:58)  2. Smile / What a wonderful world
(3:20)  3. Jardin d'hiver
(3:45)  4. Que sera sera
(3:07)  5. Fire
(2:57)  6. Petite fleur
(2:57)  7. Le sourire de mon amour
(3:44)  8. Gracias a la vida
(3:51)  9. Laisse-moi t'aimer
(3:19) 10. Un homme (C'est beau)
(3:52) 11. Et pourtant
(3:34) 12. Reviens

French Canadian singer Ima was born Marie-Andre Bergeron on May 11, 1978. Growing up on the southern bank of Montreal, Ima spent much of her spare time learning dance, theater and song, ultimately choosing to focus on theater. In her adult life she took part in a number of successful film projects, including appearances in The Bone Collector and Eye of the Beholder. Not entirely satisfied with her dramatic career, she decided to turn her attentions to music, taking the performance name Ima, for imagination. After five years Ima recorded her first single, a song called "In Your Eyes" that was featured on an album dedicated to late Brazilian race car driver Ayrton Senna, Tribute to Ayrton Senna Her participation in a series of singing contests in 2000 and 2001 put Ima in contact with François Guy, who strongly encouraged her to make a record in French. Under the direction of drummer/industry veteran Dominique Messier (Celine Dion, Lara Fabian), Ima assembled repertoire from the country's finest songwriters for her 2002 self-titled debut release. A few years and some regional touring later, Ima set to work on her follow-up project with collaborators Tino Izzo and Alessandro Cerondolo. Pardonne Moi Si Je T'aime was released in 2005. Though targeting her French-speaking audience had treated her well, Ima chose a different direction for her third time out in 2007. Smile featured repertoire drawn from the jazz genre, sung primarily in English. Ima has since maintained a busy regional touring schedule in support of the project, which has earned slots on airplay charts throughout Canada. ~ Evan C.Gutierrez https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ima-mn0001322547/biography

Smile

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Ima - A la vida !

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:46
Size: 110,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:01)  1. Drôle de vie
(4:19)  2. Valparaiso
(4:01)  3. Les yeux ouverts
(3:21)  4. À quoi ça sert l'amour
(3:35)  5. Le temps des fleurs
(3:57)  6. Vai
(4:09)  7. Me & Bobby McGee
(3:59)  8. Cucurrucucu paloma
(4:14)  9. Tu verras
(3:51) 10. Matin
(3:23) 11. Dis-moi
(5:51) 12. Mourir dans tes bras

Ima's fourth album, A la Vida!, is an ornately produced collection of international pop standards, most of which date back to the 1960s and '70s. Her previous album, Smile (2007), was similarly comprised, featuring mostly French-language standards along with a little bit of original material. It was likewise produced by Guy St-Onge. Ima's vocals are once again front and center, backed by subtle string arrangements and light Latin rhythms. There isn't much differentiating A la Vida! from its predecessor other than the choice of standards. The album opens strongly with tropical-inflected versions of Véronique Sanson's "Drôle de Vie" and Paula Moore's "Valparaiso," the latter of which is the first of two English-language songs featured on the album. The other is Kris Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby Mcgee," a great country-rock song that isn't a good fit for Ima's vocal style. Elsewhere on A la Vida!, there are a couple of songs associated with the Beatles that are adapted to French: the 1966 favorite "Here There and Everywhere" and Mary Hopkin's 1968 hit "Those Were the Days," which was originally produced by Paul McCartney. Another French-language adaptation is "Yeux Ouverts," a version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me." Highlights among the French standards include Edith Piaf's "À Quoi Ça Sert l'Amour," Claude Nougaro's "Tu Verras," and Salvatore Adamo's "Mourir dans Tes Bras." Other standouts include a version of Tomás Méndez's "Cucurrucucú Paloma." Sung in Spanish by Ima, the Mexican standard is often associated nowadays with Brazilian singer/songwriter Caetano Veloso's memorable performance of it in the Pedro Almodóvar film Talk to Her (2002). A la Vida! also includes a couple originals, most notably "Matin," a charming song written by St-Onge. Too bad there wasn't more original material like this. The cover material is well selected but occasionally too familiar. ~ Jason Birchmeier https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-la-vida%21-mw0000813653

A la vida !

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