Alice Russell - Live in Paris DVD

Alice is a natural star, fresh from performing with Amy Winehouse she is currently working with Massive Attack.  Alice's sound fuses jazz, soul and funk and at times blends this with hip hop and reggae.

Unbelievably this is the first DVD from the ever great Tru Thoughts, recorded live at the 'What The Funk' night at Le Triptque, Paris, April 06. The set list includes collaborations with TM Juke, Quantic, Nostalgia 77 and The Quantic Soul Orchestra.  Just some of the highlights include 'To Know This' (Under The Munka Moon P2 LP), 'Munkaroo' (My Favourite Letters LP) and covers of The White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army', Outkast's 'Dracula's Wedding' and Nina Simone's 'My Baby Just Cares For Me'.

The opening frames set the scene perfectly, as we follow Alice and TM Juke through Paris to the club, and watch them get ready, before coming on stage to a sell out crowd and shouts of 'Alice, Alice, Alice...'

Starting with the mellow keys of the aptly titled 'Soul Felt', then kicking off with the funk of 'What We Want', which pleases the crowd no end. 'Humankind' features Michael Simmonds on the Fiddle and his heavy weight playing gets cheers from the crowd.

Next up is the large 'Takin Hold' and the beaming Alice is well into her flow. Onto a reggae tinged funk version of 'Mean To Me', full of spacey Moog action from keys man Benjamin Jones.

The Jazz blanket of 'To Know This' slo's things right down, calming the crowd after the first peak. Ben Jones and his "fingers of truth" on the keys provide the gentle melodies, and Alice's powerful, husky and heart felt vocals sends chills through the body and gives me goose pimples every time. A mesmerising rendition that builds and builds and builds.

The massive 'Something That's Real' is the first of two Quantic related outings. It's great to hear The Lovely Pops take on this, with Mikey Simmonds shining again on the Violin. TM Juke opens with the well known Will Holland guitar riff of 'Search The Heavens' and they launch into a blistering disco-soul-broken-house version with a break from Russell Knight that could be off a big 4 Hero cut and some serious string hammering from Mikey. They seamlessly drop into a burning version of 'Munkaroo' with a tight hook from TM Juke and a breakdown that gets big crowd cheers. A proper roof raiser that really kicks ass and is another spine tingler with Ben Jones battering the board again.

A swinging version of 'High Up On The Hook' brings us back down again and its like a billion times better than any Lilly Allen, Joss Stone or Amy Winehouse track. Next The Lovely Pops take on Outkast's 'Dracula's Wedding' and make it their own as the funk pumps though their veins. Alice gets the crowd to sing backing vocals for the laid back and bluesy vibes of 'Hurry On Now' as she introduces the band and the crowd give huge cheers for the humble Miss Russell.

For the finale, Alice loads up her Nostalgia 77 hit and drops her diva style over 'Seven Nation Army'. It really is a force to be reckoned with and surpasses the White Stripes version with ease.

For the encore, just Jones and Simmonds join her on he stage, as Alice covers one of the biggest hits of one of the greatest soul singers of all time - Nina Simone's 'My Baby Just Cares For Me'. Delivered with elegance and grace, she makes it look easy, which just goes to show how powerful a vocalist this woman is. The crowd clap along, making this a great end of night moment.

The whole band start off 'Fly In The Hand' in acapella then Daniel Swaine pins down the bassline and they are off again with the sole intention of sending the crowd home buzzing. As one last finale the band sing the Baby bassline down the mic, in Barber Shop stylee, as Alice sings "This is the end of the show" with her usual friendly smile. We are left thinking phew that was great and isn't Alice Russell lovely!

It is superb to be able to watch the amazing Alice Russell in the comfort of your own home. The gig really is a pleasure to watch time and time again, and with each track you can see every body on the stage oozing the music from their very soul....

Live Dates
16th May - Woman's International Arts Festival (Kendal)
17th May - Jazz Cafe (London)
18th May - Jazz Cafe (London)
19th May - Hague Jazz Festival (Rotterdam)

DVD Set List

   1. Soul Felt
   2. What we want
   3. Humankind
   4. Taking hold
   5. Mean to me
   6. To know this
   7. Something that's real
   8. Search the heavens
   9. Munkaroo
  10. High up on the hook
  11. Dracula's wedding
  12. Hurry on now
  13. Seven nation army
  14. My baby just cares for me
  15. Fly in the hand

For more info check: Alice Russell's MySpace or Tru Thoughts.

Buy from the label directly at Etch Shop.