Search - Valerie Dore :: The Best of Valerie Dore

Arthurian Disco - I kid you not!

N. Lee | Seattle, WA USA | 05/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although Valerie Dore is little known in the US, in the mid-80's she created a sensation in Europe with her Arthurian-themed album, LEGEND. All ten of the Arthurian songs from LEGEND plus a few singles from her other albums have been gathered together as THE BEST OF VALERIE DORE.The music for the Arthurian-themed songs is by Marco Tansini and it's disco all right but it's "Italo Disco" -- more melodic and less aggressive than American dancemusic from the 80s. Imagine a cross between CAMELOT and FLASHDANCE and you've got the idea. The production values are not all that great but there are some bright and attractive dancetunes here as well as a couple of romantic and evocative slow songs.The lyrics by Simona Zanini confure up a medieval never-never land of knights in shining armor, magic, and romance. "Lancelot" was the big hit single from the album, but there are other songs that I personally like better."The Wizard" paints a vibrant picture of Merlin at the height of his powers, full of confidence, exuberance, and life -- far from the stereotype of the doddering old man! This would be a great song for anyone wishing to tune into the youthful/Mercurial energies of The Magician archetype.Arthur's relationship with Morgause/Morgaine is not spelled out but is hinted at in "The Magic Rain," in which somebody (Merlin?) catches ominous glimpses of the web of spells being woven around the king ("I see shadows fight alone on the ground, I see maidens calling out with no sound, I see signs in the air telling me what I've found...")."Guinevere" is a dreamy reflection on the troubling beauty of the troubled queen ("Guinevere your eyes are like the sun... can they see through the shadows?"). Musically it reminds me of "Melody Fair" by the Bee Gees."The Sword In The Heart" is a love duet that sounds a lot like a Lionel Ritchie song. The theme of pain and betrayal and the image of the sword in the heart recall the scenes of Arthur's betrayal by Guinevere and Lancelot, and Merlin's betrayal by Morgan in EXCALIBUR.And the cycle comes to an end with "The End of Story," as we close the storybook and come back to (sigh) real life.In contrast to most disco songs, Zanini's lyrics are memorable for their poetry and imagery. Unfortunately, you can hardly understand them because of Valerie Dore's thick accent (she's from Morocco). My wiseguy roommate says that when she sings about King Arthur, it sounds like she's saying "King Ethel!"And while Dore's voice is pretty enough -- it's nice to hear somebody sing instead of scream -- I find it rather thin, girlish, and unimpressive. Quite honestly, I think these songs would sound better if they were sung by somebody else! In my opinion, the strong point of this album is the songs, not the performance.The non-Arthurian songs that fill out the album have standard disco lyrics and they don't do much for me. But I understand they were big hits in European dance clubs in the mid-80s."

Brilliant

Robert RAKUSA | Maribor Slovenia | 06/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I strongly recommend this CD to anyone who really loves the disco sound of the 80"s. On this CD are hers biggest hits and in My opinion from among all songs are getting out Night and Lancelot. Good music, excellent vocal - that is Valerie Dore. This CD is for all fans of the disco sound of the 80"s and it is some kind of delicacy, which must be in theirs own CD collection."

Classic Slow Italo Disco music

A. Griffiths | London | 12/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This, as another reviewer has pointed out, is Valerie Dore's complete album "The Legend" plus her three biggest hit singles in 12" form. A good selection of this mysterious singer's most famous hits, although it's not as complete as it could be.



The huge European hit single "The Night" and it's identi-kit follow up "Get Closer" are both here, together with Valerie's 3rd single "It's So Easy". The style is Italo or Eurodisco, but at a very sloooow BPM so it's quite dreamy and actually rather hard to dance to. This style has been called "Romantic Dance" and even "Sleaze Energy" (!!) by some Italo enthusiasts, and it's hard to find any other contemporary music style to compare it to, although other Italo artists have come close, such as "American Love" by Rose Laurens, and "It's You" by Sheila Stewart (try finding THAT one on CD, now!). The rest of this CD feature Valerie's rather strange take on the King Arthur legend which made up her 1986 themed album "The Legend".



Valerie Dore is actually a stage name, and singing duties were apparently swapped between two different singers, so it's hard to tell if the idea was the singer's own, or just a project created by some producer who was in need of a vocalist. I don't even know if the attractive young lady who appears on this cover as well as in TV appearances is actually responsible for the vocals. The songs vary in style from slow-dance to ballads and a couple of instrumentals, and although some of them seem weak on first listening, the album actually stands up quite well as a whole after a few listens. Sadly, if anything let's the music down it is the "Valerie Dore" vocal performance, which is rather thin and strained, plus her thick accent really chews up most of the English lyrics.



My only disappointment is that ZYX did not include the 12" single versions of "King Arthur" and "Lancelot" on here, instead of the short album mixes, plus Valerie also released a great single called "Wrong Direction" which is quite hard to find and would have made this collection even better. Instead, two really ghastly "club" mixes of "The Night" have been tacked on, which were obviously done a long time after the orginal time of release and are not in the spirit of the original sound at all. But hey, its the only Valerie Dore CD there is, so you ain't got much choice. A good basic compilation."