Saint Tropez

This thorough compilation covers the recording career of Saint Tropez, a disco ensemble put together by prolific dance music producers Laurin Rinder and W. Michael Lewis. Although the group was American in origin, their work pursued a Euro-disco style built on rich orchestrations and a continental jet-set feel (several of the songs are sung in French). Good examples of the group's Euro-disco-flavored sound are "Violation," which fleshes out its elegant piano melody with sumptuous strings while its female singers sing French lyrics in a sultry half-whisper, and "Belle de Jour," a sexy psychodrama that features male and female voices trading monologues in French over a dramatic orchestrated backdrop full of swirling strings and lush brass. These are balanced by up-tempo tunes that play up pop hooks in a direct, dance-friendly style: "One More Minute" layers lush strings and horns over a frenetic, clavinet-driven beat and "Fill My Life With Love" is a slickly harmonized invitation to love that features a wonderful instrumental break where the piano and sax trade licks over throbbing Latin percussion. There is also an effective cover of "Je Taime (Moi Non Plus)" that updates this classic French ballad to the disco style with an arrangement that starts as a ballad but shifts into a faster, upbeat dance mode at the halfway point. Later numbers like "The Love Stealers" and "Save This Night for Love" downplay the Euro-disco stylings in favor a stripped-down, Chic-like sound that isn't as satisfying, but this is a minor quibble when one considers the generous amount of slick orchestral disco gems on this collection. In short, The Best of Saint Tropez: Fill My Life With Love is a solid portrait of this group and offers plenty of decadent delights for the Euro-disco fanatic. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide