Martha Wainwright

Call it an invocation: On Sans Fusil, Ni Souliers, à Paris, born Quebecoise Martha Wainwright pays homage to La Môme de Paris, also known as Édith Piaf, she of the immortal chansons and wildest affairs. The fifteen tracks on the album – all lesser-known songs from the Piaf repertoire, so don’t expect to see Milord or Je ne regrette rien here – were recorded during three intimate performances at New York’s Dixon Palace Theatre. And though Wainwright can’t compete with Piaf’s warmth, frailty, and hyperbolic Gallic pathos by a far cry, she manages to capture the magic of Piaf’s songs in her own emotive, achingly expressive style, complete with 30s cabaret atmosphere, grand-sweep heartbreak melancholia, and some genuine chair de poule moments.

Martha Wainwright – Le Foule
Martha Wainwright – Adieu Mon Coeur

Edith Piaf – Sous le ciel de Paris

And since the family should be together for Xmas:

Loudon Wainwright – Hometeam Crowd
Rufus Wainwright – Spotlight on Christmas

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