Collection disques Pathé / Collection disques Pathe

Chansons Eternelles is a decent, 14-song overview of Mistinguett's recordings in the early days of the phonograph record, mixing Continental European music, vaudeville-music hall-cabaret theatricality, and a little bit of early jazz. She doesn't have the pipes of some of the era's more refined and classically-aligned vocalists, but sings in a vivacious manner projecting an appetite for life. So if that's what you want to get in the mood of what it might have been like in the more heedlessly optimistic quarters of post-World War I France, this might be one of your tickets, though some of the tunes verge on good-natured martial fanfares. There are, naturally, a few homages to Paris, and songs like "Je Cherche un Millionaire" ("I'm Looking for a Millionaire") convey the unapologetic yearning for the upscale life prevalent in much popular music of the era.