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Rating:
THE REVIEW
After the beautiful album that Bruni released in 2002, the anticipation for a new chapter was high. The acoustic sounds, as low-fi as they were fascinating, and Carla's sexy and enchanting voice captivated half the world, and the album sold incredibly well—not just because she is a knockout or a famous model, she has real talent! If she had released a flop like Naomi Campbell's "Babywoman," I doubt it would have sold the same number of copies... and now, after a handful of intimate yet emotion-rich songs, the beautiful Carla Bruni graced us with "No Promises" in 2006, which is less successful upon first listen, disappointing:
1) Carla Bruni dives into English, abandoning her French language, with which she seduced many, almost resembling a less gritty Jane Birkin. In English, she comes across almost cold, without any emotion whatsoever.
2) The fact that the lyrics are actually already famous poems... writer's block?
3) The songs work until the first minute and a half and then are stretched and pumped to barely reach 3 minutes.
4) The instruments are almost non-existent or imperceptible, as if they were placed there just for the sake of aesthetics, like useless ornaments.
5) Carla Bruni's voice has become an absolute disappointment: if before it was warm, enveloping, distinctive, now it appears quite poor and almost masculine.
6) Absence of personality: in "Quelqu'un m'a dit," there was the influence of the chanson française, revisited in an enjoyable and personal way. Here, Bruni has added a bit of Joni Mitchell here, a bit of Cat Power there, and Ani Di Franco all around, but she cannot find the talent of the three mentioned singer-songwriters.
Only "Those Dancing Days Are Gone" (unsurprisingly, the first and only single) and the short but somewhat intense track "Autumn" are redeeming. The true rating of the album would be 1.5, but I'll give it a 2 for Bruni's beauty (and no one will disagree with me here...) and out of faith, hoping she rediscovers her passion for music and doesn't use it as a mere pretext to churn out more money. Because after all, Carla, I love you...
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Summary by Bot
Carla Bruni's 2006 album No Promises disappoints fans expecting a warm, personal follow-up to her 2002 debut. The switch to English makes her voice seem cold and emotionless, while the instrumentation feels minimal and uninspired. The use of famous poems as lyrics lacks originality, and the album misses the personal charm of her earlier French songs. Only a few tracks hint at potential, but overall, this effort feels like a letdown.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni is an Italian-French singer-songwriter and former model, born in Turin and raised in France. Her debut album Quelqu’un m’a dit (2002) became a major success, followed by No Promises (English settings of poems) and Comme si de rien n’était. She later served as France’s First Lady.05 Reviews
Other reviews
By Adil
In No Promises there's a feeling that the initial recklessness has become nothing but calculation.
Carla has probably taken the notorious 'step longer than the leg,' quite the irony for a model.
By Lesto BANG
Promises, promises... but doesn’t deliver!
An absolutely useless album that will end up in the musical oblivion in less than 1 month.
