Abotel Regina Opera, Opera Region, Paris

Advantages: Clean, budget-priced accommodation, easily accessible
Disadvantages: Area OK, but not the prettiest part of Paris

...11 BIS RUE DE MAZAGRAN , Paris This Hotel is rated as 3* according to the 2004 review. However, having stayed in Paris many times, we were well aware when we booked that the number of stars advertised by a hotel often doesn't mean a lot. Never take En Suite for granted, for instance, is rule number 1 when staying on the continent (we've learnt the hard way!!) However, this hotel definately deserved its 3 stars, and would fit the bill of a 3 star hotel in the UK. We stayed at the Regina Opera for 2 nights in February 2004. The hotel is located in the 10th Arrondissement in an easily accessible location. It's off the main street so it's not too noisy at night, in an area that seems to have a large number of Turkish residents and restaurants. Back on the main road, however, are a wide variety of bars, clubs and restaurants to take...

richardsonjones 06.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Regina Hotel, Paris

Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch

Advantages: Fantastic album, highly entertaining!!
Disadvantages: None!!!

...I personally came to this album after hearing the most recent by Regina, 'Begin to Hope'. Already completely obsessed with Regina I had to search out new material! Regina Spektor is an amazing talent, mixing jazz sounds, classical piano, kooky lyrics and much more! Its hard to pin this lady down as every song sounds different. The only thing linking all her songs is the ability she has to suck a listener into her many stories. I found 'Soviet Kitsch' just a satisfying if not more so than 'Begin to Hope' , a slightly rawer sound which feels a lot more experimental, it is a really exciting album with a lot of variation and a lot to offer. Songs like 'Ode to Divorce' are moving and slow and gentle, where as 'Poor little rich boy' includes percussion involving a drumstick being banged on a chair. Overall the album is a triumph one of those...

RachelBuckley 10.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Soviet Kitsch - Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor - Begin to hope

Advantages: Each song on the C.D is different with thought-provoking lyrics and memorable songs.
Disadvantages: One song repetitive and boring - "that time"

...Since listening to Radio 2, I have noticed that Terry Wogan has a talent in finding gifted female artists such as Katie Melua and Eva Cassidy. After hiring Samson, (Regina Spektor?s first single release,) I immediately had to go and by the album- ?Begin To Hope.? The album is simply beautiful. I was overwhelmed with her voice and pure effortless perfection. The lyrics are fascinating. Being originally from Moscow, the slight accent makes her voice recognisable. ?Fidelity?, ?Better?, ?Samson? and ?On The Radio,? are the best on the album. Samson is outstanding and mesmerizing. I also loved ?Summer In The City,? with witty, funny lyrics: ?And the castrated ones stand in the corner smoking, they want to feel, the bulges in their pants start to rise, at the site of a beautiful woman they feel nothing but, anger...

natty91 15.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Begin To Hope - Regina Spektor

Begin to Hope

Advantages: Quirky, charming, emotive vocals, great songwriting
Disadvantages: None

...Regina Spektor follows in a long line of kooky female singer songwriters - Kate Bush, Fiona Apple and Tori Amos to name but a few - and in my opinion when it comes to singer songwriters, the wackier the better. Begin to Hope is her third studio album and second major label release and should have been the album that catapulted her to worldwide fame. Although I'd be pushed to say it quite achieved that (after all, how many of you are reading this thinking "oh yes, Regina Spektor, I know her well") it did give her a more widespread following, with airplay on Radio Two and even a slot on Jonathan Ross's chatshow. Regina Spektor was born in Moscow but grew up in New York, and this cultural mix is reflected clearly in the eclectic mix of styles she employs. She has a strong background in classical piano which is a massive strength in her...

bubblegum_princess 22.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Begin To Hope - Regina Spektor

Spektacular!

Advantages: Quirky lyrics; whirlwind tour of musical styles
Disadvantages: Very eclectic - may not appeal to all

...I think it's true to say that you don't have to be mad to be a female singer-songerwriter, but it helps! All of my favourite female singers have more than just a hint of eccentricity and Regina Spektor more so than most. Born in Moscow and brought up in New York, her music is a melting pot of musical styles and impossible to pin down. The fact that she is a classically trained pianist has drawn comparisons to Tori Amos, her eccentricity has seen her likened to Bjork, but really her style is impossible to classify and describe or compare, as she is one of the most unique voices I've come across. Unafraid to sacrifice vocal beauty for expression and experimentation, her vocal ranges from soft whispering, to punk like shrieking, to beatbox like sounds. Her influences range from jazz, to Yiddish klezmer music, to blues, to cabaret, to punk...

bubblegum_princess 09.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of Soviet Kitsch - Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor- 'Begin to Hope' you buy this.

Advantages: Perfect for chilling out at the end of the day.
Disadvantages: A couple of songs let the album down a bit.

......

torie1234 03.01.2007 (19.01.2007) · Read review
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Review of Begin To Hope - Regina Spektor

Tout Le Monde

Advantages: Wonderfuly expressive, offbeat, unique, exciting and enjoyable
Disadvantages: The more conventional songs don't hold up as well as the others

...So, Regina Spektor, the Russian-American pianist-singer-songwriter-kook. Her new album, Begin to Hope, has been flirting with the real world for a good few months now, and after the release of single "Fidelity" it looks like she may well hit the charts with her own brand of slightly nuts piano and voice combinations. On her first major album Soviet Kitsch she produced a mix of witty and smart pop songs with post-punk influences and references to Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and in doing so created for herself a cult following of dedicated fans, who worship at "Reginapolis". The second album sees her with an orchestra to back her up, and an increased budget. Accordingly, the songs are much more commercial and less? weird that they were before. The strange vocalisations are still there, and she's prone to the odd bout...

Seresecros 10.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Begin To Hope - Regina Spektor

Brilliant album

Advantages: wonderful song-writing, quirkiness
Disadvantages: unfortunatley, it's quirkiness

...Regina Spektor's album, 'Soviet kitsch' is quirky, thought provoking and a joy to listen to. Track Listing Ode to Divorce Poor little rich boy Carbon Monoxide Flowers Us Sailor song *** Your Honor Ghost of corporate future Chemo Limo Somedays Soviet Kitsch can take you through a rollercoaster of different emotions, sometimes taking an unexpected twist. For example, Your Honor quickly chances from an upbeat rocky song to a lulling melodic style more conguative with Regina's style throughout the album. There is not a track on this album that I found boring or wished to skip (although I must admit that *** has sometimes freaked me out a little bit as it just consists of a little boy and regina whispering to each other and im a scardey cat.) and from the first time I listened, I have been hooked and found it very...

iamamy 18.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Soviet Kitsch - Regina Spektor

The Ghosts of Others Make This A Unique Sound...

Advantages: A wonderful collection of songs and sounds that are so individual and so beautiful.
Disadvantages: None that I can think of - only that I didn't know about her sooner!

...Regina Spektor Begin to Hope I was 33 this year, and the day arrived with a haze of sun and not a hint of cloud. Himself, who finds it virtually impossible to keep a secret (actually, make that totally impossible?) had already, over the space of the previous week, given me all my birthday surprises and this wonderful album was amongst them (along with, amongst other things, a pair of loved-up stone frogs for ornamental interest in my garden?) I had heard only one song from the album, played on Radio 2, and had really only heard part of it, as Himself had called me up from his work to say ?put radio 2 on NOW!!!? as he often does, and I caught the end of it. Samson. It made me cry like a baby. Now I suppose I could be blaming that on the pregnancy hormones, as I managed to bawl my eyes out at Doctor Who the other night too...

phoenixgreen 10.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Begin To Hope - Regina Spektor

2 reviews for the price of one

Advantages: This is as close as you can get to perfect music
Disadvantages: Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

...I'll do 2 reviews. One for the open minded individual who will just trust my opinion, and a more in depth one for any skeptics, as I am aware that describing an artist's music as "perfect" is a bold claim. First up, all you folk who are willing to trust me. It costs £7.49 on amazon, and £4.19 if you buy it used. Or you could download it, legally of course :-) Buying this album will make your life better, because you'll be exposing yourself to music you will probably never hear the likes of again. Ok, now for the septics. Skeptics, even. Regina Spektor was born in Russia, moved to New York when she was young, and bases the vast majority of her songs around the piano, and could be described, loosely, as piano ballads. She often uses characters from the bible and mythology in her music (though not so much on this album), and if...

badongism 05.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Soviet Kitsch - Regina Spektor