Sorry for the silence but I was travelling. I'm back and promise re-ups and new stuff regularly. Since Christophe has released a new album last week (as usual a must-have) it's a good opportunity to re-up some of his less-known LPs, particularly this one from 1978 and that deserves to be known worldwide. Another one (released the following year) tomorrow. Catch this one here.
I suppose most of you don't know Christophe (his family name is Bevilacqua) if you're not French. It's, with Alain Kan, Jean-Claude Vannier and some few other ones, my fave French singer songwriter since 1974, the year of its great Les Mots Bleus (Blue Words) album. In the seventies, his wife was the Alain Kan's sister, the reason why we found the two of them collaborating on one album, Pas Vu Pas Pris (Not Seen Not Taken) the one that followed the today's one. If I post Le Beau Bizarre (The Beautiful Weird One I would translate) it's first because it's for me one of his best (the best being probably Comme Si La Terr' Penchait (As If The Earth Was Inclined) in 2002 and the last one, Aimer Ce Que Nous Sommes (Love The One We Are) in 2008). But back in 1978. Punk was here, and Christophe released one of his rockest album, but a rock one in the same vein that Procol Harum was rock, that's mean with a quite decadent sophistication, full of neon lights, night creatures and men full of frustrated desire for them. Lyrics were by Bob Decout, a strange guy who worked here and there on weird projects (in particular with the actress Annie Girardot, his lover at the time) and who probably wrote the texts who have been the most adapted to the Christophe personality during his career. This great album alternates deliquescent songs on piano with a cabaret flavour, and some rockier ones with aggressive electric guitars (but don't expect the Stones or ACDC). The album was not a success and no hit was driven from it, a mistake that Christophe will not reproduce, being for most of French, a variety singer, a kind of effeminate Tom Jones, with one hit for dancing slows on the beach bars, but producing innovative music in his albums, bought by his true fans. The worst is that the vinyl discography of Christophe has been released on CD first in 1989 and 1992 with the original sleeves, but in remastered versions in 2004 with awful coloured sleeves versions. I wonder who was responsible for this stupidity. Here it is with the original sleeve for you. And in streaming, one rocker, "Saute Du Scooter" ("Jump From The Scooter").
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