Tributes Continue

It’s de rigueur nowadays: You are not an artist if there’s no tribute album made for you. In recent months we saw a Jacno tribute, a Boby Lapointe tribute and a tribute to Bashung. And now there is a Maxim Le Forestier tribute album, called “La Maison Bleue”. Le Forestier never gained popularity outside France (as far as I know), but in France he is respected for his chansons for almost 40 years. In 1971 he spent some time in the hippie scene of San Francisco, writing a song about it with the same name, but everyone knows it as “La Maison Bleue“. So that explains the title of this tribute, with only tracks of Le Forestier’s debut album from 1972, “Mon Frère”.
It includes reprises by Salvatore Adamo and Calogero, Filles Sourires-fans should rejoice over contributions by Daphné and Emily Loizeau. But for the Filles Sourires I choose a song by our beloved La Fiancée.

La Fiancée – La Rouille
Maxime Le Forestier – La Rouille

Daphné

First the green, then de red, now the blue: blackhaired beauty Daphné keeps her albums colour-coordinated. Bleu Venise is as sensual as earlier work, but more intimate. No big orchestras, world-class arranger Vince Mendoza kept it calm. More focus on the melancholy in D’s unsteady, husky voice, more jazzy-vibes. Think Norah Jones’ first album. The album comes with a dvd that includes this video, and 1-minute clips for other songs. Shot in Venice, of course. Daphné is a beautiful woman, so it’s no punishment to watch the short clips. But it’s beyond me why you’d wanna put album-teasers on a dvd together with the album. We want full clips! Oh, and about the two English songs: they reminded me of Emilie Simon’s last album. But have no fear: songs like Venise sous la neige, the supersultry Moi plus vouloir dormir seule and closing track Hors temps make Bleu Venise a must-have.

Daphné – Hors temps