Sublime
James Swish | Brussels, Belgium | 09/02/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's a real shame that not more people know Dick Annegarn in the non-French speaking world. Proclaimed by many as the "son of Brel" ; he is one of the best troubadours of the chanson, plus a charismatic and irreverent performer. Unlike a lot of his contemporaries who were suckers for trends such as Bashung, Annegarn has always chosen the less wandered path. Very popular in the 70's in France, he quit the music business in 1978 at the height of his fame citing its corrupt nature and then worked on social projects in Paris before slowly returning to music, working often with avant garde and occidental musicians, before releasing a string of brilliant albums in the late 90's up to 'Plouc' (2005), where he played with musicians from the south of France, accompanying his unique voice & guitar with often sparse and unusual arrangements played on brass instruments.
Because he is not French but actually a Dutchman educated in Brussels & Paris, he has a unique French singing voice, very guttural and well articulated. His lyrics are sublime "poetry of the earth" and he has a real playful yet caustic sense of humor ; never whimsical always basing his material on his own life and stories of the "everyday" with emotive, stark and imaginative arrangements like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark or John Martyn. He also thankfully lacks the bombast and macho-ness of many of his contemporaries, having a real humility and sensitivity ; perhaps because he also has an "outsider" status of being gay, the subject of his 'Ombre' album.
Anyway, i can't recommend his work higher. Here is a rough translation of l'institutrice', the story of a teacher of his who committed suicide, and his most famous song 'Bruxelles'. Its sometimes difficult to understand these literal translations, as obviously the words rhyme in French but the translation does not, so think of it as a prose poem in English, giving you a taste of his subject matter.
L'institutrice
madam the teacher / died this morning / this morning at dawn / in the water of her bath / some people say that she died / me i say she committed suicide // she was small and graying / dressed skillful like a governess / her cupboards with make up and the mirror / did not protect any more her history // It was yesterday with the history lesson / the roman empire against the barbarians / it`s, she said, the start of the end / the roman empire perishes tomorrow // without doubt, that perhaps it's better so / the roman empire in paradise / and us also, without institution / without teacher with a coil of hair // her life was far from being beautiful / Miss, madam, widowed and miss / perhaps you don't see what I mean / what I want to say I will not say
Bruxelles
brussels, my beautiful, I join you soon / immediately that Paris betrays me / And I feel that her love turned sour / since she suspects me of being with you in the evening / I recognize, it is true / every evening / in my head / It is the festival of old soldiers / of a war which always has to be made // Brussels wait for me , I arrive / Soon I take the drift // Michele do you remember the distress of the funfair at the Gare Du Midi? / Do you remember your Sophie / Who had not even recognized you? / Neons, Léons, the names of the guys / Sublime decline, the dance of the paunches / Ministry of beer / artery towards hell / Place de Broukère // cruel duel / that which opposes Paris neurosis and Brussels / the moron who thinks that soon it will be finished / the boredom of the bored/ Who will re-examine me, Miss Brussels / But I will not be as you once knew me / I will be dejected, aching all over, a combatant / But I will have come // Paris, I leave you my bed..."
Why didn't I buy this earlier
cdand | Foster City, CA United States | 10/08/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought the CD for Bruxelles and I now have many other songs in my head since I received it a week ago.
Be carefull, this CD is addictive."
