Search - Garou :: Reviens

Garou finds his stride on "Reviens"

Veggiechiliqueen | 10/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Garou (né Pierre Garand in Sherbrooke, QC) burst onto the Québec music scene in 2000 with his debut album Seul after a successful star-making run in Luc Plamondon's musical Notre Dame de Paris. His good looks and Joe Cockeresque trademark growl proved a hit with francophone music buyers, but I found his first album to be hit or miss on memorable songs.



On his sophomore album "Reviens," Garou has assembled a list that reads like the Who's Who of francophone pop stardom, almost all of whom are frequent Céline Dion collaborators: Luc Plamondon (Notre Dame de Paris, Starmania), Jean-Jacques Goldman, Jacques Veneruso, Gildas Arzel, and Erick Benzi (the four "guys" on Céline's "1 fille & 4 types" album from 2003), Didier Barbelivien, Romano Musumarra, and Aldo Nova.



This time around, Garou's thrown in an interesting mix of styles that veers away from the overproduced sound on his last album, blending old-fashioned rock with nods to country (Et si on dormait), gospel (Pendant que mes cheveux poussent), and blues (Une dernière fois encore). One song in particular (Les filles) finds Garou channeling legendary French rocker Jean-Jacques Goldman, with his intimate delivery, witty lyrics, and strummed acoustic guitar (J-J plays guitar on this track).



A standout was "Le sucre et le sel," which finds Garou en trio with two contestants of Québec's Star Académie (Pop Idol), identical twins Suzie and Annie Villeneuve of Saguenay. The sensual ballad seems to unfold in slow motion, and the girls provide a fabulous counterpoint to Garou, who sings his part with an unusual gentleness that showcases a different side of his register.



"Reviens" gives us a more confident Garou on top of his game, featuring engaging lyrics, great mixing, a knockout guitar-driven band (versus the more synthesizer-driven debut Seul), and a high-energy blend of catchy rock interspersed with quieter, reflective moments. If you're new to Garou or Québécois pop, this is a great first album to invest in.

"

Keep going Garou

Lisa Buie-Collard | Georgia, United States | 07/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At first this album was hard to hear because I was so in love with 'Seul', but now I can't stop listening to it. Garou gives us more of his musical range, his personal likes and stretches beyond the passionate base of love songs the first album gave us. We get more horns, another controversial song 'Sel et Sucre' (Garou seems fond of putting controversy out there for us to mull on), and partial a cappella tunes as well as being treated to new passionate ballads, which he does like no one else. I can't wait to hear what he comes up with next. And, I, among others, await an album in English. English speakers deserve to hear this voice and experience this character."