Fantaisie militaire
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Fantaisie militaire (Military fantasy) is the tenth studio album by French rock musician Alain Bashung, released in January 1998 on Barclay Records.
Production
For this album, Bashung worked with English record producer & engineer Ian Caple & with artists such as the Valentins, Rodolphe Burger, Joseph Racaille or Adrian Utley of Portishead. Most of the songs were written by Jean Fauque.
The song "Samuel Hall" is a drum'n'bass reworking of the folk song "Sam Hall".
Reception
Commercial performance
The album hit #1 on the French charts. It was one of the artist's greatest successes, helped by the successful single "La nuit je mens".
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
Fantaisie militaire marked a turn in Bashung's career. He was awarded three Victoires de la musique awards in 1999: Male Artist of the Year, Best Album of the Year, and Video of the Year for the single "La nuit je mens". In 2005, the Victoires ranked it the best French album since 1985. Belgian rock historian Gilles Verlant also included the album in his book La discothèque parfaite de l'odyssée du rock,[3] lauding it as a "chef d'œuvre" and the "shining diamond of the winter of 1998." He added that the album showed "Bashung mix the sounds and his inspiration with a perfect mastery of studio incidents" and that "its precision is that of a goldsmith, a jeweler, a maniac watchmaker".[3] In 2010, the French edition of Rolling Stone magazine named Fantaisie militaire the 9th greatest French rock album ever made.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Malaxe" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Les Valentins | 4:33 |
| 2. | "La nuit je mens" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Les Valentins | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Fantaisie militaire" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung | 4:48 |
| 4. | "2043" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung | 3:45 |
| 5. | "Mes prisons" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung | 4:07 |
| 6. | "Ode à la vie" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Jean-Marc Lederman | 4:16 |
| 7. | "Dehors" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Les Valentins | 3:29 |
| 8. | "Samuel Hall" | Olivier Cadiot / Rodolphe Burger | 5:05 |
| 9. | "Aucun express" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Au pavillon des lauriers" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung | 4:43 |
| 11. | "Sommes-nous" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung | 3:56 |
| 12. | "Angora" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung | 2:07 |
Personnel
Musicians
- Alain Bashung: vocals
- Édith Fambuena: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar (8), programmations
- Jean-Louis Pierot:synthesizers, Hammond organ, harpsichord, Leslie piano, vibraphone, piano, programmations
- Martyn Barker: drums, Turc and African percussions
- Simon Edwards: electric bass, sentir, percussions, harpsichord
- Adrian Utley: electric guitars
- Rodolphe Burger: guitars (8), programmations (8)
- Joseph Racaille: string arrangements
- String ensemble « Alhambra »
- Virginie Michaud: musical direction[1]
Production
- Ian Caple: Producer, Engineer & Mix
- Jean Lamoot: assistant sound engineer, assistant Protools, realisation preproduction, programmation, recording[1]
- Anne Lamy: executive production
- Pascale Jaupard: management
Charts
| Chart | Top position |
Number of weeks in the Top 50 |
Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| France[5] | 1 | 36 | Platinum |
| Belgium[6] | 15 | 15 |
References
- ^ a b c Fantaisie militaire (album booklet). Alain Bashung. Barclay Records. 1998. 539 488-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Jurek, Thom. "Fantaisie militaire". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ a b Verlant, Gilles (2006). La discothèque parfaite de l'odyssée du rock (in French). Hors Collection. ISBN 978-2-258-08007-2.
- ^ Magazine Rolling Stone, n°18 of February 2010, ISSN 1764-1071
- ^ Fantaisie militaire sur chartsinfrance.net
- ^ Fantaisie militaire sur www.ultratop.be