In the history of French pop divas, two names inevitably stand out - first there was Sheila (as in B. Devotion) then the legendary Sylvie (Vartan). Both rose to fame on the crest of the "Yé-yé" wave - as the 60's French rock'n'pop movement was known - and both have continued to make successful comebacks over the years. Indeed, Sylvie even more so than Sheila! For, while Ms. Vartan may no longer dominate the national media as she once did in her heyday, she does return to the media spotlight every now and then. And journalists rush to take up their pens when Sylvie releases a new album every couple of years!
And now Sylvie's at it again, releasing a new album with the intriguing title "Sensible" (Sensitive). As the title suggests, this new album is meant to bare the French pop diva's soul, revealing Sylvie's vulnerability, her fragility and her innermost secrets. 30 years ago the ex-wife of French rock idol Johnny Hallyday spent her life being chased by hordes of paparazzi and Hello-style journalists, but now Sylvie has left her crazy Paris days behind her and sought to rebuild a more peaceful life far from the showbiz spotlights.
These days Sylvie combines a tranquil family life in California with a respectable, if intermittent, career in France. And it's this new-style Sylvie that listeners will discover on the singer's latest album "Sensible". Ms. Vartan is now a woman 'at peace with herself', a mature woman who refuses to act as a cute little bimbo mouthpiece any longer, a woman who wants to sing lyrics which say something about her real identity. As she says on her new album,
"Ma vie chantée au point d'être publique / ma vie aimée est un jardin pudique".... (
"My life was sung and made utterly public / my personal life is a private garden "....)
SensitiveSylvie, who was born in Bulgaria, appears to have inherited a gift for expressing the yearnings of her sensitive Slavic soul
"with all its wounds and scars". But the singer's new album, "Sensible", also proves her to be a modern woman in touch with the zeitgeist of her generation. The songs on Sylvie's new album speak of one-night stands, heartbreak and a certain weariness with love, but they also express hope - the hope of reconquering lost loves and looking to the future through the next generation. The song "Darina", for instance, is a touching ballad about the young Bulgarian girl the singer has just adopted. Sylvie's new album also expresses the singer's independent spirit - and, let's face it, we can admire Ms. Vartan, at least, for her refusal to play the 'youth game' and include a series of techno remixes of her greatest hits!
Instead of going for the 'easy remix' option, Sylvie has sought to establish a real repertoire for herself. In 1995 Ms. Vartan surprised the critics, and many of her old fans, with a memorable performance at the Casino de Paris, during which she covered songs by Claude Nougaro, Léo Ferré and the legendary Belgian chanson star Jacques Brel. Today, Sylvie takes her repertoire one step further away from her flimsy 60's pop hits, singing a text by the famous 19th-century French poet Baudelaire (which has been specially set to music). Apart from this venture into serious literature, the rest of Sylvie's new repertoire has been written by her faithful group of songwriters and composers (Didier Barbelivien, Marc Lavoine, Richard Cocciante, Eric Chemouny - and Sylvie's son, David Hallyday, who has written a very rock'n'roll style piece for his mother).
There's no doubt about it, after listening to "Sensible" we have to agree, Sylvie has definitely found herself (at last). Maturity and self-confidence come to she who waits and - the most impressive thing of all is - Sylvie's voice just keeps on getting better with age!
