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FRENCH MUSIC SEEN FROM ABROAD October 03
Jane Birkin in the U.S.
Paris
16/10/2003 -
It's official, Gainsbourg is "in" in the States. Totally unknown amongst the mass population of the American heartlands, the provocative singer-songwriter has something of a cult following amongst students, music journalists and fellow artists. And the concerts Jane Birkin performed in the U.S. last month further fuelled the Gainsbourg flame. Arabesque, the reworking of Gainsbourg's songs with Middle Eastern arrangements, was a concept that was born on stage and then turned into a best-selling album in France (where sales have topped 100,000) and other European countries such as Greece. Given current diplomatic tensions between France and the States, the idea of a famous French repertory re-orchestrated Middle Eastern style was not an obvious winner. Yet Birkin's heartfelt performance of Arabesque appeared to win over the most hard-nosed critics in America.
The Miami Herald critic (24/9) enthused that "With her little-girl curls barely pinned and her lithe, dancer body sheathed in black, (Jane Birkin) didn't look as if three and a half decades had passed since Je t’aime… moi non plus." Released in 1969, Birkin's scandalous duet with Gainsbourg (featuring heavy breathing and erotic moans), went on to become a huge international hit, selling 4 million copies worldwide and reaching no. 58 in America's Hot 100. More than thirty years on, the first American performances by the English singer and actress received unanimously rave reviews from the critics, both in the U.S. and Canada. Ms. Birkin's American tour certainly rallied many of her old fans, the Miami Herald noticing "a large French turn-out in the 550-strong audience" at The Lincoln Theater. Captivated by Birkin's emotion-charged performance on stage, the newly-converted fan noted that "(Birkin) radiantly smiled her way through songs like Haine pour aime and Couleur café (...) as if she were wearing a secret patch keeping her permanently supplied with Extasy."
The critic from the New York Times (24/9) was equally impressed. In an article which touched on Gainsbourg's personality and his relationship with Birkin, he praised Birkin's "touching farewell to the gruff, cigarette-loving, troublemaking songwriter and performer" who helped her launch her career in France. "(Birkin's) small voice was perpetually vulnerable, full of tender resignation," the critic enthused, noting that the "concert was a reprise of the album Arabesque" (only just released in the States on Narada World/EMI), "preceded by two additional Gainsbourg songs and Zazie's tribute to Gainsbourg, C’est comme ça." "Although French pop has lately discovered the music of France's Arabic and North African minorities, Djamel Benyelles's spacious arrangements rarely sounded gratuitously exotic," he concluded, praising the fact that these innovative reworkings "had helped a very French repertory to greet the wider world." Piotr Orlov from The Village Voice, who also attended Birkin's concerts at the Alliance Française in New York, was generous in his praise, too, hailing Birkin's voice as "the perfect cabaret instrument."
After the States the Arabesque caravan wended its way on to neighbouring Canada where it garnered equally rave reviews in the press. Just a few hours before Jane's concert in Quebec, Le Devoir (20-21/9) prefaced its article with the headline "For the Love of Jane B." while Le Soleil (25/9) looked forward to the arrival of "Jane of Arabia". The reviewer from Quebec's cultural news magazine Voir (25/9), was slightly less respectful. In an article entitled "Madame and her ghost" he hinted at a possible retirement from the music scene. "Revisiting the great Serge's repertory with her Middle Eastern arrangements, Jane Birkin sought to pay a final tribute to her legendary Pygmalion – while enjoying herself at the same time." He was not the only journalist to interpret Birkin's tour as the end of an era, as "both a debut and a farewell." The reviewer in La Presse (28/9) claimed that "For almost thirty years now, Jane Birkin has performed nothing but Gainsbourg, both out of a sense of gratitude and loyalty and a means of calming her jealousy. But after this tour, which takes her to the four corners of the world (...) she will draw a definitive line."
In the flurry of interviews surrounding the tour, Birkin has evoked the idea of stopping the professional side of her career (touring, recording and promotional work) but "reserving her recitals for other, less familiar, audiences… If I were asked to go and perform in a country devastated by war, famine or natural disaster, I could never say no!" declared Birkin, a committed supporter of human rights and humanitarian aid. And, true to her word, Jane will be visiting one of the world's hottest trouble spots in December, performing in Israel and Palestine (4 - 9 December).
As for the rumour of Jane's retirement, with or without Gainsbourg, "(Birkin) now aged 56, shows no signs of abandoning her artistic career to take up gardening or astrology." She is currently working on an album of duets with the likes of Alain Bashung, Miossec, Manu Chao and Paolo Conte (due to be released some time next year). Meanwhile, her Arabesque tour continues to whisk her around the world. After passing through Lisbon (16 and 17 January), Tokyo (12 February) and Hong Kong (14 February), Jane will perform a grand finale at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in March 2004.
Gilles Rio
Translation : Julie Street
12/11/2002 -
