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Album review
Tarmac
Live at Le Réservoir
Paris
09/07/2004 -
When the hands of the clock behind the bar in Paris's trendy restaurant/music venue Le Réservoir reached 21 hours, Yvo Abadi gave a flamboyant roll on the drums to signal the start of Tarmac's concert. Guitar and mandolin instantly picked up the tempo as Gaëtan Roussel stepped centre-stage to welcome the small but select crowd. The band's Parisian gig on the night before Christmas Eve 2003 was broadcast live to fans tuned into radio sets up and down the country.
Performed in the spirit of MTV's Unplugged acoustic sets, Tarmac's gig was also destined to become an album. And what an album! The Tarmac magic springs into action from the very first chords of the anthem Dans ma tête – and the atmosphere just keeps on getting better and better from there, songs from the group's albums Notre époque and L'atelier proving to be easily transposed to the stage!
Indeed, Tarmac's finely-honed, finely-tuned songwriting really comes into its own Unplugged-style, songs such as La Lune allowing the group to explore new musical horizons. It is as if, liberated from the constraints of the studio, the band let their hair down and throw themselves into their gig with gay abandon. And the result is that many of their best-known songs are shaken inside out, revealing totally new and unexpected sides. In the studio version of La Lune Arnaud Samuel's violin weaves itself around the verse alone, but a host of other instruments enter the fray in the live version. Meanwhile, Hélène Texier's gimmick on Ces moments-là gives way to a wonderfully alternative reorchestration of the FM-formatted track. In fact, the new version ends up with a whiff of French indie 80s spirit to it, summoning up images of groups such as La Bérurier Noir and Ludwig Von 88.
Tu semblante continues much in the same spirit, reminding fans that the group's guitarist, Didier Almonisno, honed his musical skills on the alternative French rock scene of the 80s and 90s. Even the ultra-contemporary sound of Tarmac's most recent single, Notre époque, gets a retro re-working on stage thanks to vintage Wurlitzer keyboards and the addition of backing vocals which bring Roussel's poetic lyrics to the fore. The Réservoir version contains a stroke of genius in the haunting strains of the melodica which follow the melody line down, before handing back to the lead singer just before the end of the song. International, a fervent protest song in the spirit of UK neo-folksters The Levellers, proves that Tarmac's musical culture knows no geographical borders nor constraints of style. Roussel even breaks into Spanish on the song, berating political leaders for their arrogance and inaction. As for the hard-hitting lyrics of the song, these recall the thrilling message of that other Internationale (with a few modern guitar riffs thrown in for good measure!)
With the levels on the sound-meter swinging erratically from left to right, Tarmac threw caution to the winds, switching from playing delicate ballads to tracks with all guitars blaring. The running order of the tracks has been thought out to the slightest degree, however, with Dis moi c'est quand ideally positioned on the double album (between Notre époque and International on Volume I called 21:00). The song injects a vital burst of rhythm and musical oomph just as the set appears to be slowing down. 53 minutes later the band break into Volume 2 (aka 21:53), on which the first cover appears. This spirited adaptation of The Stranglers' Cruel Garden confirms that, besides being a talented French rock'n'folk group, Tarmac also grew up on a rich diet of punk and British pop. La ballade des gens qui sont nés quelque part, the second cover on the album, is a fascinating reworking of a Georges Brassens classic on which Roussel's plaintive vocals are accompanied by the haunting strains of a mandolin. By the end they fade behind the instruments, leaving his group to roll out an atmospheric blues-rock meets country'n'western improvisation worthy of closing time in some dusty old bar in the back of Tucson, Arizona.
Talking of closing time, few folks at Le Réservoir bar looked willing to be heading home – not when the mesmerising Arabo-Andalusian melody of Volar was transporting them to different latitudes! This twirling, whirling sensation of a song featured Roussel's vocals caught in sweeping layers of violins while guitarist Philippe Almosnino kept his foot firmly on the special effects pedal, regularly breaking up the beat and breaking with the tradition of too tangoed-style tempos.
A special poignancy was added to Tarmac's "live at Le Réservoir" appearance, fans in the audience being well aware that Samuel and Roussel's exploration of different musical horizons was only temporary. Following their superb double live whammy, the pair are now set to rejoin Louise Attaque, the liveliest French folk-rock foursome of the last ten years.
Tarmac Concert au Réservoir Paris 23/12/2003 21:00 (Atmosphériques) 2004
David Glaser
Translation : Julie Street
28/01/2000 -
21/10/2002 -
