A new album by
Alain Souchon is a rare treat indeed. Like his friend and songwriting partner Laurent Voulzy (who co-wrote the music on his latest album), Souchon is an artist who prefers to take his time, leaving albums several years in gestation. The sprightly sixty-something, one of the French public's favourite 'singer-poets', has just put the finishing touches to
La Vie Théodore (the title is a reference to the famous French geographer and humanist Théodore Monod). The album, released on Virgin, is Souchon's first studio opus since
Au ras des pâquerettes in 1999. And, not surprisingly, on its release, it shot straight to the top of the album charts in France and Wallonia and has already reached no. 3 in Switzerland (Souchon's best Swiss ranking to date).
Souchon can pride himself on having outstripped this month's other comeback kings: the young rock'n'folk foursome
Louise Attaque. After a very public split and a four-year break during which band members went off to form other groups, Louise Attaque are now back together again. And their new album,
A plus tard crocodile (Atmosphériques), has got off to a very promising start, charting at no.2 in France, no.5 in Wallonia and no.7 in Switzerland. Generally speaking, French rock has made a strong showing in the Francophone charts this autumn. The young French singer
Raphaël, currently looking like the favourite for the best-selling French-speaking album of 2005, has been enjoying great success with
Caravane (released on Capitol). Over the past few months, the album has hung on firmly in the Top 10 and September finds
Caravane still clinging on at no.3 in Wallonia, no.5 in France and, dropping down slightly, at no.20 in Switzerland. The new
Aston Villa album,
De jour comme de nuit (Naïve), charted at no.37 in Switzerland and no.70 in Wallonia, while
Mickey 3D's
Matador (Virgin) slipped slowly down the charts in Wallonia (no.47) and Switzerland (no.57).
Undoubtedly, the biggest hitters of the moment are veteran strummers the
Gipsy Kings. Without even setting foot in the studio, the Gipsy guitarists have scored a hit worldwide with their umpteenth compilation. Following hot on the heels of their
Greatest Hits (1994) and
Volare! (1999), comes
The Best Of The Gipsy Kings, currently riding high in the charts in Ireland (no.8), Belgium (no.13 in Wallonia and no.31 in Flanders), the Netherlands (no.15), Canada (no.26), Spain (no.42) and the UK (no.53). Meanwhile, over in the U.S., the group's latest studio album,
Roots (released on Columbia last year), furtively re-emerged in
Billboard's World Music chart at no.13. However, despite the Gipsies' ongoing success, THE world music album of 2005 has to be
Dimanche à Bamako (Because), the album the blind Malian duo
Amadou et Mariam recorded with Manu Chao. Over the past few months, the album has maintained its foothold in the international charts and currently ranks at no.14 in Wallonia, no.38 in Greece, no.39 in Switzerland and no.4 in
Billboard's World Music chart in the U.S. Meanwhile, the multi-cultural musical outfit
Pink Martini are hanging on with their album,
Hang On Little Tomato (Naïve), ranking at no.7 in Greece and no.24 in Canada 24.
On the French 'chanson' front, male singers have been making something of a comeback on a scene long dominated by their female counterparts. The only real new release of the moment, however, is Calogero's live album Live 1.0 (Mercury), which shot straight to the top of the charts in France and Wallonia and rocketed to no.14 in Switzerland. A rare feat for a simple concert recording - and proof that Calogero, whose last two studio albums sold over a million copies apiece, that this recent arrival has finally made it into the 'chanson' pantheon.
Meanwhile, French tennis-player-turned-popstar
Yannick Noah has been doing well with his latest album,
Métisse(s) (Saint-George/Columbia). This ends the summer on a (relative) high note, at 12 in Wallonia and no.58 in Switzerland. But, apart from Noah, it's been a question of rolling out golden oldies on a series of opportune compilations such as
Eternel, released to mark the 25th anniversary of
Joe Dassin's death.
Eternel (Sony BMG Media/Vogue) currently ranks at no.6 in Wallonia and no.58 in Switzerland. Over in Spain,
Salvatore Adamo's greatest hits album
Mis manos en tu cintura (EMI) is clinging on at no.60 after dropping from the no.26 spot it reached in August.
Rapper K-Maro has been flying the flag for 'youth music' with his best-selling album La Good Life (Up Music), now slowly descending the charts to rank at no.37 in Hungary. Meanwhile, hot young male R&B tandem Tragédie rank at no.28 in Brazil with their eponymous album. What of young female artists we hear you ask? Well, the most talked-about girl in town right now is Camille and her album Le Fil (Virgin), steadily making its way up the charts in France (no.18), Wallonia (no.22) and Switzerland (no.70). Last, but very much not least, after a staggering 63 weeks in the Hungarian charts, the album of the stage musical Roméo & Juliette (Mercury) has gone platinum, climbing back up from the no. 40 spot to no.11. Could Romeo and his tragic love climb still higher? Tune in next month and find out in our next chart round-up!
