In the 1960s, it was the sandwich of the tube: we rushed on the American releases, britiches, we translated quickly, we copied and pasted the arrangements, and presto! A Richard Anthony, a Johnny, a Clo-Clo repeatedly triumphed. Not Adamo, the Aznavour of yé-yé, signatory of his immensely popular repertoire. That he now offers an anthology of adaptations “in French, please” of his Anglo-Saxon favorites is in this a gesture. A nice snub. The most Italian of Belgians loves French prosody and reminds us that, if you know how to do it, you can Frenchify everything. Thus, without much audacity, but with good taste and great care (with the help of Stephan Eicher), he revisits GilbertO’Sullivan (exquisite Clear), Elton, Dylan, America, Kansas as much as… Pearl Jam. Nice wink, he goes so far as to share 10cc with Jane Birkin (I’m not saying that I love you) and Carole King with the improbable Daniel Auteuil (I am your friend). Elegant Salvatore.
To see in video