Francoise Hardy is mostly known as a pop chanteuse with mild rock influences.
It comes as something of a shock, then, to stick this into the CD player and hear her backed by assertive, guitar-oriented modern rock arrangements.
Hardy's delivery hasn't changed much; it's still a mixture of fetching sensuality and composed reserve.
What has changed is the music, with its emphasis upon gutsy guitar textures that sound influenced by '90s alternative rock--a bit of grungetone here, some Brit-pop energy there, some rootsy slide work (on "Ici Ou La?") in the mold of Ry Cooder.
Many middle-aged pop singers move from gritty rock to lighthearted MOR.
Hardy, unusually, seems determined to move in exactly the opposite direction.
It's not as good as, or very similar to, the charming sentimental pop of her youth.
Yet it's not at all embarrassing, with a couple of tunes ("Dix Heures En Ete" and "Contre-Jour") that would have definite hit potential, in the best sense of the word, were they sung in English.
Whatever you think, one would be hard-pressed to name other rock singers in their early fifties, from France or anywhere else, that managed to sound unassumingly contemporary in the mid-'90s.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mode d'EmploiFrançoise Hardy, Alain Lubrano | Françoise Hardy | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | Les MadeleinesFrançoise Hardy, Alain Lubrano | Françoise Hardy | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | L' Obscur ObjetFrançoise Hardy, Alain Lubrano | Françoise Hardy | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | Un Peu d'EauJean-Noël Chaleat, Françoise Hardy | Françoise Hardy | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Zero PartoutFrançoise Hardy, Alain Lubrano | Françoise Hardy | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Le DangerFrançoise Hardy, Alain Lubrano | Françoise Hardy | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Dix Heures en ÉtéRodolphe Burger, Françoise Hardy | Françoise Hardy | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Tout Va BienFrançoise Hardy, Alain Lubrano | Françoise Hardy | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | Contre-JourRodolphe Burger, Françoise Hardy | Françoise Hardy | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | Á Sa MerciFrançoise Hardy, Alain Lubrano | Françoise Hardy | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | Regarde-ToiJean-Noël Chaleat, Françoise Hardy | Françoise Hardy | Play | 01:56 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 12 | La Beute du Diable | Francoise Hardy | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 13 | Ici ou la | Francoise Hardy | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 49 mins | 113 MB | |||||
| 49 mins | 308 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | François Bodin | Guitar (Electric), Slide Guitar |
| 2 | Rodolphe Burger | Composer, E-Bow, Guitar, Producer |
| 3 | Jean-Noël Chaleat | Composer, Fender Rhodes, Programming |
| 4 | Françoise Hardy | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 5 | Dominique Issermann | Photography |
| 6 | Volker Janssen | Clavier |
| 7 | Alain Lubrano | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Producer, Programming, Slide Guitar |
| 8 | Sylvain Luc | Guitar (Electric) |
| 9 | Pascal Mulot | Bass |
| 10 | Vincent Pierins | Bass |
| 11 | Paul Ritter | Art Direction |
| 12 | Dave Ruffy | Drums, Programming |
| 13 | Doudou Wiess | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |