Bashung would become the most critically acclaimed French rock singer in his home country, with several of his albums being now hailed as classics. The art rock band Les Rita Mitsouko enjoyed international success, while the decade also saw the emergence of Alain Bashung, who had been around since the 1960s but only started to have his first hits in the new wave era. The post-punk scene, although commercially unsuccessful, also featured critically acclaimed acts, such as Marquis de Sade, Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine, Orchestre rouge or Kas Product. Charlélie Couture also marked its time with Comme un avion sans aile. Another notable artist from the early 1980s is Axel Bauer, who scored a massive hit with the song Cargo. The new wave was dominated by Indochine, who sold enormously, as well as Alain Chamfort, overshadowing the works of critical darlings Taxi Girl or Jacno, but the genre also later saw the emergence of Étienne Daho, who would remain a major figure in French music up to this day. The success of Téléphone ( pub rock), which started in the 1970s but peaked in the 1980s, also took French rock to new levels. French progressive rock continued in the 1980s in relative obscurity, with the bands Dün, Terpandre and Emeraude achieving some underground success (but were met with critical indifference). This helped the emergence of a distinct French rock that could match the lucrativeness of American and British rock music. The changing of the political culture was accompanied by an explosion in youth culture. French hard rock and heavy metal took off by the end of the decade, spearheaded by Trust. Another name to know is that of Gérard Manset, a cult artist who deliberately live in maintained obscurity, but whose ballad Il voyage en solitaire is a major song and progressive album La Mort d'Orion is a reference, and who has continued to collaborate with high-profile artists up to this day. However, French singer Serge Gainsbourg's 70s output, which included the classic Histoire de Melody Nelson, the less accessible L'Homme à tête de chou and the reggae Aux armes et cætera, transitioned completely from chanson to rock (a move he started earlier in the 1960s) and offered French-language rock new classics. It was during this period that a few other variety music artists - Catherine Ribeiro, Bernard Lavilliers and others - flirted with rock, but without completely changing over. French punk rock also appeared, including bands like Starshooter, Stinky Toys,* Electric Callas, Oberkampf and Métal Urbain. Jacques Higelin's album BBH 75, which doesn't fit in these categories and is more of a transitional album between the classic era rock sound (à la Rolling Stones) and punk rock, is considered a seminal milestone by French critics, while ex-yé-yé star Christophe became a successful pop-rock artist, especially with his seminal albums Les Paradis perdus and Les Mots bleus (which title song is considered a major classic). There was also some glam rock acts, like The Frenchies or the controversial and cult artist Alain Kan. In the 1970s, France saw the arrival of Alan Stivell's Breton folk-rock as well as a wave of progressive rock bands like Ange, Magma, Gong (whether they are actually a French band is debatable), Triangle, Dynastie Crisis, Shylock, Eskaton, Atoll and Pulsar. The emergence of the yé-yé movement slowed the commercial success of French rock, although some names like Antoine, Jacques Dutronc, Nino Ferrer and Michel Polnareff emerged in the middle of the 1960s and did have success, while others like Ronnie Bird or Les Variations (who are commonly considered forerunners of French hard rock) achieved cult status. The first real French rock acts emerged at the end of the decade and in the beginning of the 1960s, with Johnny Hallyday achieving the most long-lasting success, while other acts like Les Chaussettes noires, led by other French rock star Eddy Mitchell, and Les Chats sauvages (led by Dick Rivers) contributed to the emergence of the genre, the last band writing the first real classic French rock song, Twist à Saint-Tropez. Although Vian despised rock and wrote these songs as attacks, they are highly acclaimed by French critics today and considered precursors.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |