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French
poet and chameleonic vocalist BRIGITTE FONTAINE's career spans over four
decades. Only a few years before her 1968 debut, Brigitte Fontaine Est…Folle,
she moved to Paris to become an actress and took her prodigiously mature voice
into the studio. Rich in the drama she brought to theater, FONTAINE synthesized
chanson (French pop song) and world music, which eventually won her international
acclaim as a performer and collaborator with a variety of artists from around
the world (ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO, SONIC YOUTH and STEREOLAB, to name just a
few).
On
Est…Folle, FONTAINE takes flight over conductor Jean Claude Vannier's brilliant
arrangements. Vannier, best known for his work on Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire
De Melody Nelson, is in fine form, using what would become his trademark
stylings: lush strings, taut rhythms culled from across the globe and a healthy
dose of whimsy. "Il Pleut" swings from understatement to rapturous
delight. "Une Fois Mais Pas Deux" is an infectious pop song that
could have been culled from a French New Wave soundtrack. FONTAINE is
adventurous and multi-dimensional with sophisticated lyrics, poignant melodies
and enthralling delivery. Such artful handling of meter and rhyme (or lack
thereof) is rare in pop song. Far from the era's yé-yé phenomenon, but never
fully removed from its traditions, Est…Folle is an essential link in French pop
music, exuberantly pushing the genre into more conceptual and experimental
sounds.