Country : France Label : Polydor Genres and styles : Singer-Songwriter Year : 2020

De Béart à Béart(s)

· by Claude André

Five years after his passing, a discreet event to match his shy personality, here is the ultimate tribute to Guy Béart, bringing together an intergenerational anthology of French chanson. Less celebrated than the sacred monsters Brel, Brassens, Piaf, and Barbara, Béart accompanied the daily toil of thousands of people, often without them even really knowing who he was, so much so that his great texts surreptitiously illuminated their ordinary lives.

It was at the insistence of another giant, Charles Aznavour, with Béart’s two daughters, Ève (a jewellery designer) and Emmanuelle (the sublime icon of French cinema, of course), that this double album of 20 “free versions” was born.

It’s all a prelude to a full-length book, scheduled for publication in September 2020.

While he wrote some biting songs (“Les grands principes”) and political ones too (“Couleurs vous êtes des larmes”, covered beautifully here by Ismaël Lo), it’s above all love and break-up songs that we find on this very lovely album, which brings a certain lustre back to tunes that might have seemed outdated.

The unavoidable “Il n’y a plus d’après” comes to mind, a number originally intended for Aznavour to cover. He passed away four days too early to record it, and Vianney has taken it up with panache. This is “grandpa Guy as a young guy”, to borrow the expression from Emmanuelle Béart’s son, who doubtless imagined a triumphant collective shyness.

Carla Bruni does a good job with “C’est après que ça passe”, while Souchon (“Seine va”) and Voulzy (“Il fait toujours beau quelque part”) literally make their tracks their own.

Among the highlights are the sublime cover of “Ceux qui s’aiment” by the delicate Pomme, Catherine Ringer’s rich and assured voice on “Les souliers (… dans la neige)”, and, perhaps because it’s probably his last wink, the voice of the late Christophe who tinkers with a very ethereal “Vous (c’est vous)”.

Dutronc’s son and Emmanuelle Béart offer a very sympathetic duet at the beginning with “Qu’on est bien”, a song adapted to the political sensibilities of the day, leaving Vincent Delerme to wield his weary voice on “Bal chez Temporel”. The rapper Akhenaton pleasantly surprises with “Qui sommes-nous?” “L’eau vive”, which candidly reflects on the children leaving the nest from a parent’s point of view, is of course there, with the voice of Yaël Naïm bolstered by a chorus and orchestration that evoke urgency, just as with “Frantz (viens, mon cher Frantz)”, a song about a dying man,performed as a duet by Julien Clerc and (once again) Emmanuelle Béart. Let’s also note the presence of Raphaël (“Poste restante”) and Maxime Le Forestier (“De la lune qui se souvient”) on this delightful album.

Born in Cairo and raised in Lebanon, to which he remained very attached, Guy Béart, quickly spotted by Brassens, produced by Vian and soon enough a friend of Aragon, Pompidou and Georges Marchais, once said that “writing melodies means extending your hand from generation to generation”.

His daughters have contributed admirably here to proving him right.

Latest 360 Content

A party with post-punk Brooklynites TVOD

A party with post-punk Brooklynites TVOD

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

LMNL – Rainbow

LMNL – Rainbow

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Galan Trio – Embrace

Galan Trio – Embrace

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Hypercube – The Force for Good

Hypercube – The Force for Good

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

Duo AYA – Cycles

Duo AYA – Cycles

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Subscribe to our newsletter