Five years after his passing, a discreet event to match his shy personality, here is the ultimate tribute to Guy B\u00e9art, bringing together an intergenerational anthology of French chanson. Less celebrated than the sacred monsters Brel, Brassens, Piaf, and Barbara, B\u00e9art 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was at the insistence of another giant, Charles Aznavour, with B\u00e9art’s two daughters, \u00c8ve (a jewellery designer) and Emmanuelle (the sublime icon of French cinema, of course), that this double album of 20 \u201cfree versions\u201d was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s all a prelude to a full-length book, scheduled for publication in September 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he wrote some biting songs (\u201cLes grands principes\u201d) and political ones too (\u201cCouleurs vous \u00eates des larmes\u201d, covered beautifully here by Isma\u00ebl Lo), it\u2019s 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songs that we find on this very lovely album, which brings a certain lustre back to tunes that might have seemed outdated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unavoidable \u201cIl n’y a plus d’apr\u00e8s\u201d 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 \u201cgrandpa Guy as a young guy\u201d, to borrow the expression from Emmanuelle B\u00e9art\u2019s son, who doubtless imagined a triumphant collective shyness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carla Bruni does a good job with \u201cC’est apr\u00e8s que \u00e7a passe\u201d, while Souchon (\u201cSeine va\u201d) and Voulzy (\u201cIl fait toujours beau quelque part\u201d) literally make their tracks their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the highlights are the sublime cover of \u201cCeux qui s’aiment\u201d by the delicate Pomme, Catherine Ringer’s rich and assured voice on \u201cLes souliers (… dans la neige)\u201d, and, perhaps because it’s probably his last wink, the voice of the late Christophe who tinkers with a very ethereal \u201cVous (c\u2019est vous)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dutronc\u2019s son and Emmanuelle B\u00e9art offer a very sympathetic duet at the beginning with \u201cQu’on est bien\u201d, a song adapted to the political sensibilities of the day, leaving Vincent Delerme to wield his weary voice on \u201cBal chez Temporel\u201d. The rapper Akhenaton pleasantly surprises with \u201cQui sommes-nous?\u201d \u201cL’eau vive\u201d, which candidly reflects on the children leaving the nest from a parent\u2019s point of view, is of course there, with the voice of Ya\u00ebl Na\u00efm bolstered by a chorus and orchestration that evoke urgency, just as with \u201cFrantz (viens, mon cher Frantz)\u201d, a song about a dying man,performed as a duet by Julien Clerc and (once again) Emmanuelle B\u00e9art. Let’s also note the presence of Rapha\u00ebl (\u201cPoste restante\u201d) and Maxime Le Forestier (\u201cDe la lune qui se souvient\u201d) on this delightful album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born in Cairo and raised in Lebanon, to which he remained very attached, Guy B\u00e9art, quickly spotted by Brassens, produced by Vian and soon enough a friend of Aragon, Pompidou and Georges Marchais, once said that \u201cwriting melodies means extending your hand from generation to generation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His daughters have contributed admirably here to proving him right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n