Les Marquises

Last updated
Les Marquises
Brel Album.jpg
Studio album by
Released17 November 1977
Recorded5 September –
1 October 1977
Studio Hoche, Paris
Genre Chanson
Length66 minutes
Label Barclay/Universal
Jacques Brel chronology
Ne me quitte pas
(1972)
Les Marquises
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Les Marquises (English: The Marquesas ) is Jacques Brel's fourteenth and final album. Also known as Brel, the album was released 17 November 1977 by Barclay (96 010). This was the singer's first album of new songs in ten years and was released a year before his death from lung cancer. The album's themes include death ("Jaurès", "Vieillir", "Jojo"), parting ("Orly") and in several songs Brel evokes his career in the 1960s ("Les F..", "Jojo", "Knokke-le-Zoute Tango", "Vieillir"). The album was recorded live in Studio B at the Barclay Studios on Avenue Hoche, Paris. With his health failing, Brel was only able to record at most two songs per day. Brel returned to the Marquesas Islands shortly after the recording sessions.

Contents

The album was treated with great secrecy before its release and was delivered to reviewers in a reinforced metal box with a timed, electronic padlock to stop them listening to it before its release date. No airplay of the album was allowed and no singles were released until after its release, and there were no interviews or promotion given by Brel regarding the album. Despite this, the album reached number one in France and earned Brel a gold record for selling 100,000 albums in 1978 and went platinum in 1981.

The album was reissued on 23 September 2003 under the title Les Marquises as part of the 16-CD box set Boîte à bonbons by Barclay (980 817–7). [2] [3]

Track listing

TrackTitleTranslationComposerRecorded
1"Jaurès"JaurèsJacques Brel1977-09-24
2"La ville s’endormait"The city was falling asleepJacques Brel1977-09-08
3"Vieillir"AgeingJacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest 1977-09-29
4"Le Bon Dieu"The good LordJacques Brel1977-09-23
5"Les F..."The F...Jacques Brel, Joe Donato 1977-09-22
6"Orly"OrlyJacques Brel1977-09-05
7"Les Remparts de Varsovie"The ramparts of WarsawJacques Brel1977-09-23
8"Voir un ami pleurer"Watching a friend cryingJacques Brel1977-09-21
9"Knokke-le-Zoute Tango"Knokke-le-Zoute TangoJacques Brel1977-09-27
10"Jojo"JojoJacques Brel1977-09-05
11"Le Lion"The lionJacques Brel1977-09-24
12"Les Marquises" The Marquesas Jacques Brel1977-10-01
13"Sans Exigences"Without demandsJacques Brel, François Rauber 1977-09-24
14"Avec élégance"With eleganceJacques Brel, François Rauber1977-09-24
15"Mai 40"May 40Jacques Brel1977-09-24
16"L’Amour est mort"Love is deadJacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest1977-09-24
17"La Cathédrale"The cathedralJacques Brel1977-09-24 [3]

Personnel

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Belgium100,000 [4]
France (SNEP) [5] Platinum1,000,000 [6]

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References

  1. Dave Thompson. "Brel – Jacques Brel". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  2. Les Marquises at Discogs
  3. 1 2 "Discography". Archived from Editions Jacques Brel the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2011.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  4. "Belgian News" (PDF). Cash Box. 10 December 1977. p. 55. Retrieved 25 November 2023 via American Radio History.
  5. "French album certifications – Jacques Brel – Album 77" (in French). InfoDisc.Select JACQUES BREL and click OK. 
  6. "Jacques Brel". udiscovermusic. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2023.

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