Roulette russe

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Roulette russe
Alain Bashung Roulette russe.jpg
Studio album by
Alain Bashung
ReleasedApril 1979 (reissued in 1980 with an altered track listing)
Genre French rock, blues, new wave
Label Philips Records, Barclay Records, Universal Music Group
Producer Claude Alvarez-Pereire
Alain Bashung chronology
Roman-photos
(1977)		Roulette russe
(1979)		 Pizza
(1981)

Roulette russe(Russian roulette) is the second album by French rocker Alain Bashung, issued in 1979 on Philips Records. The album was reissued the following years with a couple of songs dropped and the two songs from his breakthrough single, Gaby oh Gaby , added.

Alain Bashung French singer

Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor. In France, he is considered to be one of the most famous singers in French chanson and French rock. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s with hit songs such as "Gaby oh Gaby" and "Vertige de l'amour", and later had a string of hit records from the 1990s onward, such as "Osez Joséphine", "Ma petite entreprise" or "La nuit je mens". He has had an influence on many later French artists, and is the most awarded artist in the Victoires de la Musique history with 12 victoires obtained throughout his career.

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.

Philips Records Dutch record label; imprint of Philips Phonografische Industrie

Philips Records is a record label that was founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in Amsterdam.

Contents

Production

In 1979, Alain Bashung was 32 and although he began his career in music more than ten years before, he met no success after the commercial failures of his first singles and his first album, Roman-photos (Fotonovelas) which Bashung later disowned. He often said that Roulette russe was a "last-chance album" of sort.

<i>Roman-photos</i> 1977 album by Alain Bashung

Roman-photos(Fotonovelas) is the debut album by French rock musician Alain Bashung, released in 1977 through Barclay Records. The first issues of the album simply bore the artist's name.

The album has a rather dark mood, with songs dealing with personal matters, like Elsass Blues about his childhood in Alsace ("J'suis né tout seul près d'la frontière, celle qui vous faisait si peur hier" which means "I was born alone near the border, that very border that you feared yesterday"), but the absurd humour that would be his trademark on his albums with lyricist Boris Bergman was already present.

Alsace Place in Grand Est, France

Alsace is a cultural and historical region in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland.

Standouts from the album include Je fume pour oublier que tu bois ("I smoke to forget that you drink") (first single from the album in 1979), Bijou, bijou ("Jewel, jewel") or Toujours sur la ligne blanche ("Still on the white line") which would remain concert staples.

Reception

Commercial performance

Roulette russe met with little success on his first issue, but after the release of his breakthrough single Gaby oh Gaby the next year, the album would be rereleased to include the song and therefore enjoyed more success.

Gaby oh Gaby 1980 song by Alain Bashung

"Gaby oh Gaby" is a song first published by Alain Bashung. Written by Boris Bergman with music by Bashung, it was initially published as a single in 1980 on Philips, with "Elle s'fait rougir toute seule" as the B-side. The single became a huge hit in France, and therefore the song was included on the album Roulette russe in a reissue nicknamed Nouveau couplage, and then on the CD reissue of the next album, Pizza.

Critical reception

In his book La discothèque parfaite de l'odyssée du rock, Gilles Verlant, although he did not include the album in his list of essential albums, qualified the album string of Roulette russe / Pizza as a "triumph". [1]

Gilles Verlant Belgian journalist

Gilles Verlant was a Belgian journalist, best known as a music critic and rock expert. He was also Serge Gainsbourg's friend and wrote his definitive biography.

<i>Pizza</i> (album) 1981 album by Alain Bashung

Pizza is the third album by French rocker Alain Bashung, issued in 1981 on Philips Records.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Je fume pour oublier que tu bois"Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung 4:16
2."Station service"Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung3:19
3."Elsass Blues"Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung3:19
4."Y'a un yéti"Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung2:36
5."Guru tu es mon führer de vivre"Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung3:08
6."Milliards de nuits dans le frigo"Boris Bergman - Daniel Tardieu - Alain Bashung2:47
7."Pas question que j'perde le feeling"Boris Bergman - Daniel Tardieu - Alain Bashung3:54
8."Bijou, bijou"Boris Bergman - Daniel Tardieu - Alain Bashung4:08
9."Les Petits Enfants"Daniel Tardieu - Alain Bashung1:12
10."Toujours sur la ligne blanche"Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung4:39
11."Squeeze"Boris Bergman - Daniel Tardieu - Alain Bashung3:29

In 1980, a new version of the album was released after the success of the Gaby oh Gaby single. Milliards de nuits dans le frigo and Les Petits Enfants were both dropped for space, and Gaby oh Gaby and its b-side Elle s'fait rougir toute seule were added, the former becoming the first song on the album and the latter becoming the last.

1980 in music Overview of the events of 1980 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.

Singles

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/Sales
France (SNEP) [2] Gold100,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References

  1. ↑ Verlant, Gilles (2006). La discothèque parfaite de l'odyssée du rock (in French). Hors Collection. ISBN   978-2-258-08007-2.
  2. ↑ "French album certifications – Alain Bashung – Roulette russe" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved 1 February 2019.
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