Marche à l'ombre
Encyclopedia
Marche à l'ombre is the fourth studio album by French singer-songwriter
Renaud
, released in 1980 by Polydor Records
. It is the first of Renaud's album that officially has a title, his three first albums being unnamed.
Marche à l'ombre contains three of Renaud's most popular songs:: "Marche à l'ombre" contains observations and aspersions cast on various characters who walk into the narrator's favorite bar as he relaxes with a pinball-obsessed friend. "Les Aventures de Gérard Lambert" is the tale of a fictional comic hero, a mobylette
rider whose evening is ruined by a mechanical problem and a wise-cracking passerby. "Dans mon H.L.M." is a floor-by-floor description of the public housing block that Renaud lived in, from the nightwatchman on the ground floor to his girlfriend on the eighth floor.
"It Is Not Because You Are" also gained attention as a spoof attempt to sing in English. A mock ballad, it is a tortured variety of Franglais
, with almost every line containing both English and French words.
"La Teigne" is the story of a youth who has grown up "on the state" ("Il était de l'assistance") who can't make friends and who commits suicide before his 20th birthday. "Baston" (French for "punch-up") tells the story of a person who aims to die young.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Renaud
Renaud
Renaud, born Renaud Séchan, is a French singer, songwriter and actor.Renaud may also refer to:* Renaud , a male French given name* Renaud , a 1783 opera by Antonio Sacchini* Renaud, Quebec, part of Laval, Quebec...
, released in 1980 by Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. It is the first of Renaud's album that officially has a title, his three first albums being unnamed.
Marche à l'ombre contains three of Renaud's most popular songs:: "Marche à l'ombre" contains observations and aspersions cast on various characters who walk into the narrator's favorite bar as he relaxes with a pinball-obsessed friend. "Les Aventures de Gérard Lambert" is the tale of a fictional comic hero, a mobylette
Mobylette
The Mobylette, sometimes shortened as Moby, is a model of moped manufactured by French manufacturer Motobecane during the second half of the 20th century. The Mobylette was launched in 1949 and was manufactured until 1997 with production number exceeding over 14 million with the 1970s being its...
rider whose evening is ruined by a mechanical problem and a wise-cracking passerby. "Dans mon H.L.M." is a floor-by-floor description of the public housing block that Renaud lived in, from the nightwatchman on the ground floor to his girlfriend on the eighth floor.
"It Is Not Because You Are" also gained attention as a spoof attempt to sing in English. A mock ballad, it is a tortured variety of Franglais
Franglais
Franglais , a portmanteau combining the French words "français" and "anglais" , is a slang term for an interlanguage, although the word has different overtones in French and English....
, with almost every line containing both English and French words.
"La Teigne" is the story of a youth who has grown up "on the state" ("Il était de l'assistance") who can't make friends and who commits suicide before his 20th birthday. "Baston" (French for "punch-up") tells the story of a person who aims to die young.
Side one
- "Marche à l'ombre" – 3:16
- "Les Aventures de Gérard Lambert" (Renaud Séchan, Alain Ranval) – 3:46
- "Dans mon H.L.M." – 6:00
- "La Teigne" – 2:43
- "Où c'est qu'j'ai mis mon flingue ?" – 3:03
Side two
- "It Is Not Because You Are" – 3:20
- "Baston !" (Renaud Séchan, Michel Roy) – 5:30
- "Mimi l'ennui" – 3:56
- "L'Auto-stoppeuse" – 3:07
- "Pourquoi d'abord ?" – 3:21
Personnel
- Renaud – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Alain Ranval – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Pierrot Chérèze – guitar
- Patrice Meyer – guitar
- Laurent Gaspéris – guitar, background vocals
- Alain Merquez – guitar
- Gérard Prévost – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Amaury Blanchard – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Stève Sheshan – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Jean-Philippe GoudeJean-Philippe GoudeJean-Philippe Goude is a French composer and keyboardist, born in Paris in 1952.-Early years:* 1969: first compositions* 1975: composition and recording of the soundtrack for Frankenstein, a play by Philippe Adrien at Théâtre de la Roquette * 1975: publication of the disc Jeunes Années * 1976 to...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard... - Laurent Gérome – pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
- Guy Khalifa – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, piano, background vocals - Richard Raux – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Alain Guillard – saxophone
- Yvon Guillard – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- David Rose – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Monique Rollin – luteLuteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
- Daniel Neuranter – bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
- Léon Gamme – alto fluteAlto fluteThe alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range...
- Phillippe Vauville – background vocals
- Klaus Blasquiz – background vocals
- Shitty Télaouine – background vocals
- Stella Vander – background vocals
- Liza Deluxe – background vocals
- Yves Poucel – background vocals (English)