Live 1981

Description

In 1981, Pizza, Alain Bashung's third album, propelled him to the forefront of French rock. Coupled with the lyrics of his collaborator Boris Bergman, his new tracks are transformed by a lineup that would become significant in Bashung's career. United under the acronym KGDD, Manfred Kovacic (keyboards, saxophone), Olivier Guindon (guitar), François Delage (bass), and Philippe Draï (drums) lead Bashung's production into unexplored horizons. Thanks to these intrepid sidemen, his repertoire also gains an unprecedented dimension on stage. Recorded in Troyes on May 22, Live 1981 serves as a unique testament to this peak encounter. In the oldest stage document of Alain Bashung's discography, after-punk fuses with reggae, and the Farfisa organs of Suicide collide with the rockabilly guitars of the Stray Cats. Accompanied by KGDD, Bashung revisits the tracks from Pizza ("J'Sors avec ma frangine," "Rebel," "L'Araignée"), Roulette russe ("Toujours sur la ligne blanche," "Je fume pour oublier que tu bois," "Squeezé"), and Roman-photos ("C'est la faute à Dylan"), not forgetting to include fiery snapshots of "Gaby oh Gaby" and its vibrant B-side "Elle s'fait rougir toute seule." Live 1981 is completed by two additional tracks captured in Melun during the same tour: "Milliards de nuits dans le frigo" and "Elsass Blues."