Les chevaux du plaisir (Boulay chante Bashung)

Description

ISABELLE BOULAY Les chevaux du plaisir (Boulay sings Bashung) “Walk on water, avoid tolls, never suffer, just make the horses of pleasure neigh…” It is from this stanza, taken from Alain Bashung’s song “Osez Joséphine,” that Isabelle Boulay drew the title of her new album. An album of covers, but also of surprises, given how improbable the encounter between the Alsatian artist and the Quebecois performer might have seemed. “For years, I had been circling his work; I found it so demanding, from a literary and musical perspective. It’s as if I had watched his songs run like wild horses and thought to myself that I wanted to ride at least one of them.” “Les chevaux du plaisir,” the album “Boulay chante Bashung,” is more than a daring gallop; it’s a convincing pairing. Undoubtedly because the performer approached these eleven songs with respect and humility, while also making them her own. As Jean Fauque, who has previously written for Isabelle and is the author of most of Bashung’s titles, confirms: “For a long time, I dreamt of a woman singing Alain’s songs. He is the most feminist man I know.” Dare, dare, Isabelle...