Ange (from a non Francophone prospective)
 

I'm curious as what other non Francophones (and Francophones as well) think of Christian DeCamps and co.'s body of work. I first heard Le Cimetière des Arlequins in 1975 and Guet Apens in 1978 and enjoyed them very much.
I've since picked up all of the highly touted 70's offerings and am now really enjoying the new incarnation of the band featuring Christian's son, Tristian on Keys and superb vocals and the delicious Caroline Crozat on vocals as well.

It's a pity that I don't understand the language because Francophones tell me that the lyrics are filled with dark humour and innuendoes.

Comments?

Re: Ange (from a non Francophone prospective)
 

Hey DEz.

I used to listen to Ange a lot, but lost track of them for a long while. I recently picked up "Culinaire Lingus" and tought it was mostly good (I like about 2/3 of it). Descamps certainly is a poet. Lots of sexual innuendo as you can imagine from the title of the album. But also a very particular sense of imagery.

I once translated the lyrics of "Emile Jacotey" for someone on the net. I probably still have that somewhere in my files. If you would like a copy, I'd be happy to send them to you. Be aware that the poetry does not translate very well because he plays a lot with words and sometimes the effect is lost, but it would give you an idea of what the heck he is talking about ;-)

Let me know.

Re: Ange (from a non Francophone prospective)
 

Marquer, that would be great! i'll PM you my e-mail address.

Merci!

Re: Ange (from a non Francophone prospective)
 

Used to hear them quite a bit in college...they never grabbed me like they did my friends. It's been too long to form an updated opinion (I've included a lot more music to my liking since). Maybe I'll reconnect sometime.

About the singing. To me, lyrics are a bonus. Sometimes I'll really like the lyrics and dislike the music, sometimes the other way around. But since it's music and not a book, I'd rather listen to music I like with crappy lyrics rather than the reverse. Not understanding the language is ok with me. Singing is just another instrument to me - I'm not a poet.

I can't make out half the English speaking songs anyway. Then when I do, I usually f up the meaning. Then when I figure it out, the writer invariably will say "Oh I meant something else"....

Re: Ange (from a non Francophone prospective)
 

Christian DeCamps always remind me of Jacques Brel, a famous Belgian chansoniere of the 50's / 60`s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEAGoLHMMoA

Re: Ange (from a non Francophone prospective)
 

Wow Lotus

Thanks for those memories. I had seen that performance from Brel on tv some years ago, seeing it again gave me goosebumps. Such a powerful love song that is.

He also sings about beer, he must have been a good guy!

If you ever hear "Vesoul", you'll hear the best accordion solo ever :-D

"Chauffe Marcel, chauffe"