Novice (album)
Novice is the seventh studio album by French rocker Alain Bashung, issued in 1989 on Barclay Records.
| Novice | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Recorded | ICP Studio, Brussels | |||
| Genre | French rock, post-punk, alternative rock | |||
| Label | Barclay, Universal Music Group | |||
| Producer | Nick Patrick | |||
| Alain Bashung chronology | ||||
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Production
The songwriting is split between Boris Bergman, marking is last collaboration with Bashung, and Jean Fauque who would go on to write his four subsequent albums. Bashung said about the album that it was a sequel of sort to his experiments on Play blessures. The album has a dark sound, and did not sell very well. One of the song, "By Proxy", is one of the very few original written entirely in English by Bashung.
The song "Alcaline" is a pun on French pop singer Christophe's song "Aline". In 2011, Christophe covered the song for the tribute album Tels Alain Bashung.
Reception
In a review that was featured in the compilation OpticalSound 3, one reviewer praised Novice as the only Bashung album other than Play blessures that they enjoyed all the way through.[1] Academic Jean Frédéric Hennuy compared the lyrics of "Pyromanes" and "Légère éclaircie" with those of Nick Cave.[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pyromanes" | Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Résidences" | Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Légère éclaircie" | Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung | 4:20 |
| 4. | "Alcaline" | Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung | 5:00 |
| 5. | "Tu m'as jeté" | Jean Fauque - Alain Bashung | 4:31 |
| 6. | "Elle fait l'avion" | Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung | 4:47 |
| 7. | "Bombez !" | Jean Fauque - Alain Bashung | 3:02 |
| 8. | "Intrépide malgré la fièvre" | Boris Bergman - Alain Bashung | 4:01 |
| 9. | "Étrange été" | Jean Fauque - Alain Bashung | 3:33 |
| 10. | "Outrage (instrumental)" | Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque | 0:36 |
| 11. | "By Proxy" | Boris Bergman / P. Ives - Alain Bashung | 3:49 |
Bonus Track (1993 CD reissue)
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Bombez ! (Version 1992)" | Jean Fauque - Alain Bashung | 3:04 |
| 13. | "Climax 4 (instrumental)" | Alain Bashung / André Georget | 4:24 |
Personnel
Musicians
- Olivier Guindon - guitars
- Vic Emerson - keyboards
- Colin Newman - keyboards
- Philippe Draï - drums
- Dave Ball - keyboards
- Jean-Marie Aerts - guitars
- Blixa Bargeld - guitars
- Phil Manzanera - guitars
- Simon Rogers - guitars
- Mick Parker - guitars
Production
- Realisation: Nick Patrick
- Mixing: Jean Trenchant and Nick Patrick
- Remix 1992 (12-13): Djoum
- Photographs: T.Rajic
- Graphism: Antonietti, Pascault & Associés
- Graphism: Huart/Cholley
- Editions: 1,2,3,4,6,8,11 & 12 Polygram Music/Pitchi-Poï; 5,7,9 & 10 Polygram Music
References
- Collectif (2015-10-27). OpticalSound 3 (in French). Art Book Magazine Distribution. p. 102. ISBN 9782821600782.
- Abecassis, Michaël (2018-06-11). An Anthology of French and Francophone Singers from A to Z: “Singin’ in French”. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 9781527512054.