RSSIn a truly great song, even if the fads that colored its production have long fallen out of favor, what made it so great, its essence, surely remains.
Such were the thoughts of French musician and composer Marc Collin, who, in his latest project, Hollywood, Mon Amour, strove to redefine outmoded film songs into something that transcended studio technique. The self-titled full-length (some people will undoubtedly see an allusion to French cinema here) – out March 3, 2009 on [PIAS] – is a collection of the greatest songs from the movies of the 80s rearranged by the man behind Nouvelle Vague. Collin made a point of choosing different singers than the ones who appeared on his previous records, finding the perfect complements to his 60s-tinged arrangements, his vintage keys, in a multinational group of vocalists, including Australia’s Nadeah, Britain’s – and former Morcheeba singer – Skye, the US’s Juliette Lewis, Brazil’s Cibelle, Denmark’s Katrine Ottosen, and France and Israel’s Yael Naim.
Collin decided he wanted to recreate these songs, imagining them as if they were set in a different era, or performed by different characters with different backgrounds, different stories: in short, he wanted to strip the songs of their movie context and find the lasting beauty that stayed in each.
The results are simpler, but not simplified, versions of what once were generally mega-produced hits. In “A View To A Kill,” for example, by John Barry – one of the Parisian’s greatest influences – Collin sought to prove that indeed that 80s were not ones of drought for the famed composer. The original, a synth-heavy number originally performed by Duran Duran, is turned into a contemplative reflection by Skye. The same goes for Juliette Lewis’s take on David Bowie’s “This Is Not America,” which Collin reworked as if it were recorded in the 70s – and ends up being the better for it – or Ennio Morricone’s “It’s Wrong For Me To Love You,” which serves to remind listeners why indeed the Italian is considered one of the greatest film-scorers ever.
All the songs included on the record were written specifically for movies, and though many found audiences far past the confines of the movies (Blondie’s “Call Me,” from American Gigolo, for instance), there are some tracks included that haven’t achieved lasting fame. “Reality,” from the French film La Boum, was a hit in mainland Europe, but has since been forgotten. Reinterpreted by Collin and singer Nancy Danino, however, it takes on new life, and new meaning, less dramatic, more thoughtful, hopeful.
But the same also goes for the more famous songs that have been left to stagnant in the annals of pop-music. “Flashdance…What a Feeling” has never before held such nuance and emotion and when it’s sung by Yael Naim. No longer an exuberant, excessive foray into 80s-feel-good dance sequences, the song becomes a subtler look into inspiration and passion and love.
As with Nouvelle Vague, Marc Collin has successfully given these songs new life, new meaning. Where there was once a garish palette of squealing guitar solos and high-five vocals, he manages to find fragile colors and tender melancholy. A true master producer and composer, he has coaxed out the melodies and placed them where they truly belong, in the end creating something that is truly memorable.
Marc Collin and Nadeah recently performed “Call Me” live on the Belgian national TV program De Laatste Show. Check it out below.
Artist: Hollywood, Mon Amour
Album: Hollywood, Mon Amour
Label: [PIAS] Recordings
Street Date: March 3, 2008
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