''Amour Anarchie'' (English: ''Anarchy Love'') is a double album by Léo Ferré, released in 1970 by

Barclay Records Barclay is a French record company and label founded by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Eddie Barclay was a bandleader, pianist, producer, and nightclub owner. With his wife, Nicole, who was the vocalist in his band, he started Barclay. The catalogue inc ...

. With this album, heavily influenced by sexual revolution and considered by critics as one of his finest, containing a whole string of his classics (like '' Avec le temps'', ''La Mémoire et la Mer'', ''Le Chien'', ''Poète, vos papiers !'' ... ), the singer-songwriter begins to blend singing with dynamic

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

. In 2010, the French edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine named this album the 24th greatest French rock album (out of 100).

History

After he had sung in Canada in 1969, Léo Ferré, who was interested in rock music, briefly went to New York City to find the right sound for his "new language", used in his insurrectionary poem ''Le Chien''. Initially, a studio session was intended with Jimi Hendrix, who cancelled, being ill. Ferré recorded with

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

and

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the ''Mode ...

, guitarist and drummer of

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 ...

, and

Miroslav Vitous Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic S ...

, bassist of

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...

. For some reason, Ferré didn't use this version and re-recorded the track with Zoo, a young French band recently signed on his record label Barclay, going more destructured (irregular beat). In this manifesto song Ferré powerfully uses

to claim his difference and reject societal hypocrisy. He sets to music several poems from his book ''Poète... vos papiers !'' (songs ''Poète, vos papiers !'', ''Les Passantes'', ''Psaume 151'', ''Le Crachat''), that critics would praise as a truly renewal of his inspiration, without noticing these texts had been mostly written in the early 50s. Most of the "new" material is love songs, most of the time straightforward eroticized, except for '' Avec le temps'' (''As time goes by''), a tragic and beautifully sad love song inspired by his own disenchantment and the failure of his relationship with his second wife. It was dismissed from the original LP by his record label and was released on 45s one year later (it is included in the album since CD editions). This instant-classic is the most well-known of Ferré's favorites, becoming with years the most constantly covered French song in France and worldwide. It topped a ranking established in 2012 by 276 contemporary French singers and musicians (and 69 critics) of the best French songs ever. Baptiste Vignol, ''Le Top 100 des chansons que l'on devrait tous connaître par cœur'', Editions Didier Carpentier, 2013.

Track listing

Bonus tracks :

Personnel

* Zoo (tracks 1 and 5 on disk one): ** André Hervé – organ, piano ** Pierre Fanen – electric guitar ** Michel Ripoche – trombone, tenor saxophone, electric violin ** Daniel Carlet – saxophones, flute, electric violin ** Michel Hervé – bass ** Christian Devaux – drums * Lionel Gali – violin (uncredited) * Danielle Licari – vocals (uncredited) * The orchestra consists of session musicians hired for the recording.

Production

* Arranger & conductor:

Jean-Michel Defaye Jean-Michel Defaye (born 18 September 1932) is a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his collaboration with French poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré. He was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne near Paris, on 18 Septemb ...

* Engineering:

Gerhard Lehner Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919� ...

, Claude Achallé (tracks 1 and 5, disk one) * Executive producer: Richard Marsan

References

External links

English translation of ''Écoute-moi''

English translation of ''La Mémoire et la Mer'', ''Petite'', ''Cette blessure'' and ''Avec le temps''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amour Anarchie Léo Ferré albums French-language albums Barclay (record label) albums 1970 albums