''Osez Joséphine'' ''(Dare Joséphine)'' is the eighth studio album by French rocker

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (, born Alain Claude Baschung; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded in his home country a ...

, issued in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

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 ...

. Rolling Stone magazine considered it the greatest French album of all time.

Reception

Commercial performance

The singles "Osez Joséphine", "Volutes" and "Madame rêve" ("Madame dreams") were successful, as was the album which peaked at 14th on the French charts. With this album, Bashung broke into the mainstream. The album sold 300,000 copies rather quickly for a French album at the time.

Critical reception

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 gave this album the top spot of their list of the greatest French rock albums (out of 100). The album is included in the book ''La discothèque parfaite de l'odyssée du rock'' by

Gilles Verlant Gilles Verlant (11 June 1957 – 20 September 2013) was a Belgian journalist, best known as a music critic and rock expert. He was also Serge Gainsbourg's friend and wrote his definitive biography. He died from falling down a set of stairs. W ...

, who calls ''Madame rêve'', ''Osez Joséphine'' and ''Volutes'' "new classics from his repertoire" and the guitar riff by

Sonny Landreth Clide Vernon "Sonny" Landreth (born February 1, 1951) is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, and settled in Lafayette, Louisiana. He lives in Bre ...

on ''Osez Joséphine'' "historical".

Legacy

In 2016, Australian psychedelic rock artist Nicholas Allbrook conceived his video for his single "A Fool There Was" (from his album ''Pure Gardiya'') as a tribute to the video for the title track of ''Osez Joséphine''.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

- vocals, harmonica (5, 6, 9) *

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

(1, 4, 5, 7, 9), slide guitar (2, 5, 7, 9), acoustic guitar (2, 3, 4, 7), lapsteel & wind (3) *

Bernie Leadon Bernie Leadon (pronounced ''led-un''; born July 19, 1947) is an American singer, musician, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member ...

- electric guitar (1, 5, 7), acoustic guitar (2, 4, 9),

mandoline A mandoline used for slicing a carrot A mandoline (US, ) or mandolin (British, /ˌmandəˈlɪn/, /ˈmandəlɪn/, /ˈmandl̩ɪn/), is a culinary utensil used for slicing and for cutting juliennes; with suitable attachments, it can make crinkle- ...

(7) * Roland Vancampenhout - electric guitar (1, 5, 8), harmonica (5) *

Ron Levy Ron Levy (born Reuvin Zev ben Yehoshua Ha Levi, May 29, 1951) is an American electric blues musician and composer. Levy was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. He primarily plays piano and organ. Levy grew up in Brookline, Massach ...

- Hammond organ (1, 2, 3, 7, 9) * Ken Blevins - drums (1, 2, 4, 7, 9), chimes (3) * David Ranson -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(1, 2, 3, 4, 9), bass & strings (4) * Philippe Decock -

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s (3, 10),

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

(8)

Production

* Tom Harding: sound engineer (Memphis) * Sophie Masson: sound engineer (Paris) * Phil Delire: sound engineer (Bruxelles), mixing, realisation * Éric Clermontet: realisation, executive production * Alain Bashung: realisation * Marc Antoine: realisation, executive production *

Jean-Baptiste Mondino Jean-Baptiste Mondino (born Aubervilliers, France on 21 July 1949) is a French fashion photographer and music video director. He has directed music videos for Madonna, David Bowie, Sting, Björk, Don Henley, Neneh Cherry, Axel Bauer and Les Rita ...

: photos * Huart / Cholley: graphism

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osez Josephine 1991 albums Barclay (record label) albums Alain Bashung albums