''Piano Bar'' is the name of the sixth studio album recorded by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

artist

Patricia Kaas Patricia Kaas (; born 5 December 1966) is a French singer. Her music is a mix of pop, cabaret, jazz, and chanson. Since the appearance of her 1988 debut album '' Mademoiselle chante...'', Kaas has sold over 17 million records worldwide. She h ...

. It was released in 2002. Although it was less successful in France, a country in which Kaas' albums are generally well-received, it had higher sales and chartings in other countries such as Germany, Russia, USA, UK and Finland.

Background

In 2002, Sony BMG decided to publish the singer's first best of, ''

Rien ne s'arrête ''Rien ne s'arrête'' (Eng: ''Nothing Stops'') is the name of a compilation by the French singer Patricia Kaas. It was released in 2001 and achieved a good success in various countries. Background This compilation was the first one released by the ...

'', which achieved a good success. At the same time, Kaas started her acting career in

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter, writer, cinematographer, actor and film producer, producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish Family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1 ...

's film '' And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen'', with

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

. To accompany the film, the concept album ''Piano Bar By Patricia Kaas'' was released in 2002, which was explicitly not a soundtrack to the film (the real soundtrack has never been released). ''Piano Bar'' was the sixth album of the singer, but the first one published that was sung mainly in English, and is a tribute to the great French chanson artists of history. The album contains cover versions of " Where Do I Begin", which was originally on the soundtrack to '' Love Story'', and an English version of

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

's "Ne me quitte pas" (Eng: "Don't leave me"), re-entitled "If You Go Away". There are also a cover version of

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...

's song "Les Feuilles mortes", and another of

Gilbert Bécaud Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release t ...

, "Et Maintenant", under the title " What Now My Love".

Critical reception

About this album, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' said : "The end result is a lovely, winning album, another fine recording by a fine vocalist".''Piano Bar'', track listing and review

allmusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

(Retrieved June 4, 2008)

Charts performance

In France, the album had a moderate success, It started at #14 on April 14, 2002, then reached #10 in its second and sixth week, but was unable to climb higher. It remained for nine weeks in the top 20, 22 weeks in the top 50, 26 weeks in the top 100 and 30 weeks on the chart.''Piano Bar'', French Albums Char
Lescharts.com
(Retrieved June 4, 2008) Even if it was certified double gold,Kaas's certifications in Franc

(Retrieved June 4, 2008) sales were less in comparison with the previous albums. By contrast, ''Piano Bar'' reached #12 in Germany, which was the second most successful album of the singer in this country. In Belgium (Wallonia), the album reached #6 debuted at #35 on April 27, 2002, jumped to #9 and finally reached #6 for two consecutive weeks. It totaled six weeks in the top ten, stabilized in the top 20, then dropped quickly, and deseappered after its 21 weeks.''Piano Bar'', Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Char
Ultratop.be
(Retrieved June 4, 2008) In Switzerland, the album peak at #6 too. It hit this position in its second week, on May 5, 2002, before dropping first slowly, then quickly, remaining for ten weeks in the top 50 and 24 weeks on the chart (top 100).''Piano Bar'', Swiss Albums Char
Hitparade.ch
(Retrieved June 4, 2008) It achieved Gold status.2002 certifications in Switzerlan
Swisscharts.com
(Retrieved June 4, 2008) The album hit only #38 in Austria,''Piano Bar'', Austrian Albums Char
Austriancharts.at
(Retrieved June 4, 2008) and for the first time in Kaas' career, one of her albums was charted in New Zealand, peaking at #35 in its second and last week, on April 20, 2003.''Piano Bar'', New Zealand Albums Char
Charts.org.nz
(Retrieved June 4, 2008)

Background

Critical reception

Charts performance

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References