''Il n'y a plus rien'' (English: There Is No More) is an album by Léo Ferré, released in 1973 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 ...

. The general mood here is dark, both exasperated and desperate.

History

After having inserted two symphonic songs ("Ton style", "Tu ne dis jamais rien") in his mostly

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

oriented album ''

La Solitude LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1971), after having re-recorded his 1950s

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

's vast poem '' La Chanson du mal-aimé'' (''"Song of the Poorly Loved"'', 1972), Ferré feels now ready to establish himself as a complete artist, author and musician, who will do without any arrangers' services from now. So here he goes completely symphonic with his own material for the first time (he had gone orchestral before with arranger

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 ...

but it was mostly on renowned material by French poets from the 19th century - see '' Verlaine et Rimbaud'' and ''

Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire ''Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire'' (English: "''Léo Ferré sings Baudelaire''") is an album by Léo Ferré, released in 1967 by Barclay Records. It is his fourth LP dedicated to a poet, after a first Baudelaire effort in 1957 (''Les Fleurs du m ...

'' albums) and he often replaces singing by intense

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 ...

and declamation. This very cohesive album opens with the straightforward manifesto "Preface", a reduction of a much longer text that precisely prefaces ''Poète... vos papiers!'' (''Poet... your documents!''), a collection of his poems formerly published in January 1957. As Ferré says, "the most beautiful songs are songs that demand justice". The discipline of poetry is meant to teach us how to fight so we can free our mind: The album ends with the radical, pessimistic yet epic and fighting "Il n'y a plus rien" ("There is no more"), that deals with libertarian and revolutionary utopias disappointment from the 1960s and

May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which h ...

. This anarchist outburst is an example of one of the first uses of

whale vocalization Whales use a variety of sounds for communication and sensation. The mechanisms used to produce sound vary from one family of cetaceans to another. Marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises, are much more dependent on sound than ...

in popular music.

Track listing

All songs written, composed, arranged and directed by Léo Ferré, except ''Ne chantez pas la mort'' whose text is written by

Jean-Roger Caussimon Jean-Roger Caussimon (24 July 1918 – 19 October 1985) was a French singer-songwriter and film actor. He appeared in 90 films between 1945 and 1985 but is better known for having worked with poet-singer Léo Ferré. Discography Studio albu ...

. ;Original LP

Credits

* Danielle Licari: voice * The orchestra consists of session musicians hired for the recording * Arranger & orchestra conductor: Léo Ferré * Director of engineering: Claude Achallé * Engineers: Charles Rochko, Philippe Omnes * Executive producer: Richard Marsan * Artwork: Patrick Ullmann, Geneviève Vanhaecke

External links

English translation of ''Night and day''.

Album presentation
(French)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Il n'y a plus rien Léo Ferré albums French-language albums Barclay (record label) albums 1973 albums