''Bleu pétrole'' ''(Petrol blue)'' is the twelfth studio album by the 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 as the most importan ...

, released in March

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Barclay Records Barclay is a French Universal Music Group record label, originally owned by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Barclay previously established Riviera-LM Records in 1951. Eddie was a bandleader, pianist, producer and nightclub owner. With his wife and voc ...

. It was the last studio album released during his lifetime.

Production

Great expectations surrounded ''Bleu pétrole'' after '' L'Imprudence'', issued in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and the live album '' La Tournée des grands espaces'', issued in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. Bashung took time to work on it, before deciding finally to not work with his lyricist

Jean Fauque Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

, choosing instead to work with

Gaëtan Roussel Gaëtan Roussel (; born 13 October 1972, Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Mi ...

of Louise Attaque and Gérard Manset. After the more experimental works of the 2000s, Bashung decided to go back to a more traditional rock-sounding album, closer to his works of the 1990s. The album is dedicated to Mick Larie, a member of Bluegrass Long Distance, who died in July 2007, the

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 ...

player and friend of

Marcel Dadi Marcel Dadi (; 20 August 1951 – 17 July 1996) was a Tunisian-born French virtuoso guitarist known for his finger-picking style which faithfully recreated the instrumental styles of American guitarists such as Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and Jer ...

and Patrick Sébastien. The first single from the album was "Résidents de la République" ("Residents of the Republic"). Bashung began touring to promote the album and sang "Comme un lego" ("Like a lego") by Gérard Manset as the opener of his concerts. On 7 July 2008, an expanded vinyl collector edition of 1,000 copies was issued. ''Bleu pétrole'' was Bashung's last studio album;, who died on 14 March 2009.

Reception

Critical reception

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine named this album the 46th greatest French rock album (out of 100). The French magazine ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

'' called the album an "''immense chef-d'œuvre''" (a huge masterpiece).

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

* Alain Bashung -

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

s *

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, Rock music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...

- electric guitar,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

* Arman Méliès - electric guitar, banjo *

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Early life and education Plati grew up in Aurora, Colorado. He studied at Indiana University's Jacobs School of ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

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 * Mus ...

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

* Simon Edwards - bass guitar *

Shawn Pelton Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s. Pelton has recorded with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, N ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s *

Martyn Barker Martyn Barker Born 14 September 1959 in Ellesmere Port Merseyside. Is an English drummer, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, best known as the drummer for Shriekback. He has also been a member of King Swamp. Barker ha ...

- drums, bongo * Tahar Boukhlifa - drums * M. Ward - electric guitar, acoustic guitar * String section : **

Violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s - Marian Tache, Erik Sluys, Dick Uten, Bart Lemmens, Tatjana Scleck, Christophe Pochet, Cristina Constantinescu, Annelies Broeckhoven **

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

- François Grietje **

Cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

s - Hans Vandaele, Karel Steylaerts ** Strings direction - Mark Steylaerts

Production

* Jérôme Witz, element-s: cover art and graphisms * Ludovic Carême: photos

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleu petrole 2008 albums Barclay (record label) albums Alain Bashung albums albums produced by Mark Plati