''Il n'y a plus rien'' (English: There Is No More) is an album by

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (; 24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer. He released some forty albums over this period, composing the music and the majority of the lyrics. He released ...

, released in 1973 by

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 ...

. The general mood of the music here is dark, both exasperated and desperate, and the lyrics "paint pictures of sordid Parisian clubs, of the injustice of society, of death and of life, of lost friendships and of failing domestic relationships"

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 and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

oriented album '' La Solitude'' (1971), after having re-recorded his 1950s

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

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

's vast poem ''

La Chanson du mal-aimé LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. 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 Smi ...

'' (''"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 but it was mostly on renowned material by French poets from the 19th century - see '' Verlaine et Rimbaud'' and '' Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire'' albums) and he often replaces singing by intense spoken-word 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 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

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

whale vocalization Whales use a variety of sounds for animal communication, 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 d ...

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. ;Original LP

Credits

Danielle Licari Danielle Licari (born Danielle Cuvillier on 30 November 1936, in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French singer who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. She's now remembered primarily as the vocalist in Concerto pour une Voix. Career In 1964, she dubbe ...

: 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 1970s French-language albums Barclay (record label) albums 1973 albums