''Molly Malone – Balade irlandaise'' is an album by French singer-songwriter
Renaud
Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...
, released on 23 November 2009 on
EMI Records
EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
. It is a collection of traditional-style
Irish folk songs
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
translated into French, an idea that had been maturing in Renaud's mind for almost two decades.
Renaud had previously used Irish influences in his 1991 album ''
Marchand de cailloux
Marchand de cailloux is a studio album from French artist Renaud. It was released in 1991 and seen as a return to form after the less positive reviews for the previous album, Putain de camion.
In this album Renaud again takes up socio-political t ...
'' and did a low-key tour playing in Irish pubs in 1997.
The album was recorded at the
Windmill Lane Studios
Windmill Lane Recording Studios (earlier Windmill Lane Studios) is a recording studio in Dublin, Ireland. It was originally opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson and James Morris in premises at 22 Windmill Lane, and it subsequently relocated to its cu ...
in Dublin.
It was produced by Frenchman Thomas Davidson Noton and arranged and mixed by Irish musician
Pete Briquette
Patrick Martin Cusack (born 2 July 1954), known by the stage name Pete Briquette, is an Irish bassist, record producer and composer. He is a member of the Boomtown Rats and has also played in Bob Geldof's band.
Boomtown Rats
He was born in Ba ...
, formerly the bass player with
The Boomtown Rats.
Accompanying musicians includes
Terry Woods of
The Pogues
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse ...
and musicians from
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...
.
Despite mixed reviews in the press, ''Molly Malone – Balade irlandaise'' entered the French charts at number one in November 2009.
It also reached the top 5 on the albums chart in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
The album title "Molly Malone" is assumed to be partly chosen as a reference to Renaud's son Malone. The second half of the title, "Balade irlandaise", is a play on words between "balade" (a stroll) and "ballade" (a ballad).
Track listing
All tracks adapted by Renaud; except where noted.
# "Vagabonds" – 3:36
# "Belfast Mill" – 3:40
# "Johnston's Motor Car" – 2:32
# "Je Reviendrai" – 3:32
# "Adieu à Rhondda" – 2:53
# "La fille de Cavan" – 3:14
# "Te marie pas, Mary!" (
Leon Rosselson
Leon Rosselson (born 22 June 1934, Harrow, London, Harrow, Middlesex, England) is an English songwriter and writer of children's books. After his early involvement in the folk music revival in Britain, he came to prominence, singing his own sat ...
) – 3:32
# "À Carlingford" – 3:32
# "La Ballade nord-irlandaise" – 4:31
# "Dubliners" – 4:16
# "Willie McBride" – 7:33
# "Incendie" – 3:38
# "
Molly Malone" – 2:54
Track 9 was included on the 2007 compilation ''The Meilleur of Renaud''.
Reception
The album received mixed reviews by the press upon its release. Some reviewers noted the audible decline of Renaud's voice, resulting in the out-of-tune singing often overshadowing the music.
In ''
Télérama
''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...
'' the reviewer harshly wrote:
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molly Malone
2009 albums
Renaud albums
EMI Records albums