Fantaisie militaire

Fantaisie militaire
Studio album by Alain Bashung
Released 6 January 1998
Recorded Studio Miraval
Studio Davout (strings)
Studio Pierce Entertainment (mixing)[1]
Genre French rock, Alternative rock
Length 50:38
Label Barclay Records, Universal Music Group
Producer Ian Caple
Alain Bashung chronology
Confessions publiques
(1995)		 Fantaisie militaire
(1998)		 L'Imprudence
(2002)

Fantaisie militaire (Military fantasy) is the tenth studio album by French rock musician Alain Bashung, released in January 1998 on Barclay Records.

Production

For this album, Bashung worked with English record producer & engineer Ian Caple & with artists such as the Valentins, Rodolphe Burger, Joseph Racaille or Adrian Utley of Portishead. Most of the songs were written by Jean Fauque.

The song "Samuel Hall" is a drum'n'bass reworking of the folk song "Sam Hall".

Reception

Commercial performance

The album hit #1 on the French charts. It was one of the artist's greatest successes, helped by the successful single "La nuit je mens".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

Fantaisie militaire marked a turn in Bashung's career. He was awarded three Victoires de la musique awards in 1999: Male Artist of the Year, Best Album of the Year, and Video of the Year for the single "La nuit je mens". In 2005, the Victoires ranked it the best French album since 1985. Belgian rock historian Gilles Verlant also included the album in his book La discothèque parfaite de l'odyssée du rock,[3] lauding it as a "chef d'œuvre" and the "shining diamond of the winter of 1998." He added that the album showed "Bashung mix the sounds and his inspiration with a perfect mastery of studio incidents" and that "its precision is that of a goldsmith, a jeweler, a maniac watchmaker".[3] In 2010, the French edition of Rolling Stone magazine named Fantaisie militaire the 9th greatest French rock album ever made.[4]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Malaxe"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Les Valentins 4:33
2. "La nuit je mens"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Les Valentins 4:25
3. "Fantaisie militaire"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung 4:48
4. "2043"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung 3:45
5. "Mes prisons"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung 4:07
6. "Ode à la vie"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Jean-Marc Lederman 4:16
7. "Dehors"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung / Les Valentins 3:29
8. "Samuel Hall"  Olivier Cadiot / Rodolphe Burger 5:05
9. "Aucun express"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung 4:05
10. "Au pavillon des lauriers"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung 4:43
11. "Sommes-nous"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung 3:56
12. "Angora"  Alain Bashung / Jean Fauque – Alain Bashung 2:07

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Chart Top
position		 Number of weeks
in the Top 50		 Certification
France[5] 1 36 Platinum
Belgium[6] 15 15

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fantaisie militaire (album booklet). Alain Bashung. Barclay Records. 1998. 539 488-2.
  2. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Fantaisie militaire". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  3. 1 2 Verlant, Gilles (2006). La discothèque parfaite de l'odyssée du rock (in French). Hors Collection. ISBN 978-2-258-08007-2.
  4. ↑ Magazine Rolling Stone, n°18 of February 2010, ISSN 1764-1071
  5. ↑ Fantaisie militaire sur chartsinfrance.net
  6. ↑ Fantaisie militaire sur www.ultratop.be
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