Julien Clerc - À Mon Âge Et À Lheure Quil Est '1976

Tracks list

Tracklist:

01. Black Out (Faire Lamour Ici)
02. Le Coeur Trop Grand Pour Moi
03. Je Suis Mal
04. A Mon Age Et A Lheure Quil Est
05. Aujourdhui Rien Nest Normal
06. Les Jours De Joie
07. Amis
08. A La Fin Je Pleure
09. Romina
10. Jaime Ton Corps

 Though sometimes dismissed in his native land as little more than a chanteur
de charme -- in other words, a ladies singer -- Julien Clerc in fact enjoyed one
of the most successful and longest-lived careers in contemporary French pop,
shaping the nouvelle chanson aesthetic across a span of decades that began in
the shadow of the student rebellions of 1968 and continued well into the
following century. Born Paul-Alain LeClerc in Paris on October 4, 1947, he was
the product of a wealthy bourgeois family. Following his parents divorce he was
sent to live with his father, a high-ranking UNESCO official, and began studying
piano at the age of six. During adolescence Clercs love of music reached a fever
pitch, and he regularly transcribed his favorite songs from the radio.

In time he began writing his own original material, often collaborating with
friend Maurice Vallet; under his professional name, Momo, Vallet would continue
writing with Clerc for years to follow. However, the singer would not meet his
most notable collaborator until 1968, while a student at the Sorbonne. Instead
of studying, Clerc spent the majority of his time in area cafés, and while in
his favorite haunt, LEcritoire, he met Etienne Roda-Gil, the son of Spanish
Republicans who had recently returned to Paris after spending almost a decade
abroad in opposition to the conflict in Algeria. Clerc asked Roda-Gil to add
lyrics to one of his original melodies -- the result was La Cavalerie, a
sardonic protest song that soon earned Clerc a seven-year recording contract
with the Pathé-Marconi label.

Upon its May 1968 release, La Cavalerie made Clerc an overnight superstar,
topping the French pop charts and emerging as one of the anthems of the
concurrent student rebellions, thanks in large part to its oft-quoted lyric Ill
abolish boredom. The follow-up, Ivanovitch, also reached number one and so
impressed French superstar Gilbert Bécaud that he invited Clerc to open for
his upcoming show at Paris famed Olympia. The singers third single, 1969s Yann
et les Dauphins, was his third consecutive chart-topper, and his self-titled
debut LP was also a success, winning the prestigious Prix du Disque de
lAcadémie Charles Cros and earning critical favor for combining Clercs
Beatles-inspired pop ingenuity and neo-symphonic arrangements with Roda-Gil and
Momos often surreal and reliably complex lyrics.

Clerc was then invited to star in the French production of the hit Broadway
musical Hair, initially refusing the offer but ultimately accepting. Premiering
at Paris Théatre de la Porte Saint Martin on May 31, 1969, the production was
a runaway success, as was Clercs next single, the chart-topping La Californie,
released in July. He also made headlines for going public about his burgeoning
relationship with French pop ingénue France Gall. Clerc remained with Hair
until February of 1970, when he resigned to resume his recording career; his
sophomore LP, Des Jours Entiers à TAimer followed three months later, and
that December he headlined the Olympia for the first time. A vacation to
Argentina inspired the tango-like rhythms of his next single, 1971s Le Couer
Volcan, followed in succession by the Roda-Gil-penned Ce NEst Rien and Niagara.
Clerc abruptly shifted gears with 1973s Julien, recorded in London with arranger
Bill Shepherd, replacing his longtime collaborator Jean-Claude Petit. He
returned to Paris in time to begin rehearsals for a new run at the Olympia, with
the highlights documented on his 1974 live LP, Julien Clerc avec Vous. Still
dismissed in some quarters as little more than a teen idol, Clerc yearned for a
more mature image, and in 1975 -- despondent over the end of his romance with
Gall -- he reteamed with Momo for the bleak, elegiac No. 7, his most critically
acclaimed effort to date. Soon after he agreed to a starring role in the film
DAmour et dEau Fraîche, and while on the set entered into a relationship with
co-star Miou-Miou that would continue for five years. For his next album, 1976s
A Mon Âge et à lHeure Quil Est, he enlisted material from songwriters
beyond Roda-Gil and Momo, working for the first time with Maxime Le Forestier
and Jean-Loup Dabadie. Le Forestier also authored Clercs 1978 blockbuster JAi Eu
30 Ans (written in honor of the singers 30th birthday), the highlight of his
ninth LP, Jaloux. Further bolstered by Dabadies smash Ma Preference, the album
went on to sell 400,000 copies.
But Clercs decision to expand his circle of collaborators outside his
traditional songwriting partners rankled Roda-Gil, a situation that snowballed
after the singer publicly complained that he was tired of fans asking him to
explain Roda-Gils complex, often polemical lyrics. Ultimately, they suffered a
very public falling-out and did not speak for over a decade, until Clerc
declared a truce by attending the funeral of Roda-Gils wife, Nadine, in 1992.
Nevertheless, in 1979 Clerc agreed to headline the musical 36 Front Populaire,
composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Jean-Claude Petit with lyrics by Roda-Gil.
For a number of reasons the production never made it to the stage, however,
although the songs were still recorded and released as a two-LP set.

After traveling to Canada to record his next solo LP, 1980s Clerc Julian, the
singer also ended his long professional relationship with Petit, although he
renewed ties with Momo for the follow-up, Sans Entracte, which also featured a
pair of contributions from the legendary Serge Gainsbourg. A pair of sold-out
March 1981 appearances in Lyon made up Clercs second live album, Vendredi 13.
Shortly after, his romance with Miou-Miou dissolved, and he channeled his
anguish into the starkly intimate Femmes, Indiscrétions et Blasphemes, his
first recording for new label Virgin and one of the best-selling LPs of his
career.
After meeting horse-riding champion Virginie Couperie, whom he married in 1985,
Clerc returned to a more optimistic approach for his next LP, Aime-Moi. With
Mélissa, co-authored with a new collaborator, David McNeil, he scored one of
his biggest-ever hits, selling over 700,000 copies. Clerc then toured Africa,
Canada, and Brazil before taking a 12-month break, resurfacing in 1987 with Les
Aventures à lEau; McNeil again contributed the albums biggest hit,
Hélène. After another lengthy hiatus, he traveled to New York City to work
with producer Phil Ramone on 1990s Fais Moi une Place, widely hailed as his most
consistent record in years. At the end of 1990 he headlined a production of
Prokofievs Peter and the Wolf featuring the Radio France Orchestra. With 1992s
Utile, Clerc reunited with Roda-Gil for an albums worth of new collaborative
material, and the following year he headlined the Olympia for the first time in
close to two decades.

In 1997, he issued Julien, and in 1998 toured the U.S. for the first time as
part of an international tour spanning close to three years in all. On 2000s Si
JÉtais Elle, Clerc teamed with everyone from supermodel Carla Bruni to
Franco-Algerian author Nina Bouraoui. The two-volume live set Julien
Déménage followed in 2002, and the following year he issued Studio, a
collection of American pop standards.
During 2005 Clerc released Double Enfant that dealt with themes that were highly
personal to the singer. One that was well documented on the record is the
divorce of his parents that led to the title Double Enfant -- which refers to
Clerc’s two childhoods via the separation of his parents. Three years
later he released Où S’en Vont les Avions which marked 40 years in
show business for the French crooner. Over one hundred tour dates were scheduled
in support of the album, culminating in a five day stint at the Palais des
Sports arena in Paris. In 2011 Clerc released his 22nd studio album Fou,
Peut-Être that included tracks written by the winner of French TV show
Nouvelle Star, Julien Doré and renowned French entertainer Charles Aznavour.

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