Hi everyone
I see that no one has replied since my last post. My exams are over and I have some spare time right now. So here goes my song-by-song review.
I’m going to do my review with a central theme in mind: “Lara Searching For…” because that was the theme that came to my mind when listening to the songs of the album. It can’t be applied to every song, but most of the songs do carry this theme. I also want to refer to the music videos on the 9-DVD. Mark I know what your views are about music videos and I respect that. I’m confident to make use of the music videos because I believe Lara played a huge part in the making of them, after all 9 is in my humble opinion the one album where Lara was in total control and the music videos stayed loyal to the theme of each song, depicting the lyrics in a very special and beautiful way. I also used your list of topics as guidelines during my review and tried to stay as close as possible to this framework because I also believe this is good criteria to judge an album by.
La Lettre (English: The Letter)This is my favorite song of the album, simply because Lara sings it with so much passion and emotion. The song wasn’t originally written by Lara, but she and Jean-Felix composed a new melody for it, and what a lovely melody it is. Lara has a very good balance in style with this song, her sedated approach in this album, but also her vocalizing we’re used to from previous albums. The lyrics are very striking and fans familiar with her past love life may recognize whom she MAY be referring to in this song. Do note a big MAY. I can’t remember where I read this but in an interview Lara mentioned how universal music is. She was amazed how a song, written decades ago, can still be relevant and actual after all these years. Theme for this song: Lara Searching For A Past Love. I give it an absolute [10/10]
Un Ave Maria (English: A Hail Mary)I’m going to be objective with my review of this song, but I have to say that due to my religious beliefs I do not agree with it. Mary was a normal human being like every one of us. Giving Mary an important status takes the focus away from Jesus Christ and creates the danger of idolizing Mary instead of seeing Christ as the one and only prominent figure (together with the Father and Holy Spirit) in the Christian religion. But I’m going to leave it there. The song has a striking melody, much like a lullaby and the lyrics are very abstract, like most of Lara’s songs. It is a very actual song in our everyday life of children getting abused and being exposed to violence and war. This song is done in true 9-style, calm with a slow pace. To me, this is the worst song in the album, not that I’m saying it’s out of a technical point of view totally bad, but Lara has made better songs than this. Central theme: Lara Searching For Peace For Our Youth. I give it a [5/10].
Si Tu N'as Pas D'amour (English: If You Don't Have Love)This is really a fun song to listen to. The tone of this song contrasts a lot with the tone of the previous song (Un Ave Maria). The music video is also fun to watch and is a very literal interpretation of the lyrics. The song is mainly about true love, something that can’t be bought with money, personality, good looks or fame. Lara has a very light-hearted approach to a very deep and personal matter, but it is in my opinion a very successful approach. Singing about true love is normally accompanied with a more serious melody and slower tempo, but Lara brings the message of this song across in true Lara Fabian style - energetic and to the point. The song connects with the central theme of Lara Searching For True Love. Score: [8/10]
Il Ne Manquait Que Toi (English: It Lacked Only You)Truly a beautiful song. Also done with a slow tempo and a calm tone. It has La Lettre’s qualities of emotion and passion. Even the content of the lyrics have similarities. The title is very cleverly selected and can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly it can mean experiencing something but wishing that someone special was with you to experience it with you. On the other side you can interpret it as someone lacking the love from someone else. Have you ever been in a relationship where there is simply no spark? You don’t have anything personal against the person but he/she simply does not do it for you. The music video gives you that idea when Lara simply stares into the empty space, when lying on the couch, while her lover is sitting next to her. The song connects with the central theme of Lara Searching For A Soul Mate. Full marks: [10/10]
Ne Lui Parlez Plus D'elle (English: Don't Speak to Him More of Her)I also got a strange translation of the title as “Do Not Speak To Him Any More It”
If you take away the “It” you get “Do Not Speak To Him Any More”. Which could also have been a very good title but “Don't Speak to Him More of Her” is the most accurate translation of the title. The lyrics are very interesting and one wonder what were going on in Lara’s mind when she wrote this song. We see an interesting line in the lyrics: “She wanted to make for him a child” (verse 1, line 8). Is this maybe Lara showing her desire to become a mother? We all know how much she loves children. The song has a beautiful melody and Lara’s soothing voice really compliments this song. She vocalizes a bit but not too much in order to stay true to the style of the album. The choice of instruments in this song (as well as La Lettre) is very suitable to the tone of these songs. The melodies of both La Lettre and Ne Lui Parlez Plus D’elle give the songs a very classic feel. The lyrics speak of Lara’s wonderful songwriting ability, because she is writing through the viewpoint of a female being unfaithful, not that we have ever seen Lara as an unfaithful person. But is she maybe writing about someone being unfaithful to her, but disguising it by writing from the female’s viewpoint? Artists do not always write about their own life experiences but also about the life experiences of people close to them. Bringing the song to the central theme: Lara Searching for Honesty and Faithfulness. A top melody, lovely lyrics, an excellent choice of instruments complimented by a beautiful voice. Score: [10/10].
Rien Qu'une Seulle Larme (English: Only A Single Tear)The guitar is a very prominent instrument in this song. It stays true to the calm and peaceful tone of 9. It really is a very simple and uncomplicated song. The lyrics speak of sorrow and pain, but not showing the pain deep inside your soul. Lara played a big role as composer with this album and it is great to see how she combines melody and lyrics into a harmonious unit. The lyrics complement the melody and vice versa. Not an out of the ordinary song, but still good music to listen to. Score [8/10]
Les Homericans duet with Melissa Mars (English: The Homericans)A song with an attitude. Lara got a lot of bad publicity due to the lack of understanding what this song is about. In a nutshell this song is about people pointing fingers to America but forget that their own country has just as bad leaders and problems as America. We all are Homericans. Melissa Mars adds some nice flavour to the song with her rebel-like attitude. Lara really played a lot with words in the lyrics and I believe this is why so many people misunderstood her true intentions with this song. A very suitable melody and clever use of the overdriven guitar make it a joy to listen to. Lara does not do anything special with her voice in this song, but I believe her focus was more on the lyrics when she wrote this song. A tongue in the cheek way of showing one human is not better than the other, no matter which country you live in. In this song Lara teaches the listener something, so it doesn’t fall in place with the central theme I mentioned in the previous songs.
Speranza (Speranza seems to be a common Italian surname)This song as the same tone as Il Ne Manquait Que Toi, with the guitar again as a prominent instrument. Jean-Felix did a great job as orchestrator and you can clearly see his influence as guitarist. Lara makes clever use of her voice and it is absolutely beautiful when she sings the chorus of this song. The lyrics speak of a person traveling from north to south who originated from Sicily. Lara has very strong Italian roots (her mother is Italian), but was born in Belgium (north of Italy). Lara most probably wrote this song about the beautiful history of Italy. But she ends the song with these striking lyrics:
Ma plus belle histoire
Je suis née dans leurs regards
Rempli d’espoir
Speranza
Translation:
My very beautiful history
I am born in their looks
Filled with hope
SperanzaWhich gives you the idea that she may also be dedicating this song to her mother.
The lyrics are filled with emotion, painting a very beautiful picture of Italy in the mind of the listener. This song can be given the theme of Lara Searching For Her Roots. A very lovely song, I give it a score of [9/10].
Le Tour Du Monde (English: The World Tour)It is clear that Lara sings of Jean-Felix here, but also about beginning a family by simply looking at these lyrics:
1, 2, peut-on compter jusqu’à 2 ?
Toi et moi, qui n’étions pas
Arrivés jusque-là
1, 2, peut-on compter jusqu’à 2 ?
Un peu plus tard on verra
Si l’on peut être trois
Je ferai le tour du monde
My love, lovée dans tes bras
Je partirai à la seconde
Sans passeport mais pas sans toi
Translation:
One, two, can one add up to 2?
You and me, who had not
Got that far
One, two, can one add up to 2?
A little later we will see
If the one can be three
I would go round the world
My love, coiled in your arms
I would leave at the second
Without passport but not without youThe message of the song is illustrated beautifully in the music video. It’s a very nice song with very passionate and honest lyrics, accompanied by a very appropriate melody. The theme is very clear: Lara Searching For A Family. This is a very personal song and Lara does it in very good style. The tempo is a bit faster than the majority of the songs but it is needed to support the happy tone of the song. This is a cute little song. [9/10].
L'homme Qui N'avait Pas De Maison (English: The Man Who Had No Home)The selection of instruments and background singers is done exceptionally well with this song. The song has elements of country music, but also has a gospel tone it with the addition of the background singers. The gospel tone is very appropriate if you take the title into account. Lara shows her sensitive side in the lyrics of this song, reaching out to the homeless and the harsh situations they live in. She paints a very clear picture of a lonely, homeless man in your mind when you listen to the lyrics (or read the translated lyrics if you don’t understand French
). The music video is again like Il Ne Manquait Que Toi a very literal illustration of the lyrics of the song, staying true to the real meaning of the lyrics. Lara really looks good in the role of a mother. Again easy to formulate the song around the central theme: Lara Searching For People To Reach Out To The Homeless. This song reminds me of Another Day In Paradise by Phil Collins, the only difference is the fact that the person in this song reaches out to the homeless person and does not merely walk away. Well-done Lara. [10/10]
Je Me Souviens (English: I Remember)It is the last song on the album but the first one on the DVD. La Lettre is the last one on the DVD. Maybe Lara was looking for balance when they made the DVD decided to put it first. Again it is done in Lara’s new style of slow tempo, sedated voice and major use of classical instruments. Lara wrote this song about Canada (Québec) and most of her fans know how much she loves this country. It might also be her desire to release another English album. The beauty of the melody of this song helps the lyrics to paint a perfect, poetic picture of the landscapes of Canada in your mind. Lara has a wonderful way of combining melody and lyrics to achieve this. Her voice adds a final touch to this beautiful song. Bringing the song to the central theme: Lara Searching For The Picture Perfect Landscapes Of Canada. [9/10]
It is clear that I gave each song (except Un Ave Maria) very high scores. If I had to review the album with the same criteria I view her other albums, it would have certainly ended up as a failure. Elements like her energetic approach and her vocal power were big aspects that were lacking in this album. Lara had a completely different approach with this album and you have to review it with that approach in mind. If you take into account that this was the first time Lara has done an album like this, you have to give her the credit that she did a very good job. The use of classical instruments were done very cleverly and like I said, Jean-Felix Lalanne played a big part in the making of this album, so don’t forget to give him the appropriate credit. Like always this was a very good team effort by Lara and her director/producer.
Thanks to
lapaytin of the
www.lara-fabian.com forum for the English translations. For a complete English translation of 9 visit the following topic
www.lara-fabian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=600&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0